Plain-English source guide
Guides for starting a U.S. company
Honest, source-led answers to the questions founders worldwide actually ask, especially non-U.S. residents.
- Guides
- 13
- founder questions
- Method
- Sources
- primary-first
- Reader
- Non-resident
- global founder lens
How to form a U.S. LLC as a non-resident
The complete 2026 walkthrough: choose a state, get an EIN with no SSN, open a U.S. bank account, connect Stripe, and stay compliant.
Form 5472: the $25,000 filing you can’t skip
Every foreign-owned LLC must file it — even at $0 income. Who files, what counts as reportable, and how to avoid the penalty.
Where should a non-resident incorporate?
Beyond the U.S. — a 2026 framework across the UK, Estonia, Singapore, the UAE and more. The four questions that actually decide it.
US LLC vs UK Ltd vs Estonia OÜ
The three most popular fully-remote, no-resident-director structures, head to head — setup, tax, banking and who each is for.
Incorporate with no resident director
Which countries let a non-resident be the sole director — and which force a paid nominee. The rule that decides your real cost.
Cheapest countries to incorporate
Ranked by government fee — plus the hidden costs (notary, capital, resident director) that make cheap-to-form rarely cheap-to-run.
Best state: Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico
A clear decision framework — and why Delaware is usually the wrong pick for a solo or e-commerce founder.
Open a U.S. business bank account
Mercury, Relay, Wise and Payoneer compared — what you need first, and who actually gets approved.
Taxes for a foreign-owned U.S. LLC
What non-residents actually owe — and the truth about the “zero U.S. tax” myth, in plain English.
BOI reporting & the CTA (2026 update)
What the Corporate Transparency Act now requires — and no longer requires — for non-resident-owned LLCs.
Get an EIN for free (no SSN needed)
Skip the $79 upsell — including the Form SS-4 path for founders with no SSN or ITIN.
How to name your LLC
Pick a name that clears all four hurdles — state rules, the register, trademarks, and the domain — in the right order.
DBA vs LLC name vs trademark
Entity name, DBA, and trademark do different jobs. What each is, where you register a DBA, and which protects your brand.
The founder’s starting-a-US-company checklist
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