US Company Registration for Non-Residents

Which state to choose - Wyoming or Delaware

A US company can work with clients across America and abroad, wherever it is registered. The state decides the fees, the annual reports and what appears in the public registry.

• Wyoming. The LLC filing fee is $100 and the annual report starts at $60. There is no state income tax, and member names don't go into the registry. A good fit for online services, SaaS and marketplace sellers.
• Delaware. Every LLC pays a $400 annual tax by June 1 and files no separate annual report. Founders pick it when they plan venture funding and a C-Corp.

An S Corp isn't an option for a foreign owner, because IRS rules don't allow nonresident aliens as shareholders. So a founder outside the US usually chooses between an LLC and a C-Corp.

If you need the company to move to the US, the requirements are different. See US visas for business and investors and the L-1 visa for transfers to a US branch.

A business bank account for your US company

You open the account after formation and once the EIN arrives. Large US banks such as Chase or Bank of America open business accounts at a branch. Without a trip, you are left with fintech accounts and payment services, and they check the owner as well as the company - where you live and where you run the business from.

Citizens of some countries find it hard to open an account. Some fintech providers don't accept owners who live in certain countries, and others limit what the account can do depending on the owner's address. We look at your country of residence before formation, not after.

Payment services such as Payoneer or Wise Business are not banks, but they can give the company US account details to receive payments from clients. What Wise opens depends on the country of your trading address, meaning the place you actually run the business from. A registered agent's address doesn't count. You pass the identity check yourself, with your passport and a selfie. Stripe is connected once the company has an EIN and an account.

Fintech providers don't always explain why they close an account. LLC owners most often link closures to buying crypto from the company account or logging in through a VPN or from a country other than the one in the application. Payments should also match the business you described when you opened the account. Keep at least two working accounts or payment services, so one closure doesn't stop your payments.

What the company files after registration

A single-member LLC owned by a nonresident reports to the IRS even if it hasn't earned a dollar.

• Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120, every year by April 15. It goes to the IRS by mail or fax, e-filing isn't allowed. The penalty for not filing is $25,000.
• State annual report. Wyoming charges from $60 a year, Delaware has the $400 annual tax instead of a report.
• BE-13 for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), within 45 days after forming a company in which a foreign person owns 10% or more. You file it even if BEA hasn't contacted you. For a new LLC it's almost always the short Claim for Exemption, used when the cost of setting up the company is $40 million or less. The penalty for not filing starts at $5,911.
• If the LLC has two or more members, the IRS treats it as a partnership. Instead of Form 5472, it files Form 1065 by March 15 and a K-1 for each member. A late return costs $255 per member for each month, up to 12 months.
• If the LLC pays US contractors, it issues Form 1099-NEC to each one paid $2,000 or more in a year. The threshold applies to payments from 2026, before that it was $600.

Companies created in the US no longer file beneficial ownership (BOI) reports with FinCEN. FinCEN made this permanent with its final rule of August 11, 2026.

Taxes in your home country depend on its own laws. Many countries have controlled foreign company rules, so we discuss the structure before formation, not after.

If you already have an LLC

If your company was formed through an online service or an intermediary, check it before you open an account or go through a payment service's verification.

• Company status. In Wyoming it's free in the state registry, where the three Standing fields (Tax, RA, Other) should read "Good". In Delaware, unpaid tax shows for free on the tax payment page, a status check costs $10 and status with filing history $20.
• Delaware tax. If the $400 isn't paid by June 1, the state adds a $200 penalty and 1.5% interest a month. After three years of non-payment the company becomes void.
• Tax classification with the IRS. Formation services sometimes file Form 8832 or Form 2553 (S Corp election) for a non-resident. An S Corp isn't available to a foreign owner, and a new classification election usually can't be made for 60 months.
• EIN letter (CP-575). The responsible party in it should be the owner. If an intermediary got the EIN on their own number, a bank may refuse the account.
• Operating Agreement. The owner's address in it should be current, because the bank compares it with the application.

You can check the state status yourself. If you find discrepancies or debts, we'll go through them at a consultation, which costs $150.