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Form An LLC as Foreigner in USA
Mahfuz_SS_EHL
Host Rep, Veteran
in Help
Hi,
Which companies provide this service of forming an LLC as foreigner in USA ? Affordable Budget is a must & also if anybody can let me know charges after registrations I mean per year.
Thanks.
Comments
Forming the LLC is trivial. Ongoing costs of the company itself are negligible (a few hundred $$$ annually). First you have some thinking and deciding to do, which will impact your total operating expenses in a major way... here's some food for thought:
first and foremost, are you planning a US onshore or US offshore structure? Another words, do you want to run it as a local US business, with a local US bank account and US employees? Or as a offshore structure with no bank account and no sales to US residents?
who is/are the members (owners)? All foreigners or will there be US members? One member only or more?
what business will this LLC carry out? What is/are your target market(s)? This will determine whether you also need to register in other US states or not...
which state do you plan to form the LLC in? You have 50 states plus (very important!) Puerto Rico to choose from...
what's your exit strategy?
Check out Stripe Atlas and Clerky also check this guide by Stripe to learn more about Business incorporate in the US.
@adxn Why does it look too easy?
Because it is, I had a wonderful experience with Stripe Atlas, very easy, quick and pretty affordable. They will handle most of the things and explain you everything throughout the process. I was able to get my company incorporated for free because they were offering a one time $500 OFF back in August.
@adxn WOW ... let's see how easy it is
You can complete the process yourself under 100 bucks. Cost is dependable by state and which registered agent you are hiring.
Your registered agent can process everything for you if you are unable to do it yourself. That will cost about 150 to 200 bucks.
There is also many expensive solutions with option like mail forwarding/scanning, business phone number, Employer Identification Number (EIN) and many things. Depends on your needs.
This is free to get yourself, lol.
Are there no legal/other requirements? No need to file taxes as a foreigner?
Winterhost incoming.
Bookmarked for reference.
There's also the very important consideration of if you have any IP you're looking to protect. If you do and you're not based in the US and you don't have some other very strong reason to do it, absolutely avoid tying it to a US-based entity. Apart from being taxed more, if you later decide to transfer your IP out of country, you'll get hit with a >30% transfer fee/tax in addition to everything else you pay.
Tax wise, LLC is a pass through entity. Read: for IRS (the US tax office), members are the taxpayers, not the company. This has interesting implications if the company carries out no business in the US as foreigners with no US source income need not file nor pay tax in the US. Hrnce an offshore US LLC.
However, if the LLC does carry out business in the US, then you, the owner, are personally responsible for filing and paying tax to the IRS. This is where things start getting complicated and expensive. Your chosen business and the state of incorporation starts to matter. Some states charge state income tax, others don't. Some charge sales tax, others don't.
Then there is the subject of opening a bank account (in most cases, you need to visit the US in person). For any US bank you approach, they will be considering and vetting you, the foreigner, not your LLC.
Are you looking to establish the LLC with a hosting business in mind? Hosting is a global business. Why a US company at all? Why not incorporate your business in Hong Kong and save yourself 90% of the hassles of operating a company? Not to mention... no income tax on most or all of your income*
*) income derived outside Hong Kong is not subject to Hong Kong's company profits tax. You declare the income, but no tax is payable. Profits tax on HK source income is pretty low, too: 16%
And here's the real kicker: no tax on dividends paid out to shareholders, whether local or foreigners. No witholding tax. Nothing!
So whose gonna help me start my summer host?
But really.... this does sound interesting.
If you're looking to start a hosting business, a Ltd in the UK would make more sense.
Why?
Better conditions and less hassle for foreign registrations. There are services that do everything for you for pretty low prices. 1stformations starts at 125 GBP if you're not a UK resident, for example. Certificates, legal documents, domain names and a London business address are included.
mildly offtopic: How does one deal with VAT? It seems awfully complicated. Do I really need a VAT number for every single EU country? (am located in Germany) Thx
Why not just register LLC in closer well established APAC countries such a Hong Kong or Singapore?
No, that's the point of the EEC. One VAT ID to do business (and charge VAT) in the entire EEC.
Where you need to get a VAT ID, depends. Foreign entities with no physical footprint in the EU sometimes have a VAT ID starting with "EU" - not tied to a specific country.
Others don't seem to care...