Your US LLC, step by step

Free · no sign-up · 7 steps

From zero to a working US LLC

Seven steps in the order they happen. Three answers tailor steps 4 and 5 to what banks and payment platforms publish for your country of tax residency.

1. 1

   Step 1 ·E Entity

   Form the LLC

   Mark done

   Register a limited liability company in one US state. The state decides the filing fee, the annual fee and the annual report; a non-resident owner can form in any state without visiting.

   What you need

   • A passport
   • A company name that is free in the chosen state
   • A state (Wyoming, Delaware and New Mexico are the usual shortlist for a non-resident)
   • A registered agent in that state (step 3)

   What the record shows

   • State filing fees and annual costs differ by several hundred dollars a year; the calculator adds them up for each state and service. Formation cost calculator

   Our pick · All three file the EIN application for a non-resident owner (step 2). Whether the registered agent is included differs by service; the comparison lists each one’s terms.

   Visit DoolaAlso:FirstbaseStripe Atlas

   How to form a US LLC as a non-residentBest state for a non-resident LLCWhat forming actually costsFormation services compared
2. 2

   Step 2 ·E Entity

   Get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN

   Mark done

   The Employer Identification Number is the LLC’s federal tax ID. Every US business account and payment platform asks for it. The EIN itself is free.

   What you need

   • The LLC’s formation documents from step 1
   • Form SS-4, with “Foreign” on line 7b in place of an SSN or ITIN

   What the record shows

   • The IRS online application is closed to applicants without a US address or place of business, so non-residents apply by fax, by mail, or by phone on the IRS international line, (267) 941-1099. A formation service files the same form for you. IRS Instructions for Form SS-4

   How to get an EIN without an SSNEIN vs ITIN for non-resident founders
3. 3

   Step 3 ·E Entity

   Registered agent and a business address

   Mark done

   Every state requires a registered agent with a physical address in the state to receive legal papers. A business address is a separate question: it is what banks and payment platforms ask for, and several of them refuse the registered agent’s address.

   What you need

   • A registered agent in the formation state (renews every year)
   • An address you can document for account applications: your home address with a utility bill or bank statement is what several providers ask for

   What the record shows

   • Meow lists incorporation-agent addresses and virtual-mailbox (PMB) addresses under “What won’t work”. Wise states the trading address for US business verification cannot be a registration agency, mail-forwarding service or virtual address. Banking Access Index
   • Stripe asks for the physical location where most business activity happens and does not accept PO boxes. Payment Platform Availability Index

   Our pick · A registered agent covers the legal-papers address only. It is not the address a bank or payment platform will accept.

   Visit Northwest Registered AgentAlso:Harbor Compliance

   Do you need a registered agent?Registered agent vs virtual mailboxNorthwest vs ZenBusiness vs Bizee
4. 4

   Step 4 ·M Money

   Open a US business account

   Mark done

   A US account in the LLC’s name, with its own routing and account number, is where US clients and payment platforms pay the LLC. Which providers take you depends on where you are tax resident, and each provider publishes that differently.

   What you need

   • The EIN (step 2)
   • Formation documents
   • Passport
   • A documented address (step 3)

   What the record shows

   Answer question 1 to see which of these providers publish acceptance for your country, which are silent and which publish a restriction: Mercury, Wise Business, Relay, Lili, Meow. The full grid is the Banking Access Index.

   *Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.

   Keeping a second account openBanking Access Index (19 providers × 8 countries)Business accounts compared
5. 5

   Step 5 ·M Money

   Get paid

   Mark done

   How money reaches the LLC depends on who pays you. Invoiced clients pay the account from step 4 directly; online checkout and marketplaces run through a payment platform, and each platform publishes its own country rules.

   What you need

   • The US account from step 4
   • The EIN
   • The documented business address from step 3

   What the record shows

   Answer question 2 to narrow this to your case. For a US LLC the question that decides is whether the platform takes the US company, and each one answers it in its own terms:

   • StripeThe US LLC qualifies, on the vendor’s published terms

     “Registered businesses must be registered in the US, even if you operate in another country” Source

   • PaddleNot published: whether a US LLC owned from abroad qualifies

     Searched and NOT found: no first-party Paddle statement on whether a US LLC owned by a resident of a listed country is read as the US entity or as the owner. The sign-up essentials page is a configuration checklist; the verification pages describe documents, not jurisdiction tests.

   • Lemon SqueezyThe vendor names a US entity as the route

     “Today Managed Payments support merchants in 35+ countries and we’re expanding to more later this year. If you do not operate in a country that Stripe supports, check out Atlas where you can incorporate your own C-Corp or LLC.” Source

   • PayPalThe US LLC qualifies, on the vendor’s published terms

     “If you are a business, the business must be organized in, operating in, or a resident of, the United States or one of its territories to open a U.S. PayPal account and use the PayPal services.” Source

   Payment Platform Availability IndexPayment platforms compared
6. 6

   Step 6 ·T Tax

   First-year filings

   Mark done

   Two tax systems see the LLC. On the US side, a single-member LLC owned by a non-US person files an information return every year, with or without revenue. On the home side, your own country’s rules decide how the LLC’s profit is taxed and reported.

   What you need

   • A record of every transaction between you and the LLC (money in, money out, what you paid on its behalf)
   • A CPA who works with foreign-owned LLCs, for the US return and for how it meets your home-country return

   What the record shows

   • A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120. It is due April 15, extendable to October 15 with Form 7004. The penalty for not filing is $25,000 per form, per year. Form 5472: the $25,000 penalty

   Your home-country side

   Your country’s own rules decide how the LLC's profit is taxed and reported at home. A CPA or accountant who knows how your country treats a US LLC reads the two sides together.

   How a non-resident-owned US LLC is taxedForm 5472 filing guideCross-border tax services compared
7. 7

   Step 7 ·A Accountability

   Deadline reminders (optional)

   Mark done

   The US dates repeat every year: the federal return, the state annual report and the registered-agent renewal. The compliance calendar lists them for Delaware, Wyoming, Florida, New York and California, each with its statutory source.

   What you need

   • An email address
   • Your formation state and date, for the state dates

   Track the dates that carry penalties

   Get the federal deadlines by email: 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before each, each linked to its statutory source. The state dates follow once the calendar has your state and formation date.

   Email addressEmail me my deadlines

   Free. Deadlines only — no sales sequence. One-click unsubscribe in every email.

   Cross-border compliance checklistCompliance calendar

See how these four areas interact for you: Quick Check — the 2-minute short form of the Free Diagnostic.