How do you set up a company in Montana.
To register a company in Montana, you file formation documents with the Montana Secretary of State, then register with the state as an employer when you start paying people. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) forms the company and keeps it running for you, and Teamed's EOR can hire for you before it exists. For companies deciding whether to form an entity in Montana, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes, service terms adjusted to suit you within reason, and one system from your first contractor to your tenth entity.
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At a glance
Montana entity setup, the short version
Montana charges a formation fee of $35 to register a business entity with the Secretary of State. Once formed, a corporation owes corporate income tax at 6.75% of net income, with a flat $50 minimum tax as the floor. None of that touches you if Teamed employs your Montana team under its existing entity instead.
- Corporate income tax
- 6.75%
- Minimum franchise tax
- $50
- Franchise tax basis
- flat
- Formation / registration fee
- $35
Formation
What it takes to register in Montana
Setting up in Montana means filing formation paperwork with the Secretary of State and paying the registration fee of $35. That gets you a registered entity on paper, but it does not get you a functioning employer. You still need a registered agent, corporate bank account, state tax registrations, payroll infrastructure, and a way to run compliant onboarding and benefits from day one.
Most founders underestimate the operational tail after formation. The filing itself is fast. Building the systems around it, payroll cadence, tax withholding, workers' comp, benefits administration, is the part that actually determines whether your first Montana hire has a good first month.
Tax
What the entity owes once it exists
Montana taxes corporate income at 6.75%. A corporation pays that or the flat $50 minimum tax, whichever is greater, so even a newly formed corporation with little activity still owes that baseline. This is a flat basis, not a bracket, which keeps the math simple but means the tax obligation shows up regardless of how small your Montana presence is.
These are entity-level obligations. They exist because you have a legal presence in the state, separate from payroll taxes on employees. If you hire through Teamed instead, Teamed's entity carries this tax exposure, not you.
Timeline
How long the two paths actually take
Filing the Montana formation paperwork can move quickly once you have your documents ready. The real clock starts after the entity exists: registered agent setup, tax ID registration, opening a bank account, setting up payroll, and getting your first employment contracts compliant with state rules. That stack, not the filing fee, is where weeks disappear.
Hiring through Teamed compresses that whole sequence into an onboarding of days. Your new hire signs a compliant contract under Teamed's existing Montana employment setup, payroll runs on schedule, and you never touch the registered agent or franchise tax filings.
Already have a company elsewhere
Registering an out-of-state or foreign company in Montana
A company formed in another state or another country does not need a second company to hire in Montana. It registers with the Montana Secretary of State as a foreign company before it starts doing business there, a step usually called foreign qualification.
Montana 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 Montana, the filing is a Foreign Registration Statement. The Montana Secretary of State charges a corporation $70 to file it, 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.
Your options
Who can set it up for you
Four kinds of help can register a company in Montana, and the right one depends on whether it will employ people.
You can file the formation documents yourself with the Montana 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 Montana, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get a designated person who has done this before, pricing with no hidden costs and real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters. 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.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
An employer of record is sometimes the better answer, not a lesser one, especially for a small or still-changing headcount in Montana or when you're testing the market before committing capital. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plans, or run the numbers yourself in the crossover calculator, since the right call depends on your entity costs and how long you intend to stay.
Contractors, employer of record and your own entity all run on one platform at Teamed, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or re-onboarding anybody. Real HR and legal experts handle the work rather than a ticket queue.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers yourself first, the crossover calculator models it on local entity setup and running costs rather than on a headcount rule of thumb.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, move your people across, and keep it running.
GEMO is how Teamed forms your company and keeps it running, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
In Montana, GEMO covers incorporation, registrations, payroll-readiness and ongoing governance.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Montana entity setup, answered
What does it cost to register a business entity in Montana?
The Montana Secretary of State charges a formation and registration fee of $35. That covers filing only, not the ongoing tax and compliance obligations that follow once the entity exists.
Does Montana have a minimum tax even if the entity has no income?
Yes. Montana applies a flat minimum franchise tax of $50 regardless of income level, so even a dormant or barely active corporation owes this amount.
What is Montana's corporate income tax rate?
Montana taxes corporate income at 6.75%. This applies once income is generated, alongside the flat minimum franchise tax that acts as a floor.
Can I hire someone in Montana without setting up an entity there?
Yes, through an employer of record like Teamed, which already has an entity in Montana and employs your worker on your behalf. You skip the formation fee, the franchise tax filings, and the payroll build-out entirely.
When does it make sense to set up my own Montana entity instead of using an EOR?
It depends on your headcount, the entity costs, and how long you plan to stay in the state, which is exactly what the crossover calculator is built to work through. Talk to a member of the team if you want a direct read on your situation.
Where these figures come from
Sources
Figures on this page come from the Montana Code Annotated and the Montana Secretary of State.
Looking for a job in Montana yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
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