Family Office in the US: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026
The United States has no family office licence. Under the SEC family office rule (Rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, adopted in 2011), a company that advises only family clients, is wholly owned by them, is controlled by family members or family entities and does not hold itself out to the public is not an investment adviser, so it does not register with the SEC. Families combine this with companies and trusts formed under state law, and several states have family trust company laws, including a Delaware act signed in July 2026. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
Best for: Families with members or assets in the United States who want a single family office with no SEC registration and no wealth threshold, built from state-law companies, trusts and family trust companies.
At a glance
| Licence | No licence; excluded from SEC adviser registration by the family office rule |
|---|---|
| Minimum wealth | No minimum set by law |
| Who counts as family | Descendants of a common ancestor up to 10 generations, spouses, key employees, family trusts |
| Serving several families | Adviser registration: generally SEC above USD 110 million, states below USD 100 million |
| Law and courts | Federal securities and tax law; state company, trust, property and probate law |
| Substance | No office or staff rule for family offices; some trust company laws need local presence |
| Holding vehicles | Corporation, LLC, LP, statutory trust, living trust, state family trust companies |
| Corporate tax | Federal 21% of taxable income; state taxes separate |
| Family office tax | No family office regime; LLCs can be taxed as partnerships |
| Personal income tax | Federal top rate 37% (2026) plus 3.8% NIIT; state taxes separate |
| Inheritance tax | 40% above USD 15 million for citizens and residents (2026); non-residents file at USD 60,000 |
| Wills and succession | State law and probate courts; living trusts can avoid probate; 9 community property states |
| Residence | EB-5 from USD 800,000 (TEA) or USD 1,050,000; Gold Card: USD 1 million gift, USD 15,000 fee |
| Time to set up | Delaware filings in 1 hour to next business day with paid expedited service; no SEC step |
| Official fees | Delaware: USD 110 LLC, from USD 109 corporation, USD 500 statutory trust; no SEC fee |
Compare: USA vs DIFC · USA vs ADGM · USA vs DMCC · USA vs Saudi Arabia · USA vs Singapore · USA vs Hong Kong · USA vs GIFT City · USA vs Switzerland · USA vs UK · USA vs Luxembourg · USA vs Mauritius · USA vs Monaco · USA vs Liechtenstein · USA vs Malta · USA vs QFC · USA vs Bahrain · USA vs Cyprus · USA vs Jersey · USA vs Greece · USA vs Guernsey · USA vs Italy · USA vs Forest City · USA vs Germany · USA vs Portugal · USA vs Spain · USA vs France · USA vs South Africa · USA vs Canada · USA vs Australia · USA vs Ireland · USA vs Turkey · USA vs Japan · USA vs Cayman Islands · USA vs Bahamas · USA vs BVI · USA vs Bermuda
Licence and who qualifies
How is a family office licensed in the US?
There is no family office licence or registration. A family office is a company (for example a state-law corporation or LLC) that, under SEC Rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1, is not an investment adviser if it has no clients other than family clients, is wholly owned by family clients and exclusively controlled by family members or family entities, and does not hold itself out to the public as an investment adviser; the SEC said such offices are not subject to any of the provisions of the Advisers Act. A family office that fails these tests must register under the Advisers Act unless another exemption is available, or seek an SEC exemptive order. Companies formed in the US no longer report beneficial owners to FinCEN: an interim final rule exempted them in March 2025, and FinCEN's final rule, effective 14 August 2026, permanently removed the requirement for US companies and US persons. [1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11]
What is the minimum wealth for a family office in the US?
No minimum set by law. The rule's conditions concern clients, ownership and control, and holding out, with no asset or wealth test, and the SEC said its earlier exemptive orders made no distinction based on the size of the family office. The SEC noted that family offices 'generally serve families with at least $100 million or more of investable assets', but this describes the market, not a requirement. [1]
Who counts as family?
Family clients are family members, former family members (for example after divorce), key employees and certain charities, estates, trusts and companies of family clients. Family members are the lineal descendants of a common ancestor (including by adoption, stepchildren and foster children) and their spouses or spousal equivalents, provided the common ancestor is no more than 10 generations removed from the youngest generation. Key employees are executive officers, directors, trustees, general partners or people in similar roles, and other employees (not clerical staff) who take part in the office's investment activities and have done such work for at least 12 months. [1, 2]
Can one office serve several families?
The SEC said its family office rule 'does not extend to family offices serving multiple families'. An office that advises other families for compensation is an investment adviser: advisers with more than USD 110 million in regulatory assets under management generally must register with the SEC, and those with less than USD 100 million are generally prohibited from SEC registration and register with state regulators, with exceptions (for example an adviser that would have to register in 15 or more states). [1, 12]
Law, substance and vehicles
Which law and courts apply?
Federal law covers securities regulation (the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, enforced by the SEC) and federal taxes (administered by the IRS). Companies are formed under state law, for example with the Delaware Division of Corporations; whether spouses hold community property depends on the law of the state of domicile, and probate goes through state courts. [1, 8, 13, 14, 15]
What substance is required?
The SEC family office rule has no office, staff or local spending conditions; its tests concern clients, ownership and control, and not holding out to the public. Some trust company laws add their own: a licensed Nevada family trust company must keep a Nevada resident officer, a physical office, a registered agent and a Nevada bank account, and Delaware's 2026 act requires material trust administration in Delaware when Delaware law is to govern a trust that a family trust company administers. [1, 4, 7]
Which holding vehicles are available?
Corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and statutory trusts formed under state law (Delaware lists a filing fee for each), and revocable living trusts. Family trust companies: New Hampshire (Family Trust Company Act, RSA 383-D: chartered, USD 200,000 minimum capital, family clients only), Nevada (NRS 669A: licensed, with at least USD 300,000 stockholders' equity, or unlicensed), Florida (Florida Family Trust Company Act, chapter 662: licensed or registered, from USD 250,000 capital), Wyoming (2019 act: chartered or unregulated private family trust companies) and Delaware (SB 327, signed 13 July 2026: family trust companies supervised by the State Bank Commissioner). [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15]
Tax
What is the corporate tax rate?
Corporations pay federal income tax at 21% of taxable income (26 U.S.C. 11(b); IRS Publication 542, current revision January 2024). A corporation can deduct 50% of dividends from a US company it owns less than 20% of, and 65% if it owns 20% or more, within limits. State corporate taxes are separate and were not checked. [13, 16]
Are there tax incentives for family offices?
No federal tax regime for family offices was found; a family office company is taxed under the ordinary rules, and an LLC can be taxed as a partnership, a corporation or a disregarded entity. Trusts and estates pay the top 37% rate on taxable income above USD 16,000 in 2026, and the 3.8% net investment income tax on the lesser of their undistributed net investment income and their adjusted gross income above USD 16,000. [13, 17, 18, 19]
Is there personal income tax?
The top federal income tax rate is 37% in 2026, on taxable income over USD 640,600 for single filers and USD 768,700 for married couples filing jointly; the IRS says Public Law 119-21 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) made the rate tables in force from 2018 to 2025 permanent. A 3.8% net investment income tax applies on top for individuals with modified AGI above USD 200,000 (single) or USD 250,000 (married filing jointly). The official Gold Card site says that, as with all US citizens and permanent residents, Gold Card applicants will be subject to US tax, including on non-US income; state income taxes are separate and were not checked. [17, 19, 20, 21, 22]
Is there inheritance or estate tax?
Federal estate and gift tax uses one rate schedule, with a top rate of 40% on the taxable amount over USD 1 million. For US citizens and residents the basic exclusion amount is USD 15,000,000 per person for 2026 (raised by Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), and the IRS says it is adjusted annually for inflation; the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption equals it (USD 15,000,000 for 2026). The annual gift exclusion is USD 19,000 per recipient, or USD 194,000 for gifts to a spouse who is not a US citizen. Estates of non-resident non-citizens must file Form 706-NA if US-situated assets, such as US real estate and shares of US companies, exceed USD 60,000; estate tax treaties often give better treatment. [17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27]
Succession and residence
How do wills and succession work?
Wills, trusts and probate are matters of state law and state courts. In California, for example, the courts say an executor has to open a probate case if the assets total more than USD 184,500, while assets placed in a living trust should pass to beneficiaries without going to probate court. Nine states are community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin), and the IRS refers to a community property election under Alaska, Tennessee and South Dakota laws. [14, 15]
Can the family get residence?
EB-5 investor green card: invest at least USD 1,050,000, or USD 800,000 in a targeted employment area or (through a regional center) an infrastructure project, in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs; the amounts rise automatically on 1 January 2027 and every 5 years after. The Gold Card (Executive Order 14351, 19 September 2025) treats a USD 1 million gift (USD 2 million from a company) as evidence for first- and second-preference employment-based immigrant visas (EB-1 and EB-2), petitioned on USCIS Form I-140G. The official site takes online applications with a nonrefundable USD 15,000 processing fee, says a spouse and unmarried children under 21 can be added for USD 15,000 and a USD 1 million gift each and that permanent residence depends on visa availability (waits of a year or more for some countries), and lists a USD 5 million Platinum Card as 'coming soon'. [22, 28, 29, 30]
Time and fees
How long does set-up take?
Indicative: a family office that meets the SEC rule has no SEC registration step. The Delaware Division of Corporations processes filings within 1 hour (USD 1,000), 2 hours (USD 500), the same day (USD 100 to 200) or the next business day (USD 50 to 100) for a fee, and states no standard processing time (page updated 12 August 2026). [1, 31]
What are the official fees?
Indicative, Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule revised 1 August 2026: USD 110 for an LLC certificate of formation, from USD 109 for a certificate of incorporation, USD 200 for a limited partnership and USD 500 for a statutory trust, plus optional expedited fees. A family office that meets the SEC rule is not regulated under the Advisers Act, so it pays no SEC registration fee. [1, 8, 31]
Pros and cons
Pros
- A single family office that meets the SEC family office rule is not an investment adviser and needs no SEC registration or licence.
- No minimum family wealth, and the family can reach back 10 generations from the youngest, with spouses, key employees and family trusts.
- Several states have family trust company laws, including New Hampshire, Nevada, Florida, Wyoming and, since July 2026, Delaware.
Cons
- Federal income tax tops out at 37% in 2026, plus 3.8% on net investment income, and citizens and permanent residents are taxed on non-US income.
- Federal estate and gift tax reaches 40% above the USD 15 million exclusion for US citizens and residents (2026), and estates of non-resident non-citizens must file once US-situated assets exceed USD 60,000.
- Serving a second family or outside clients means registering as an investment adviser with the SEC or the states.
