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You want your company registered and ready to bank, bill and hire. Our CPAs register a business in Massachusetts for you, from the state or town filing to your first tax setup.
Name check. We confirm your business name is available in Massachusetts before we file.
Setup call with a CPA. You pick your legal structure, such as an LLC or a corporation, on a 40 minute call. You also pick how the business is taxed.
Flat fee up front. You get one flat fee quote before we start work.
Since 1995.
Serving Massachusetts businesses.
Harvard, MA.
Office serving the Boston area.
Pick the service you need to register a business in Massachusetts, or pick it with us on the call.
For Massachusetts LLC registration, we file your Certificate of Organization. You also name a resident agent to accept legal papers for the LLC. The agent is a Massachusetts resident, or a corporation formed in or registered in Massachusetts, and has a Massachusetts street address.
Massachusetts corporations file Articles of Organization, not Articles of Incorporation. We prepare the articles and file them for you.
You need a business certificate if you operate under a name other than your legal name. We register a DBA in Massachusetts with the clerk of each city or town where you have an office. You renew it every four years.
A Boston business certificate needs a copy of your lease or a notarized letter from your landlord. The Boston City Clerk turns away virtual addresses and PO boxes.
We get your federal EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS. We also file your tax election, the IRS form where you choose how the business is taxed.
If you want the company taxed as an S corporation, we file Form 2553 within 2 months and 15 days. The IRS counts from the day the company first has owners, assets or business. Miss the deadline and the IRS generally applies the election from the following tax year, unless we obtain late election relief.
Every Massachusetts LLC files an annual report by the anniversary of its Certificate of Organization. We track the date and file the report, so your LLC stays in good standing with the state.
An LLC or corporation files with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
A company formed in another state also registers with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, within 10 days after it starts doing business in Massachusetts.
A sole proprietor or partnership using a trade name files with its city or town clerk.
You open your state tax accounts separately, in MassTaxConnect, the Department of Revenue system, when the business collects sales tax or withholds tax from wages.
Where each business type registers in Massachusetts
Match your business to the office that takes the filing.
Secretary of the Commonwealth
LLC: Certificate of Organization
Corporation: Articles of Organization
Company formed in another state: foreign registration
City or town clerk
Business certificate for the trade name (DBA)
You renew it every four years
Next, when your business needs them
IRS
Federal EIN for the business
MassTaxConnect
State tax account to collect sales tax or withhold tax from wages
The Massachusetts LLC filing fee is $500 on paper. A corporation pays less to form but owes a minimum annual state tax called the corporate excise.
| State cost | LLC | Corporation |
|---|---|---|
| Formation filing | $500 | $275 |
| Annual report | $500 a year | $125 a year |
| Minimum corporate excise | $0 unless taxed as a corporation | $456 a year |
Paper filing fees. The state charges different totals online. We assume up to 275,000 authorized shares for the corporation figure. Illustrative only.
Before you form an LLC in Massachusetts, we compare both costs with you on the setup call.
A filing service files the state form. Our CPAs also make the tax election, open the state tax accounts and prepare the first federal and Massachusetts returns. One team handles the setup from filing to first return.
You are starting a business in Massachusetts and want the state filing and the tax setup done together. One CPA team handles both.
Without a Social Security number or an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), you cannot use the IRS online EIN application. We apply by fax or mail on Form SS-4. If the company has no US office and you have no US residence, we can also apply by phone.
A nonresident alien, a foreign owner who is not a US tax resident, cannot own S corporation shares. You and our CPA then choose another way for the company to be taxed.
We register your company from another state in Massachusetts, then in each new state you enter.
You tell us about the owners, the plan and expected income. We recommend a legal structure and how the business is taxed.
You email four business names in order of preference, a short business description, and each owner's details and ownership percentage.
We file with the state or your town once you pay the invoice. Then we get the EIN and file the tax election.
We set up bookkeeping, payroll and sales tax filing if your business needs them.
We start filing once we have the full checklist.
We price your Massachusetts business registration by the setup you need.
Legal structure. An LLC, a corporation and a DBA each need a different filing.
Number of states. We add a fee for each state after the first.
Owner ID. We quote an ITIN application for an owner separately.
Annual reports. We quote yearly annual report filing as its own service.
When you register a business in Massachusetts, you pay state and city fees separately from our fee. Boston charges $65 for a business certificate, plus $35 if you live outside Massachusetts.
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You can book the call before you choose a name or a legal structure. Bring your questions and leave the forms to us.
Book a call with our CPA team. After the call, we send the checklist for your filing. Confidential, and handled by CPAs.
Reviewed by Xintian Wang, CPA, Harvard, MA. Senior Tax Manager at Alexander Accountants, CPAs. Our team
