Entity or EORin Montana.
Teamed hires your Montana team under our entity now, and can set up your own entity later, so you start without waiting on formation.
At a glance
Montana at a glance
Montana charges a formation and registration fee of $35 to set up an entity, then applies a corporate income tax of 6.75% and a flat minimum franchise tax of $50 regardless of profit. Those numbers are modest by national standards, but the real cost of an entity is rarely the filing fee, it is the ongoing compliance load of running payroll, tax filings, and registered-agent duties in a state where you have no local team yet.
- Corporate income tax
- 6.75%
- Minimum franchise tax
- $50
- Franchise tax basis
- flat
- Formation / registration fee
- $35
The core decision
Entity vs EOR in Montana
If you already know Montana is a long-term base for your company, forming your own entity gives you full control over how you structure pay, benefits, and equity. If you are hiring one or two people to test the market, or you are not yet sure how long you will stay, an EOR lets Teamed employ them on your behalf under our own Montana-registered entity, so you skip the registration step entirely.
The decision usually comes down to certainty and headcount. Montana's filing and tax figures are low compared to many states, so cost is rarely the deciding factor. Timeline and how confident you are in your hiring plan usually matter more.
Forming your own entity
What it costs to register in Montana
Registering a business entity with the Montana Secretary of State carries a formation and registration fee of $35. That is a one-time cost to get the entity on the books, separate from any legal, accounting, or registered-agent costs you will layer on top to actually run payroll and stay compliant once the entity exists.
The filing fee itself is not the barrier. The barrier is everything that comes after: opening a payroll account, registering for state withholding, and keeping the entity current year after year, even if your Montana headcount stays small.
Ongoing tax exposure
Montana's corporate tax and minimum franchise tax
Once formed, a Montana entity is subject to a corporate income tax of 6.75% on its taxable income. Alongside that, the state applies a minimum franchise tax of $50 on a flat basis, meaning it is owed regardless of whether the entity turns a profit in a given year.
That flat minimum matters most for a small or early-stage Montana presence, since it is due even in a year with no revenue booked locally. It is not a large number on its own, but it is one more filing obligation to track alongside every other state you might operate in.
The honest answer
When EOR is honestly the better call
An employer of record is sometimes the better answer, not a lesser one, when your Montana headcount is small or still changing, or when you are simply testing whether the market is worth a longer commitment.
An employer of record is a fair alternative for a small or still-changing team, or when you are testing a market before committing. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plan, or run the crossover calculator to see where the numbers tip in favor of your own entity, since that depends on salaries and how long you intend to stay.
Your own entity, on your terms
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.
When Teamed's Global Entity and Employment Operations, which we call GEMO, takes on your Montana expansion, we handle the registration, the tax setup, and the ongoing filings, then transfer the finished entity to you when you are ready to run it directly. You keep the option open without carrying the compliance burden while you are still deciding.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
An employer of record is a fair alternative for a small or still-changing team, or when you are testing a market before committing. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plan, or run the crossover calculator to see where the numbers tip in favor of your own entity, since that depends on salaries 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 salaries and employer costs rather than on a headcount rule of thumb.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.
Global Entity and Employment Operations, which we call GEMO, is how Teamed forms your company, registers it for tax and payroll, runs it month to month and keeps its filings current, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
For a Montana entity specifically, that means we cover the registration and registered-agent work, keep the minimum franchise tax and corporate income tax filings current, and structure the handover so you inherit a clean, compliant entity rather than a backlog of paperwork. We do the same across 100+ countries, so Montana is one part of a much larger operation, not a one-off.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Montana entity and EOR questions
Do I need a Montana entity to hire one employee there?
No. An employer of record like Teamed can employ that person under its own Montana-registered entity, so you avoid the $35 formation and registration fee and the tax filings that follow. This is usually the faster route for a first hire or a small team.
How much does it cost to register a business in Montana?
The Montana Secretary of State charges a formation and registration fee of $35. That fee covers the entity filing itself, not the ongoing accounting, payroll, or registered-agent costs needed to keep the entity compliant afterward.
What taxes does a Montana entity owe every year?
A Montana entity pays corporate income tax at 6.75% on its taxable income. It also owes a minimum franchise tax of $50 on a flat basis, which applies even if the entity has no profit that year.
When does it make sense to switch from an EOR to my own Montana entity?
It depends on your salary levels and how long you plan to keep a team in Montana, not a fixed headcount. Run the crossover calculator or talk to a member of the team to see where your specific numbers land.
Can Teamed help set up a Montana entity later if I start with an EOR?
Yes. Teamed's GEMO service can form the entity, migrate your existing hires into it, and hand you a fully compliant structure when you are ready to run it directly.
Where these figures come from
Sources
Figures on this page are drawn from Montana Code Annotated 15-31-121 and the Montana Secretary of State business filing fees.
Looking for a job in Eor Vs Entity 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.