How to start a US LLC as a non-resident

Who can own a US LLC

Anyone, with very few exceptions. LLCs are created under state law, and no state limits ownership to US citizens or residents. A person living in India, Nigeria, the UK, Brazil or anywhere else can be the only member of a Wyoming or Delaware LLC. Other companies and trusts can be members too.

What every state does require is a registered agent: a person or company with a physical street address in the state, there during business hours to accept lawsuits and official mail. If you live abroad you can't be your own agent, so you'll pay a service for this. The agent's address goes on the public record instead of yours. See the registered agent rules for every state.

The real limits come later and from other places. US sanctions block residents of some countries from US banks and services. Banks and payment processors set their own country lists. And owning a company doesn't give you any right to live or work in the US. Each of those is covered below.

What it costs

Government costs are small. The state fee is the only mandatory payment to form the LLC, and the IRS doesn't charge for an EIN. Here's what the five states non-residents ask about most charge, from each state's own filing office:

On top of that, budget for three things the state doesn't sell you:

• Registered agent: Northwest charges $39 plus the state fee to form the LLC, with the first year of agent service included, then $125 a year. Bizee's Basic package is $0 plus the state fee with a free first year, then $149 a year. Prices checked on each provider's site on November 1, 2026.
• EIN help (optional): the EIN itself is free. Services charge to apply for you: Northwest lists $200 for an EIN without an SSN and Bizee lists $70 for its EIN service.
• Annual tax filing: if you hire a US accountant or enrolled agent to prepare Form 5472, fees vary widely. You can also file it yourself. It's a short form, but the penalty for getting it wrong is not.

For every state's numbers side by side, use our LLC cost by state table.

The eight steps, in order

Do them in this order. Banks want the EIN letter before they'll open an account, and the IRS wants the LLC to exist before it issues an EIN. People who book a flight to open a bank account before the EIN arrives usually fly home without one.

US taxes for foreign owners

This is where most bad advice lives, so here's what the IRS actually says.

A single-member LLC is "disregarded"

By default, an LLC with one owner doesn't pay federal income tax itself. Its income is treated as the owner's. For a nonresident owner, that means any US income tax is figured on the owner's own return, Form 1040-NR, not on an LLC return.

Whether you owe depends on "effectively connected income"

The IRS taxes nonresidents on income that's effectively connected with a US trade or business. In its own words, if a foreign person "owns and operates a business in the U.S. selling services, products, or merchandise, the foreign person is, with certain exceptions, engaged in a trade or business in the U.S." (IRS, effectively connected income). Where the work is done, who does it and whether there's an office, staff or inventory in the US all matter. A tax treaty between the US and your country can change the answer. This is a fact-specific question, and it's the one to pay a professional for.

Some US income is taxed at the source

Passive US-source income such as dividends, interest and royalties is generally subject to 30% withholding unless a treaty lowers it (see IRS Publication 519). Because your LLC is disregarded, US payers treat you as the owner of its income, and the IRS says the single owner of a disregarded entity, not the entity, gives the payer Form W-8BEN when asked (Form W-8BEN instructions).

Form 5472 is due even if you owe nothing

Since 2017, the IRS treats a US LLC wholly owned by one foreign person as a corporation for one purpose: reporting transactions with its owner. Putting money into the LLC, taking money out and paying formation costs all count. If there were any such transactions in the year, the LLC files Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120. It can't be e-filed. You fax it to 855-887-7737 or mail it to the IRS in Ogden, Utah. The penalty for not filing is $25,000. Full Form 5472 guide.

Your home country probably taxes you too

US rules are only half the picture. Most countries tax their residents on worldwide income, and some have rules aimed at foreign companies their residents control. Check with a tax adviser where you live before you move money through the LLC.

BOI reporting in 2026: not for US LLCs

If you read older guides, you'll see warnings about Beneficial Ownership Information reports to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. That changed. FinCEN exempted US-created companies in an interim final rule published March 26, 2025, and its final rule of August 11, 2026, effective August 14, 2026, made the exemption permanent. FinCEN's site now says plainly that "U.S. companies are exempt from BOI reporting requirements" and that only certain foreign companies registered to do business in the US must report (FinCEN).

A Wyoming LLC owned by someone in Pakistan is a US company, so it doesn't file. Ignore letters demanding a BOI filing fee. They're a known scam, and FinCEN never charges to file.

Visas: owning isn't working

An LLC is a company, not an immigration benefit. Owning one doesn't give you a visa, a green card or permission to work in the US. Running the business from your home country is a different matter from working on it while you're physically in the US, and the second needs a status that allows it.

Some visa categories do involve business owners. USCIS notes that an H-1B worker who owns a controlling interest in the petitioning company (more than 50%, or majority voting rights) gets initial and first extension approvals of up to 18 months each, instead of up to 3 years (USCIS). Treaty investor (E-2) and intracompany transfer (L-1) visas are other routes with their own requirements. Students and visitors face strict limits on working. Get a US immigration attorney's advice for your exact visa before you do any hands-on work for the LLC inside the US.

Countries that hit walls

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control runs comprehensive sanctions on a short list of countries and regions, and US companies can't serve people there without a license (OFAC). Beyond that legal floor, banks set much longer lists of their own. Two examples from their help centers, checked November 3, 2026:

• Mercury won't open accounts for founders who live in its listed countries, which include Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Ukraine. It goes by country of residence, not citizenship (Mercury).
• Relay won't open an account if any owner holds citizenship or residency in its listed countries, which include Nigeria, Pakistan, Ukraine and Venezuela (Relay, updated August 11, 2026).

Forming the LLC is rarely the problem for people in these countries. Getting paid is. Check the bank and payment processor you plan to use before you pay for formation. Our bank account guide compares the options. Never use a VPN or someone else's address to get around these rules. Accounts found doing that get closed, often with funds held.

Addresses that get rejected

Your LLC can have three different addresses, and mixing them up causes most account rejections:

• Registered agent address: where the state and courts send legal papers. It has to be in your formation state.
• Principal or business address: where the business actually operates. For many non-residents, that's their real address abroad.
• Mailing address: where ordinary mail goes, which can be a mail-scanning service.

Payment companies have started checking. On September 30, 2026, Stripe added two verification error codes: one for addresses identified as a commercial mail receiving agency or virtual mailbox, and one for addresses identified as a registered agent's (Stripe changelog). In plain terms, don't give Stripe or a bank your registered agent's address as your business address. When a form asks where your business operates, the honest answer is usually your real address abroad.

Using a formation service as a non-resident

You can file everything yourself. If you'd rather not, here's how the two services we cover handle foreign owners, from their own sites and from what customers report publicly.

Our take: for a foreign owner, the formation itself is the easy part and either service can do it. Think hard before paying anyone to get your EIN. Calling the IRS international line yourself is free and often faster. Full write-ups: Northwest review · Bizee review · Bizee vs Northwest.

Expensive mistakes to avoid

1. Skipping Form 5472 because the LLC made no money. Putting in startup money counts as a reportable transaction. The penalty is $25,000.
2. Paying for an EIN without knowing it's free. The IRS doesn't charge, and international applicants can get one by phone.
3. Picking a state that doesn't match your business. If you'll have staff, an office or a warehouse in a state, you'll likely register there anyway. A Wyoming LLC with a Florida warehouse usually ends up paying both states.
4. Using the registered agent's address as your business address with banks and Stripe.
5. Choosing a bank after forming. Check that your country of residence and citizenship are accepted first.
6. Filing a BOI report or paying a "BOI fine" letter. US LLCs are exempt as of 2026.
7. Working in the US on the wrong visa because you own the company.
8. Forgetting the state. Delaware's $400 tax is due every June 1, and Wyoming's report is due on the first day of your anniversary month. Miss them and the state can dissolve your LLC.