How do you set up a company in New York.
To register a company in New York, you file with the New York Department 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 setting up their own entity in New York, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, service terms adjusted to suit you, within reason, and one system from your first contractor to your tenth entity.
AI-generated image
At a glance
New York entity setup, the short version
You file Articles of Organization (an LLC, $200) or a Certificate of Incorporation (a corporation, $125) with the New York Department of State, and register for state taxes. Once formed, corporations owe a fixed dollar minimum franchise tax from $25 under Article 9-A, set by New York receipts rather than profit, and most LLCs pay an annual filing fee from $25. Teamed can employ your New York team through an entity while you decide whether incorporating makes sense yet.
- Minimum franchise tax
- from $25
- Franchise tax basis
- business income, with a receipts-based minimum
- Formation / registration fee
- $200
Formation
Filing your Articles of Organization or Certificate of Incorporation
To create a domestic LLC in New York, you file Articles of Organization with the New York Department of State, and that filing carries a $200 fee. A corporation follows a parallel path through a Certificate of Incorporation, with a $125 filing fee, handled by the same office.
Either structure needs a registered agent with a New York address, ongoing state filings, and internal governance documents. None of that paperwork disappears once the entity exists, it becomes a recurring administrative habit you either build in-house or hand to someone who already runs it.
Taxes
New York's franchise tax and what it actually covers
New York taxes corporations under Article 9-A, while most LLCs pay an annual filing fee instead, and the fixed dollar minimum for that franchise tax starts at $25. The tax is mainly measured on business income, but the fixed dollar minimum is set by New York receipts, so it applies even to entities that aren't yet turning a margin.
Because the minimum is set by New York receipts and the main tax by business income, the calculation depends heavily on how your business actually earns revenue in the state. It's worth getting this modeled properly before you file, rather than assuming your obligation mirrors what you'd owe elsewhere.
Employer registration
Registering as an employer once the entity exists
Forming the entity is only the first filing. You still need to register for state withholding, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation coverage before you can legally run payroll for anyone in New York.
Each of these registrations has its own timeline and its own agency, and they rarely move in parallel unless someone is actively managing the sequence. This is where a lot of new employers lose weeks they didn't plan to lose.
Timing
Where speed matters versus where it doesn't
If your first New York hire is time-sensitive, waiting on entity formation and employer registration can stall the offer. An employer of record lets you employ that person immediately under an existing structure, while your own entity moves through its filings in the background.
Once the entity, tax registrations, and payroll infrastructure are all live, there's no reason to keep routing new New York hires through anything else. The decision isn't permanent either way, it's a question of what stage you're actually at.
Already have a company elsewhere
Registering an out-of-state or foreign company in New York
A company formed in another state or another country does not need a second company to hire in New York. It registers with the New York Department of State as a foreign company before it starts doing business there, a step usually called foreign qualification.
New York 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 New York, the filing is an Application for Authority. The New York Department of State charges a corporation $225 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 New York, and the right one depends on whether it will employ people.
You can file the formation documents yourself with the New York Department 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 New York, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get pricing with no hidden costs, a designated person who has done this before 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.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
An employer of record is genuinely the better answer for a lot of New York hiring, not a stopgap you're stuck tolerating. If you've got a small or still-shifting team, or you're testing whether New York is even the right market, it's the fair choice, not the lesser one. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plans, or run the numbers through the crossover calculator to see where the balance actually sits.
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 New York, GEMO covers incorporation, registrations, payroll-readiness and ongoing governance. When you're ready, GEMO moves your people across from Teamed's EOR to your own New York entity.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
New York entity setup, answered plainly
How much does it cost to file an LLC in New York?
The New York Department of State charges a $200 fee to file Articles of Organization for a domestic LLC. That's the formation fee itself, separate from any ongoing franchise tax obligations that follow once the entity exists.
What is New York's minimum franchise tax?
New York sets a fixed dollar minimum franchise tax under Article 9-A, starting at $25 for New York receipts up to $100,000. Because it is set by receipts rather than profit, it applies whether or not the entity is currently profitable.
Is the New York franchise tax based on profit?
Mostly, yes. Article 9-A tax is the highest of a business income base, a capital base and a fixed dollar minimum. The minimum is set by New York receipts, so an entity with revenue but no profit still owes it.
Can I hire in New York before my entity is fully set up?
Yes, an employer of record can employ your New York team while your own entity works through formation and tax registration. That lets you make an offer now instead of waiting on the full filing sequence.
How do I know if I should form a New York entity or keep using an EOR?
It depends on your headcount, the entity costs, and how long you plan to keep hiring in New York, not on a fixed threshold. Run the crossover calculator or talk to a member of the team to see where your specific numbers land.
Where these figures come from
Sources
These figures are drawn from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York Department of State.
Looking for a job in New York 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.
AI tools helped create this guide. How we use AI