--- title: "Setting Up an Entity in North Carolina" description: "How North Carolina entity setup works, what it costs to register and stay compliant, and how Teamed lets you hire there today without one." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina/entity-setup --- ![North Carolina business district.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina/entity-setup/images/hero.webp) # How do you set upa company in North Carolina. Teamed hires your North Carolina team today through an employer of record, so you skip Articles of Organization and state tax registration entirely. Served by Teamed US Inc., Delaware · Payroll via SUNA Solutions Last reviewed 22 September 2026 · North Carolina guide At a glance ## North Carolina entity setup, the short version Forming a North Carolina LLC means filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State, then registering for state corporate income tax and the state's franchise tax before you run payroll. Teamed skips that path and puts your first North Carolina hire on payroll under our own registered entity instead. Corporate income tax2.0% Minimum franchise tax$200 Franchise tax basismargin Formation / registration fee$125 Formation ## What forming a North Carolina entity actually involves If you register an LLC in North Carolina, you file Articles of Organization (form L-01) with the Secretary of State, and that filing carries a registration fee of $125. That gets you a legal entity, not a working payroll system. After formation, you still need a registered agent, a business bank account, workers' compensation coverage, and state and federal tax IDs before you can legally pay a single employee. Most of the real work happens after the state approves your paperwork, not before. Taxes ## Ongoing state taxes once you're registered North Carolina charges corporate income tax at a flat rate of 2.0%, one of the lower corporate rates in the country. On top of that sits a state franchise tax, calculated on a margin basis rather than flat income, with a minimum franchise tax of $200 due even in a year with thin margins. Neither tax disappears once you're operating, and both require you to file and pay on an ongoing schedule as long as the entity exists. Teamed's entity in North Carolina absorbs this compliance layer, so it never becomes your filing calendar. Timeline ## What it costs you in time, not just money The Secretary of State filing itself is only the first domino. Tax registration, a registered agent, workers' comp, and a compliant payroll setup all queue up behind it, and each has its own paperwork and its own wait. Companies that plan to hire one or two people in North Carolina rarely see a return on that timeline before their hiring plans change. An employer of record removes the queue entirely and lets you make an offer this week instead of next quarter. Before you commit ## Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit An employer of record is genuinely the better call while your North Carolina headcount is small or still taking shape, or while you're testing whether the market is worth a permanent footprint. It's not a lesser path, it's the right tool for that stage. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plan, or run the numbers yourself in the crossover calculator, since the right moment to switch 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. Talk to a member of the team Model the crossover for the United States 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. In North Carolina that means we handle the Articles of Organization filing, the franchise and corporate income tax registrations, the registered agent, and the payroll build, then move your existing team onto the new entity without a gap in their pay or benefits. You end up owning a clean, fully compliant North Carolina entity, built the same way it would have been built from day one, minus the months of setup. Entity Management (GEMO) The Graduation Model Employer cost calculator > They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll. *Helene Dubois, COO* Talk to an expert about North Carolina Questions ## North Carolina entity setup questions What does it cost to register a company in North Carolina? Filing Articles of Organization with the North Carolina Secretary of State carries a registration fee of $125. That covers the formation filing only, not the tax registrations, registered agent, or payroll setup you'll need afterward. Does North Carolina have a franchise tax as well as corporate income tax? Yes. North Carolina charges corporate income tax at 2.0%, and separately applies a franchise tax calculated on a margin basis, with a minimum franchise tax of $200 due regardless of profit. Can I hire someone in North Carolina without forming an entity? Yes, through an employer of record like Teamed, which employs your North Carolina hire under its own registered entity and handles the state tax filings on your behalf. You avoid the Articles of Organization filing and the ongoing franchise and income tax compliance. How do I know when it's worth setting up my own North Carolina entity? It comes down to expected headcount, salary levels, and how long you plan to stay in the state, not a fixed employee count. The crossover calculator walks through those numbers, or you can talk to a member of the team directly. If I already have a North Carolina entity, can Teamed still help? Teamed's GEMO service can set up, migrate, or hand back a North Carolina entity depending on where you are in your growth, across 100+ countries where we operate. That includes taking over an existing entity's compliance if you'd rather not run it in-house. Where these figures come from ## Sources Figures on this page come from the North Carolina Department of Revenue's corporate income and franchise tax rates and the North Carolina Secretary of State's Articles of Organization filing requirements. ## More on entities in North Carolina - [Hiring in North Carolina, overview](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina)parent - [North Carolina running costs](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina/entity-running-costs-and-filings)sibling - [North Carolina tax presence](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina/permanent-establishment-risk)sibling - [North Carolina entity or eor](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina/eor-vs-entity)sibling - [North Carolina moving from an eor](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/north-carolina/moving-from-eor-to-your-own-entity)sibling - [Set up an entity, by country](/entity-setup-by-country)hub - [Entity Management (GEMO)](/entity-management)core - [Talk to an expert about North Carolina](https://www.teamed.global/contact?from=entity-setup)CTA