How do you set up a company in Minnesota.

Forming an LLC in Minnesota means filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State for a $155 fee, then registering for state payroll and unemployment taxes. Any entity earning income in the state also faces Minnesota's 9.8% corporate franchise tax, one of the factors worth weighing before you commit to a standalone entity. We could not read the state's own page directly for the 9.8% corporate income tax rate, so we are waiting on direct confirmation from the Minnesota Department of Revenue before we treat it as settled.

Most companies hiring in Minnesota form either a limited liability company or a corporation. An LLC gives you flexible management and pass-through taxation at the owner level, while a corporation suits businesses planning to raise outside investment or issue stock.

Either way, you file formation documents with the Minnesota Secretary of State and appoint a registered agent with a physical address in the state. The agent receives legal and tax correspondence on your behalf, so you need someone reliably reachable there even if your team works remotely.

The Minnesota Secretary of State charges $155 to file Articles of Organization for an LLC. That covers the initial filing only, not the registered agent, accounting, or legal support you'll likely need around it.

Beyond the state filing, budget for a registered agent service, an operating agreement, and setup of your state tax and unemployment insurance accounts. None of these carry a single fixed government fee, so treat them as ongoing line items rather than a one-time cost.

A Minnesota corporation pays a 9.8% corporate franchise tax on income earned in the state, per the Minnesota Department of Revenue. That rate applies whether you're a local startup or a foreign entity registering to do business there.

If you form an LLC and elect pass-through treatment, the entity itself may avoid this corporate-level tax, with income instead taxed at the owner level. Which structure fits depends on your ownership setup and where your investors sit, so it's worth a conversation with a tax adviser before you file.

Forming the entity is the easy part. You then need to keep it current with the Secretary of State, maintain your registered agent, and register for state payroll withholding and unemployment insurance before your first Minnesota hire starts.

Add workers' compensation coverage, correct wage statement practices, and any local employment notices, and the compliance list grows quickly. None of this is unusual for a US state, but it does mean a Minnesota entity is a standing commitment, not a one-time task.

Not every hire justifies a Minnesota entity. If you're testing the market, hiring one or two people, or not sure you'll stay long enough to make the filing fee and ongoing compliance worthwhile, an employer of record lets you hire compliantly without any of it.

An employer of record is sometimes the better answer, a fair alternative and never a lesser one, especially for a small or still-changing team or when you're testing a market. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plan, or run the numbers yourself with the crossover calculator, since the right call depends on your entity costs and how long you intend to stay.

When a Minnesota team grows past the point an EOR makes sense, Teamed's GEMO sets up the entity, manages it and moves your people across from its EOR.

A company formed in another state or another country does not need a second company to hire in Minnesota. It registers with the Minnesota Secretary of State as a foreign company before it starts doing business there, a step usually called foreign qualification.

Minnesota law sets the test for what counts as doing business in the state, and putting employees to work there on a regular basis will usually meet it. States give the filing different names, among them a certificate of authority and an application for registration.

In Minnesota, the filing is an application for a certificate of authority. The Minnesota Secretary of State charges a corporation $200 to file it by mail, or more online or in person, according to its published fees. It does not cover the cost of a registered agent, or of a certificate of good standing from your home state if one is needed. An LLC formed elsewhere goes through a similar filing, and its fee can be different.

Foreign qualification does not make you an employer in the state. That is a separate registration with the state tax and unemployment insurance agencies, due by the state's own deadline, which usually falls at or soon after your first payroll there.

Four kinds of help can register a company in Minnesota, and the right one depends on whether it will employ people.

You can file the formation documents yourself with the Minnesota Secretary of State. That suits a founder with no staff and the time to work through the forms.

A formation agent can register the company fast and for little money. That suits a company with no employees.

A law firm or corporate-services firm is the right call for complex group structures and tax planning, where the advice is worth more than the paperwork.

For companies that will employ people in Minnesota, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get a designated person who has done this before, real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters and Ted, Teamed's AI agent, to answer questions from your live employment data. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in the United States.

A solo founder with no staff is better served by the registry or a formation agent, either of which costs less.

Figures on this page come from the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the Minnesota Secretary of State.