How to Start an LLC in Indiana (2026): Step-by-Step Guide

Published: June 2026 · Updated for the 2026 tax year

Indiana is one of the cheapest and lowest-maintenance states in the country to run an LLC, and the reason most guides skip is the one that matters most: the state report isn't annual. You file the Business Entity Report only every two years — about $32 online, or roughly $16 a year amortized — and there's no franchise tax at all. This guide walks through every step, what an Indiana LLC actually costs over time (the biennial report included), how to form one from outside the US, and the deadlines that quietly dissolve LLCs that ignore them.

Form your Indiana LLC for free with Jupid. We prepare and file your Articles of Organization — you pay only the state's $95 filing fee, with no service markup. Start your Indiana LLC →

A note from Slava

I'm Slava, co-founder and CEO of Jupid. Before this I co-founded and scaled an AI-powered accounting platform to around $30M in revenue and more than 100,000 business users — the kind of company that ends up filing a lot of paperwork in a lot of states and watching customers trip over the same potholes again and again.

Indiana is the opposite of California. Where California hits you with an $800 franchise tax every single year whether you earned a dollar or not, Indiana asks for $95 to start and then leaves you mostly alone: a small report every two years, a low flat income tax, and no franchise tax. It's genuinely one of the friendliest states for a small business or a non-resident founder, and the headline number — "$95 to form" — actually undersells how cheap it is to keep an Indiana LLC alive.

The catch is that "every two years" is also how people get burned. A deadline that only comes around every 24 months is easy to forget, and Indiana will eventually administratively dissolve an LLC that ignores it. So this guide does three things the others skip: it spells out the biennial cadence in plain terms, it adds up the real cost over time (not just the filing fee), and it walks a founder living in another country through the whole path. Everything here is current for 2026, with links to the official sources so you can verify before you file.

Indiana LLC at a glance

Sources: Indiana Secretary of State / INBiz, Indiana Department of Revenue — rates, fees & penalties.

Should you actually form your LLC in Indiana?

If you live in Indiana and run your business from Indiana, form your LLC in Indiana — it's cheap, the compliance is light, and there's no reason to look elsewhere. The popular advice to "form in Wyoming or Delaware instead" doesn't help an Indiana business: an out-of-state LLC that does business in Indiana has to register here as a foreign LLC anyway, which means a second filing fee, a second registered agent, and a second set of deadlines, all on top of whatever the other state charges. You'd pay more to do more paperwork — and Indiana is already one of the lowest-cost states there is.

Forming elsewhere makes sense only in a narrower set of cases: you genuinely don't operate in Indiana (no office, employees, or significant activity here), you're a non-resident with no US footprint deciding between low-fee states, or you're raising venture capital and your investors expect Delaware. If you're weighing it, our best state to form an LLC tool walks through the trade-offs, and our Wyoming LLC guide covers the non-resident case in detail. For most non-residents, Indiana's flat tax and biennial report actually make it competitive with the usual "privacy state" picks.

For everyone else: Indiana it is. Here's how.

How to start an LLC in Indiana, step by step

1. Choose and check your LLC name

Your name has to include "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C.", and it has to be distinguishable from every other entity on the Secretary of State's records. Search the INBiz business name database before you get attached to anything. Want ideas or to check a few options at once? Our Indiana business name generator is built for exactly that. If you want to lock a name in before you're ready to file, a name reservation holds it for 120 days for $10.

2. Appoint an Indiana registered agent

Every Indiana LLC needs a registered agent who can accept legal papers and official notices on its behalf. That agent is either an individual who actually lives in Indiana and has a physical street address — a P.O. box won't do — or a commercial registered agent authorized to do business in Indiana. You can serve as your own LLC's agent if you're an Indiana resident; the LLC itself cannot. Because the agent's address is public record, plenty of Indiana residents — and everyone who lives out of state — hire a commercial agent, typically $100–$300 a year.

3. File the Articles of Organization through INBiz

This is the step that creates your LLC. File the Articles of Organization online through INBiz for $95, or mail a paper filing for $100. You'll list the LLC name, the registered agent and address, the principal office, and the management structure (member-managed or manager-managed). Online filings are usually approved in about a business day; paper takes roughly a week plus mail time. Indiana doesn't offer a paid expedited tier — it doesn't need one — so the online route is your fast path. Once it's approved, download the stamped Articles; your bank will ask for them.

4. Write an operating agreement

Indiana doesn't require you to file an operating agreement and doesn't ask to see it — but you should have one, in writing, kept with your company records. It sets out ownership percentages, how profits are split, who can make decisions, and what happens if a member leaves. Even a single-member LLC should have one: it's part of how you keep the liability shield intact, and banks routinely ask for it when you open an account.

5. Get your EIN from the IRS

An EIN is your LLC's federal tax ID, and you need it to open a bank account, hire anyone, and file taxes. It's free. Apply at irs.gov — if you have an SSN or ITIN, the online application takes a few minutes. If you don't (common for non-resident owners), file Form SS-4 by fax or mail with "Foreign" on the responsible-party line; see the non-resident section below. Never pay a third party for the EIN itself — the number is always free from the IRS.

6. Calendar the biennial Business Entity Report

Here's the step unique to Indiana. Your LLC must file a Business Entity Report, but only every two years — it's biennial, not annual. It's due by the end of your LLC's anniversary month (the month the LLC was approved) in every second year, and it costs about $32 online or $50 by mail through INBiz. The state accepts it up to 90 days before the due month. Because a once-every-two-years deadline is so easy to forget, set a recurring reminder the day you form: if you let it lapse, the Secretary of State eventually has grounds to administratively dissolve your LLC, which freezes your ability to do business and enforce contracts under the name.

7. Register for Indiana state taxes and any local licenses

Forming the LLC doesn't cover your tax registrations. INBiz is a single front door for the Department of Revenue and Department of Workforce Development, so you can do these in the same place. If you sell taxable goods, register for a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate (RRMC) — a one-time $25 fee — to collect Indiana's 7% sales tax. If you'll have employees, register for state income tax withholding with the DOR and unemployment insurance with the DWD. Indiana has no statewide general business license, but some cities and counties require local permits by activity, and any professional license you'd need as a sole proprietor — contractor, food service, alcohol, real estate — you still need as an LLC.

What an Indiana LLC really costs, year by year

Most guides quote "$95 and you're done" and stop. Here's the fuller picture — and the good news is that the picture stays cheap.

Year one

Every following year

The "biennial" trap nobody flags. Because the Business Entity Report comes around only once every two years, it's the single easiest deadline in the country to miss — there's no annual rhythm to remind you. An LLC that skips it doesn't get an immediate fine so much as a slow slide toward administrative dissolution: the Secretary of State sends notice, and if you keep ignoring it, the entity is dissolved and loses the legal protection of its name. The fix is trivial — set a recurring calendar reminder tied to your anniversary month the day you form — but the cost of forgetting is real.

DIY versus a formation service versus Jupid. Doing it yourself costs the $95 state fee and your time. A formation service charges $0–$300 on top of the state fee (the "$0" packages still pass through the $95 and then upsell you a registered agent and a "compliance" subscription). Jupid forms your Indiana LLC for free — you pay only the state filing fee — and then handles the bookkeeping and tax filings afterward, which is where most of the ongoing effort actually lives. To model the annual numbers for your situation, use our Indiana LLC annual cost calculator.

Forming an Indiana LLC as a non-resident or foreign founder

You can own an Indiana LLC without being a US citizen or resident — Indiana imposes no residency requirement on members or managers, and its low flat tax plus biennial report make it a quietly attractive choice. The practical hurdles are an Indiana registered agent, an EIN, a US bank account, and your US and Indiana tax filings.

Registered agent. If no member or manager lives in Indiana with a real street address, you must use a commercial registered agent here. Budget around $100–$300 a year. P.O. boxes and mailbox-store addresses don't qualify. This is the one recurring cost a non-resident can't avoid.

Getting an EIN without an SSN. The IRS online EIN tool requires the responsible party to have an SSN or ITIN, so foreign founders generally can't use it. Instead, file Form SS-4: on the line asking for the responsible party's SSN/ITIN/EIN, write "Foreign" — don't invent a number. Submit it by fax or mail, or call the IRS international EIN line (it's not toll-free). Check the current Form SS-4 instructions for the right fax and phone numbers, since the IRS changes them. Fax turnaround is usually a few business days; phone is immediate. The EIN is free.

ITIN. An ITIN (Form W-7) is a tax ID for individuals who aren't eligible for an SSN. Your LLC gets an EIN; you, as an owner, may separately need an ITIN only if you have to file a personal US return. ITINs are issued with a tax return attached or through an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent and can take a couple of months.

The Form 5472 obligation — don't skip this. A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person is a "disregarded entity" that generally must file Form 5472 along with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year, reporting transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner. This is an information return, not an income tax return — and the penalty for missing it is $25,000. A foreign-owned multi-member LLC files Form 1065 instead. Almost no Indiana LLC guide mentions this; build it into your annual calendar from day one.

US bank account. Most traditional US banks want the owner physically present to open a business account, along with the EIN confirmation letter, the filed Articles of Organization, the operating agreement, and a passport. Several fintech business-banking platforms onboard non-resident-owned US LLCs remotely — eligibility and policies change, so check current terms before you rely on any of them. This tends to be the most friction-prone step.

Indiana tax. There's no franchise tax, so the recurring Indiana costs are just the biennial report (~$32) and your registered agent. Indiana taxes Indiana-source income at the flat 2.95% rate (2026), plus the county local income tax, and a non-resident member with Indiana-source income may owe Indiana nonresident income tax. Federally, if the LLC is engaged in a US trade or business, the foreign owner has US filing obligations of their own (Form 1040-NR for an individual, plus the Form 5472 filing above). A US cross-border CPA is worth the consultation here.

Registered agents and the Corporate Transparency Act (BOI)

Your registered agent is the person or company designated to receive lawsuits and official notices for the LLC. In Indiana it has to be a resident with a physical street address or a commercial registered agent — and because the agent's address is public, plenty of Indiana residents hire a commercial agent purely to keep their home address off the record.

On the federal beneficial-ownership side: under the Corporate Transparency Act, LLCs were originally required to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report with FinCEN. That changed. FinCEN's interim final rule, published in March 2025, redefined a "reporting company" to mean only entities formed under foreign law that register to do business in a US state. As of early 2026, that means an Indiana-formed LLC — even one with foreign owners — has no BOI filing obligation. Older articles still tell you to "file within 30 days"; that's now wrong for domestic LLCs. FinCEN has said it intends to finalize the rule, so this could shift; check fincen.gov/boi before you assume one way or the other. (If you register a foreign-formed entity to do business in Indiana, that entity may still have a BOI deadline.)

Your first 30, 60, and 90 days

Days 1–7

• Get your EIN from the IRS (free; online if you have an SSN/ITIN, otherwise by fax or mail with "Foreign" on the responsible-party line).
• Adopt your operating agreement in writing — not filed with Indiana, but banks expect it.
• Check your BOI status. As of early 2026 a domestic Indiana LLC has no FinCEN filing to make; re-verify at fincen.gov/boi.

Days 1–30

• Open a US business bank account (EIN letter, filed Articles of Organization, operating agreement, ID).
• Register for a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate ($25) through INBiz if you sell taxable goods.
• Register for state withholding (DOR) and unemployment insurance (DWD) if you'll hire, and set up federal payroll.
• Check for any city or county permits your activity needs — Indiana has no statewide general business license, but local rules vary.
• Get any professional or industry licenses your work requires, and look into business insurance.

Days 1–60

• Set up bookkeeping and keep personal and business finances strictly separate — that separation is what holds up the limited-liability shield.
• If you're a foreign-owned single-member LLC, put the annual Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 filing on your calendar now.
• Decide on federal tax classification — default (disregarded/partnership) versus an S-corp election (Form 2553), typically worth modeling once profit clears roughly $40k–$50k. If you elect S-corp or run a multi-member LLC, look at Indiana's optional pass-through entity tax (Form IN-PTET) as a federal SALT-cap workaround.

The recurring deadline to lock in now

• Calendar the Business Entity Report: biennial, due by the end of your anniversary month every second year, ~$32 online. Because it only comes around every two years, set the reminder the day you form — this is the deadline people forget.

Common mistakes with Indiana LLCs

Forgetting the biennial report because it isn't annual. Why it hurts: a once-every-two-years deadline has no yearly rhythm to remind you, and an LLC that lets it lapse drifts toward administrative dissolution — losing the legal protection of its name. Fix: set a recurring calendar reminder tied to your anniversary month the day you form, and file online (~$32) up to 90 days early.

Thinking a Wyoming or Delaware LLC saves money over Indiana. Why it hurts: if you operate in Indiana, the out-of-state LLC has to register here as a foreign LLC anyway — so you pay Indiana's fees and a second registered agent on top of the other state's costs. Indiana is already one of the cheapest states. Fix: if Indiana is where you do business, form in Indiana.

Treating the $95 filing fee as the whole cost — or padding it with phantom fees. Why it hurts: some people skip budgeting for a registered agent (if they're out of state) or the $25 sales-tax registration; others get sold "annual compliance" packages for a report that's only biennial. Fix: a resident's true ongoing cost is about $16 a year (the report amortized) plus tax on profit — no franchise tax, no annual report.

Assuming the 2.95% flat tax is the whole tax bill. Why it hurts: every Indiana county also levies a local income tax (LIT), so a resident's combined rate is usually higher — commonly in the 3.5%–5.9% range. Fix: check your county's LIT rate on the Indiana DOR chart and factor it into your estimated payments.

How Jupid helps

Jupid forms your Indiana LLC for free — you pay only the state's $95 filing fee, with no service markup and no surprise "compliance" subscription. After that, Jupid is your AI accountant, working in WhatsApp and iMessage the same way you already text. It connects to your business bank account, automatically categorizes your transactions (around 95.9% accuracy), keeps your deductions organized, and prepares your tax filings with CPA review before anything is submitted. Indiana keeps the state side cheap — the $95 to form and a small report every two years — but clean books, the flat-tax-plus-county-LIT math, the right federal filings (including Form 5472 if you're foreign-owned), and a return that holds up are real work year after year, and that's the work Jupid does for you. Start your Indiana LLC free with Jupid →

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Indiana in 2026? The Articles of Organization cost $95 filed online through INBiz, or $100 by mail. There's no franchise tax and no annual report fee in year one — the only recurring state charge is the biennial Business Entity Report (about $32 online), which works out to roughly $16 a year. If you don't live in Indiana, add a commercial registered agent at about $100–$300 a year.

How often do I file the Indiana Business Entity Report? Every two years — it's biennial, not annual. The report is due by the end of your LLC's anniversary month (the month it was approved) in every second year, and costs about $32 online or $50 by mail. The Secretary of State accepts it up to 90 days early. Miss it for long enough and the state can administratively dissolve your LLC.

Does Indiana have a franchise tax on LLCs? No. Indiana has no franchise tax and no annual LLC tax. The only recurring state fee is the biennial Business Entity Report (about $32 online every two years). That's one of the lightest compliance loads of any state — compare California's $800-a-year minimum franchise tax.

What is the Indiana state income tax rate for 2026? Indiana levies a flat individual income tax of 2.95% for 2026, scheduled to drop to 2.90% in 2027. LLC profits pass through to the owners and are taxed at that flat rate. On top of it, every Indiana county charges a local income tax (LIT), so a resident's combined rate is commonly around 3.5%–5.9%.

Can a non-US resident own an Indiana LLC? Yes. Indiana has no citizenship or residency requirement for members or managers. You'll need a commercial Indiana registered agent and an EIN (which you can get without an SSN by filing Form SS-4). If you're the sole owner, the LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year — the penalty for missing it is $25,000.

Does Indiana require LLCs to publish a formation notice in a newspaper? No. Unlike New York, Arizona, Nebraska, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, Indiana has no newspaper publication requirement for LLCs. There's no publication step and no publication cost.

Official sources

• Indiana Secretary of State / INBiz — business filings (Articles of Organization, $95 online / $100 mail; Business Entity Report; name reservation)
• INBiz fee calculator — verify current LLC filing and report fees
• Indiana business name search — check name availability before filing
• Indiana Code Title 23, Article 18 — Limited Liability Companies (formation, registered agent, operating agreement)
• Indiana Department of Revenue — rates, fees & penalties (2.95% flat rate for 2026, 2.90% for 2027; county LIT chart)
• Indiana DOR — pass-through entity tax (PTET) FAQ
• IRS — get an EIN · Instructions for Form SS-4 · About Form 5472
• FinCEN — Beneficial Ownership Information
• Related on Jupid: Indiana LLC formation · Indiana LLC annual cost calculator · Indiana business name generator · best state to form an LLC · Wyoming LLC guide · Michigan LLC guide

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees, deadlines, and thresholds change — verify with the official sources above before you file.

Last updated: June 2026.