Set up a U.S. LLC as a non-U.S. founder and stay compliant
A live single-member U.S. LLC with an EIN, a U.S. business account, Stripe taking real payments, and your year-one compliance calendar mapped — set up in about 4-8 weeks without paying an agency $500 for the free parts.
One-time payment — yours to keep forever · Free updates through 2026
Included with every copy
- Your own copy — keep it forever
- Gets better over time — free updates included
- Run it on web and mobile
- Invite a partner to go through it with you — you share the same progress
- 7 knowledge checks to test what you've learned
- The playbook's community — ask questions, get additions, and see how other buyers improve it, right on the step
Who it's for
Non-U.S. residents (not U.S. citizens or green-card holders) running an online business — freelance, SaaS, agency, or creator — who mainly need Stripe, U.S. banking rails, or a U.S. business identity, and are comfortable doing paperwork carefully.
Who it's NOT for
U.S. persons; anyone raising venture capital (you likely want a Delaware C-corp, a different path); people with U.S. employees, offices, or inventory in a warehouse; and anyone who wants someone else to click every button for them.
About this playbook
I set up my own U.S. LLC from outside the States to take Stripe payments, and I made almost every expensive mistake first: I nearly paid an agency for steps the government does for free, and I had never heard of the **Form 5472** filing that carries a $25,000 penalty. This is the guide I wish I'd had — for non-U.S. solopreneurs, SaaS founders, agency owners, and creators who want Stripe, cleaner banking, or a U.S. business identity, and want to do it right rather than fast-and-wrong. It walks you from 'which state' to a working payout, then hands you the compliance calendar that keeps the whole thing from quietly blowing up in April.
What you'll do, step by step
5 phases · 16 steps
Free preview — these steps are open to read in full before you buy.
Half the people who form a U.S. LLC didn't need one, and a chunk of the rest picked the wrong state. Get these three calls right and everything after is just paperwork.
- 1Write down why you actually need a U.S. LLCFree preview15 min
In one sentence, name the concrete thing a U.S. entity unlocks for you — usually Stripe in a supported country, USD banking your local bank can't match, or a U.S. business identity clients trust. If your reason is vague ("it seems more professional"), stop here; you'll spend money and hours for a feeling.
You're done when
A single written sentence naming the specific capability the LLC gives you that you can't get at home.
Tip
The strongest reason is usually payments: if Stripe or PayPal won't fully onboard your home country but will onboard a U.S. LLC, that alone can justify the setup. "It looks legit" rarely does.
Watch out
A U.S. LLC does not make you tax-free and does not, by itself, get you a U.S. visa or the right to live there. If either of those is your real goal, this is the wrong tool.
- 2Choose your state: Wyoming by defaultFree preview25 min
For a non-resident with no U.S. staff, office, or inventory, Wyoming is the sensible default: it costs about $100 to form and roughly $60 a year to keep alive, and it doesn't publish member names. Delaware is the famous one, but its flat annual tax is $300 and its real advantage — the Court of Chancery and investor familiarity — only matters if you're raising venture capital, which usually means a C-corp, not an LLC.
You're done when
A chosen state (Wyoming unless you have a specific, written reason for Delaware) and the yearly carrying cost you're signing up for.
Tip
Ignore "best state to form an LLC" listicles pushing Delaware to everyone — most are written by agencies that resell Delaware packages. Match the state to your actual situation, not the brand name.
Watch out
Do not form in a random third state because a blog said it's cheapest. If you form outside where you actually operate and later need to register elsewhere, you pay twice. For a location-independent online business, your formation state is your only state — keep it simple.
- 3Kill the "U.S. LLC = tax-free" myth before you fileFree preview30 min
A foreign-owned single-member LLC is usually a disregarded entity: whether it owes U.S. income tax turns on whether it has U.S. effectively-connected income (a U.S. trade or business) — a fact-specific call only a cross-border accountant should make. Separately, your home country still taxes you on your residency and permanent-establishment rules; the LLC changes nothing there.
You're done when
A clear-eyed understanding that you may owe zero U.S. income tax yet still owe filings and home-country tax — and a note to budget for an accountant.
Tip
Even with zero U.S. tax due, a foreign-owned LLC almost always has to file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year. The filing is mandatory; the tax may be nil. Those are two different things people constantly confuse.
Watch out
The single most expensive rookie mistake here is not knowing Form 5472 exists. Skipping it carries a $25,000 minimum penalty even if your LLC made no profit, because the obligation is triggered by transactions with you (including money you put in or take out), not by income.
Details
What you need first
A valid passport, a working email and phone, a card that pays in USD, the ability to send a fax (an online fax service is fine), and roughly $150-350 for first-year fees. No SSN or ITIN needed.
Tags
What people who used it say
Only buyers who got through at least half the steps can leave a review.
No reviews yet. The first ones appear once buyers get through at least half the steps.
Common questions
About the creator
Freelancer & indie maker. I write the playbooks I wish I'd had when I started earning online.