Start an LLC in Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Doing business in Berkshire County

Berkshire County is the western edge of Massachusetts, bordering New York and Vermont, with Pittsfield and North Adams as its cities. It had 5,475 establishments and 57,946 jobs in 2024, with about 129,000 residents and average annual pay of $62,257. Cultural venues, inns, farms and small manufacturers are typical businesses, and a number of owners split time between the Berkshires and New York.

With three Registry of Deeds districts, Berkshire matches Bristol for the most in the state. Pittsfield and the central towns record at Berkshire Middle on Bank Row; Adams, North Adams and Williamstown at Berkshire North in Adams; and Great Barrington, Lenox and the southern towns at Berkshire South in Great Barrington.

A New York LLC that opens a gallery or inn in the Berkshires registers as a foreign LLC in Massachusetts within ten days and pays the same $500 a year as a local LLC, which leads some owners to form in Massachusetts instead.

Berkshire County Registry of Deeds

Massachusetts registries of deeds record deeds, mortgages and other land documents. If your LLC or corporation buys, sells or finances property in Berkshire County, the documents are recorded at the district office for the property's town. The registry does not form companies or issue business certificates.

Berkshire County business numbers

Establishments, employment and pay are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (private and public, all industries); population is the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.

Sales tax and local permits in Berkshire County

Massachusetts charges one statewide sales and use tax of 6.25 percent (c. 64H, § 2), so a business in Berkshire County collects the same rate as one anywhere else in the Commonwealth. There is no county business license. Trade names are filed as business certificates with the clerk of each city or town where you have an office (c. 110, § 5), and building, zoning and board of health permits come from the town.

Forming the company, step by step

• Search the name on the Corporations Division's records and pick an LLC or corporate ending.
• File the Certificate of Organization ($500 for an LLC) or Articles of Organization ($275 for a corporation with up to 275,000 shares) with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
• Name a resident or registered agent with a Massachusetts street address. Ours is $199 a year.
• Get an EIN from the IRS, then open a business bank account in the exact registered name.
• File a business certificate with your city or town clerk if you will trade under a different name.
• File the annual report each year: $500 for an LLC on its anniversary, $100 online for a corporation.