Setting up in the United States: every step

1 Form the company

Start here. We compare 10 states and what each one charges.

Compare the statesEvery published price, lowest first

2 Open a business bank account

The company needs a US bank account to receive card payouts and pay US bills. Online banks can open one for a founder abroad, but each one has its own list of countries it accepts. Some lists use where you live, and some use your citizenship, so check your country on each page before you apply.

What to know

• Mercury says it supports US companies with founders from around the world and that you do not need to be a US citizen or resident. The company must be formed in the US, have existing or planned US operations, and give a principal place of business address. Residential addresses are accepted. Registered agent addresses, P.O. boxes and UPS Store addresses are not. support.mercury.com/hc/en-us/articles/28770467511060…
• Mercury cannot open accounts for founders who live in the countries on its prohibited list. The list is based on country of residence, not citizenship. It names about 50 countries, among them Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Russia. support.mercury.com/hc/en-us/articles/28771710754580…
• Relay lets a non-US resident use a registered agent address as the business address. The business also needs a real operating address, and every owner must give a residential address. A personal address cannot be a P.O. box or a virtual mailbox. relayfi.com/hc/en-us/articles/23792837830676…
• Bluevine opens accounts for owners of US companies only if the owner lives in one of 25 countries it lists: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom. bluevine.com/us-business-banking-for-internat…
• Lili uses citizenship, not residence. It supports applicants with citizenship from 20 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the UAE, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. support.lili.co/hc/en-us/articles/8993238767258-…
• Chase says that when you open an account in person, all members or managers of an LLC must be present. It says a single-member LLC can open online. Its list of IDs for non-US citizens who are not permanent residents is a passport or a Matricula Consular card, and it asks for an SSN, an ITIN or an EIN. chase.com/content/chase-ux/en/business/kno…

Options and published costs

We could not find: Brex and Novo were read but not listed. Brex says it needs a US physical address and, for startups, a $50,000 minimum cash balance. Novo's requirements page does not say whether a founder abroad can open an account. Payoneer was not read on its own account pages for a US company, so it is not listed as a US business account. Mercury's pricing page shows a '$35/mo, waived until Dec 31, 2026' item and says paid plans start at $35 a month, while it shows Mercury Plus at $29.90. We could not tell which item the $35 belongs to. Bluevine publishes a $50,000 deposit offer for international owners. We did not list it because it is a promotion. We did not read Bank of America's own page. Chase is the one traditional bank row. Relay's document list asks for a physical US address for each owner, but its registered-agent page says a home address outside the US is valid. We could not tell which applies to a founder abroad.

3 Set up a way to take payments

You can take card payments with a payment processor, or sell through a merchant of record that sells for you and handles sales tax. Several processors ask for the personal tax number of the person on the account, which a founder abroad may not have. Check that rule first.

What to know

• Stripe says it checks an EIN with an IRS letter. The documents it accepts are IRS Letter 147C, the SS-4 confirmation letter, an IRS fax transmission letter or an EIN assistance letter. The business name on the document must match the legal name exactly. docs.stripe.com/acceptable-verification-document…
• Shopify says that even when you sign up as a registered company with an EIN, it asks for the SSN or ITIN of the people on file. Individuals and sole proprietors must live in the US. Payouts go to a US checking account in USD that accepts ACH, or to Shopify Balance. help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payme…
• PayPal says a US Business account sign-up asks for your full legal name, email, tax ID or SSN, a business description and your business bank account details. paypal.com/us/business/open-business-account
• Lemon Squeezy says it is the merchant of record. It collects and calculates sales tax and VAT and pays the taxes on your behalf. lemonsqueezy.com/pricing
• Paddle may ask for your business registration documents and an ownership breakdown that shows every owner with 25% or more. It says it cannot accept utility bills or tax documents such as an EIN for this check. paddle.com/help/start/account-verification/…

Options and published costs

We could not find: Stripe's own support pages on US account requirements and on the tax ID of a non-US representative did not load, so we have no Stripe-published rule for a founder abroad. We did not read PayPal's or Lemon Squeezy's own rules for owners who live outside the US. We did not find Paddle's rule on a US company with a founder abroad beyond the unsupported-country list.

4 File the yearly tax forms

The federal forms for a foreign-owned company are covered in the notes above (Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120). Beyond those, you pay state fees, you may owe sales tax in the states where you sell, and you give a Form W-8 to payers. A firm can prepare Form 5472 for a flat price.

What to know

• A foreign-owned US disregarded entity that must file Form 5472 can ask for more time by filing Form 7004 by the regular due date of the pro forma Form 1120. The IRS says to write 'Foreign-owned U.S. DE' across the top of Form 7004. irs.gov/instructions/i5472
• Every state sets its own yearly report or tax, and each state page on this site lists the figure. For example, Delaware says an LLC pays $400 a year on or before 1 June and files no annual report. A late payment adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest a month. corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions
• After the Wayfair court ruling, a state can require a seller with no office there to collect sales tax. South Dakota's tax office says a business with no presence in the state must get a licence if its gross sales into the state pass $100,000 in the current or previous year. Each state sets its own rule. dor.sd.gov/media/yh0n3oc2/remote-seller-bul…
• The IRS says a foreign individual gives Form W-8BEN to the payer when the payer asks, not to the IRS. A foreign individual who owns a disregarded entity alone is treated as the owner of the income it receives. Without the form, the payer may have to withhold 30% or backup withholding. irs.gov/instructions/iw8ben

Options and published costs

We could not find: We did not find a published price for a C corporation's full Form 1120 from the firms listed. We did not find a US government page that says a foreign owner of an LLC with no US business has no US income tax return. The IRS notes above cover how a foreign owner is taxed. Sales tax rules differ by state. We read South Dakota's page as the example, not every state. The research file listed SDO CPA at USD 1,500. The firm's pricing page now says USD 3,000. Both are shown.

5 Keep a registered address and a mailbox

Every US company must keep a registered agent in its state. The agent receives legal papers. This is not the same as a mailbox or a business address, and some banks refuse a registered agent address as your operating address.

What to know

• The Wyoming Secretary of State says all businesses, domestic or foreign, must continuously keep a registered agent. The agent needs a physical Wyoming address to accept service of process. sos.wyo.gov/faqs.aspx
• Wyoming says post office boxes, drop boxes, virtual addresses, mail forwarding locations and UPS or FedEx stores do not qualify as a registered office address. sos.wyo.gov/faqs.aspx
• A mailbox company that receives your mail needs a signed USPS Form 1583. It needs two IDs, one a government photo ID and one that confirms your address. You sign in front of the agent or a notary, and the USPS form allows this by real-time audio and video. about.usps.com/forms/ps1583.pdf
• Mercury does not accept a registered agent address, a P.O. box or a UPS Store address as a company's principal place of business. Plan a separate address for your bank application. support.mercury.com/hc/en-us/articles/28770467511060…

Options and published costs

We could not find: iPostal1 and Anytime Mailbox pages do not state if the mailbox address is accepted as a registered agent address or as a bank address. VirtualPostMail's pricing page names a free registered agent with every mailbox plan, but we could not read its prices. We did not read Stable's pages. The research file had no price for Registered Agents Inc, Anytime Mailbox, iPostal1 and Earth Class Mail. The Registered Agents Inc price is $200, and a third-party site listing $99 is wrong. We did not read each state's registered agent price rule. Wyoming is the example.

6 Decide what insurance you need

The law asks for insurance mainly when a company has employees. A company with no US staff usually buys insurance only by choice, for example because a customer or landlord asks for it. General liability is the usual first policy.

What to know

• The SBA says workers' compensation is required for employers, through a commercial carrier, on a self-insured basis or through a state program. Disability insurance is required in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico. Unemployment insurance varies by state. sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-busin…
• The SBA says the federal government requires every business with employees to have workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance, and that you may also be legally required to buy other types. sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-busin…
• The SBA says general liability insurance is for any business. It covers financial loss from bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses, libel, slander, and defending lawsuits. sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-busin…
• A 2017 SBA article says LLC members who are not employees are usually not covered by workers' compensation, and state law may let them opt in. sba.gov/blog/rethinking-insurance-covera…

Options and published costs

We could not find: We did not find an official page that lists the insurance a company with no US employees and no US premises must hold. The SBA pages tie the legal duties to employees. We did not find whether each insurer sells to a company owned by a founder who lives abroad. The SBA's 'federal government requires' wording is the SBA's own. Workers' compensation rules are set by each state.

7 Pay yourself and hire people

The company gives you no right to work or live in the US (see the visa note above). Pay for work you do outside the US follows different tax rules from pay for work done in the US. If you hire a US employee, you need payroll software and a state registration.

What to know

• The IRS says a nonresident alien generally owes US income tax only on income from US sources. For salaries, wages, other pay and personal-services business income, the source is where the services are performed. irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpay…
• The SBA says employers must pay Social Security taxes at the same rate as their employees, and must carry workers' compensation. Unemployment insurance varies by state and you may need to register with your state workforce agency. sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-busin…
• The IRS tells a payer to ask for a Form W-8 from any person it believes is a foreign person, before making the payment. With a valid Form W-8 the payer is exempt from reporting the payment on a Form 1099 and from backup withholding. irs.gov/instructions/iw8

Options and published costs

We could not find: We did not find an IRS page that says how a foreign owner of a US LLC should pay themselves (wages or owner draw). Ask a tax adviser. ADP publishes no price on the page we read. We did not read whether Gusto, Rippling or ADP will set up payroll for a company with no US address or a foreign owner. We did not read each state's employer registration page. The SBA names the state workforce agency as the place to start. We did not read a payroll provider's own page on paying a contractor abroad in detail beyond Gusto's fee line.