How do you set upa company in Ohio.
You can form an Ohio LLC or corporation yourself, or let Teamed employ your team through GEMO while you decide.
At a glance
Ohio entity setup at a glance
Ohio charges a filing fee of $99 to register your Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. The state has no corporate income tax, but it does apply a franchise tax based on gross receipts, so your tax planning needs to account for revenue, not just profit.
- Corporate income tax
- 0%
- Franchise tax basis
- gross receipts
- Formation / registration fee
- $99
Formation
Filing your Articles of Organization
Forming an entity in Ohio starts with filing Articles of Organization with the Ohio Secretary of State, which carries a filing fee of $99. This step establishes your legal presence in the state and lets you open a business bank account, hire employees directly, and sign contracts under the company name.
The filing itself is straightforward, but it is only the first piece. You still need a registered agent, an operating agreement if you form an LLC, and a plan for how the entity will run day to day once it exists on paper.
Taxes
How Ohio taxes your new entity
Ohio does not levy a corporate income tax, which is a real advantage compared with many states. Instead, the state applies a franchise tax calculated on gross receipts, so what matters is how much revenue flows through the entity, not just the bottom line.
This structure changes how you plan. A company with high revenue and thin margins can face a different tax picture in Ohio than in a state that taxes net income. Talk to a tax adviser who understands the gross receipts basis before you assume your total tax burden will be lower.
Ongoing compliance
What it takes to keep the entity running
Once your Ohio entity exists, it needs upkeep. That means maintaining a registered agent, filing required state reports on schedule, keeping payroll tax registrations current, and making sure your franchise tax filings reflect actual gross receipts.
None of this is hard on its own, but it adds up as headcount grows. Every new hire brings its own payroll, benefits, and compliance thread, and someone on your team has to own all of it, not just the initial filing.
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 when your Ohio headcount is small or still changing, or when you are testing the market before committing to a full entity. Talk to a member of the team about your specific plans, or run the numbers through the crossover calculator, since the right answer 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.
In Ohio, that means we handle the Articles of Organization, the registered agent setup, and the franchise tax registration on your behalf, then transfer a fully operating entity to you once your team and revenue justify owning it directly.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Ohio entity setup questions
What does it cost to register a company in Ohio?
Ohio charges a filing fee of $99 to file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. This covers the basic registration step, though you should budget separately for a registered agent and any legal help you use to draft your operating agreement.
Does Ohio have a corporate income tax?
No. Ohio does not levy a corporate income tax. Instead, it applies a franchise tax based on gross receipts, so your tax exposure depends on total revenue rather than net profit.
How is the Ohio franchise tax calculated?
The franchise tax uses gross receipts as its basis rather than net income. This means a high-revenue, low-margin business can face a different tax outcome than it would in a state that taxes profit directly, so it is worth modeling before you commit to forming an entity.
Should I set up an Ohio entity or use an EOR first?
It depends on your headcount, your salaries, and how long you plan to stay in Ohio. An EOR lets you hire quickly without the filing and compliance work, while an entity makes more sense once your team is stable and growing. The crossover calculator can help you compare the two paths with your actual numbers.
What ongoing filings does an Ohio entity require?
Beyond the initial Articles of Organization, you need to maintain a registered agent, keep payroll tax registrations current, and file franchise tax returns based on gross receipts. These are recurring obligations, not one-time tasks, so plan for someone to own them continuously.
Where these figures come from
Sources
Figures on this page come from the Ohio Department of Taxation's commercial activity tax publication and the Ohio Secretary of State's Articles of Organization filing information.
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