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The lawyer I spoke to about getting residency in Argentina suggested that I setup a business to receive passive income. What am unsure of is the logistics of getting money into that business without having to work extra freelancing ( I?m currently employed full time). Curious if anyone has idea insight into how this could work. Can I invoice myself to get cash into the business to pay myself somehow?

@coreyarice A simpler option would be to setup a bank trust account, that pays you enough monthly to qualify for the visa (for two years). Most US banks offer such accounts, and it will meet the definition of guaranteed income.

Yeah, that?s what I talked to Burrup about. The lawyer I spoke with seemed to think that was a less than ideal option

because the government is catching on to how easy they are to setup

That?s a bummer, if they do not accept bank trust accounts anymore. Did the lawyer you talked to shared any details regarding what types of business income would qualify?

They do accept trust accounts but they are more critical of them because they are becoming aware of how easy the can be setup. It seemed like I could setup an LLC and show transfers from that LLC to personal accounts but I can double check

Hi guys! Some of our US clients ask us to fill out the W-9 for our WY LLC. The LLC is owned by a UK LLP. From earlier threads Simon mentioned that the form W-8BEN-E is relevant for US LLC that are owned by a foreign corporation. Any tips on filling out the 8 page form?

@felix You must fill in Part I, select Active NFFE in 5 and then tick the box in part XXV and sign in part XXX.

Do you put any tax treaty in Part III?

Also I assume Part I 4. I need to tick partnership (because UK LLP) and not corporation, right?

Do you put the US LLC in ?Name of the disregarded entity receiving the payment?? As it is a disregarded entity under the IRS I assume it?s simply not existing for them

@felix No, not in most cases. Correct No, you should not fill any of the boxes asking for information about the disregarded entity (it?s not referring to the LLC itself)

Fantastic! Thank you a ton for the ultra quick help!!!!

Hy guys, I am new here and currently registering my US LLC with Simon. I wanted to ask if you guys could recommend me a bank account to be able to connect to crypto exchanges like kraken for example. Is mercury suitable? I read quite some neg feedback about them and I am a little bit worried to open an account with them.

Hey peeps! Anyone knows if you can you avoid double taxation on US LLCs when becoming a non-resident of Canada? Planning to become non-resident so that would be a pretty sweet advantage. Currently running a C Corp for dropshipping so not very tax optimized but a hard reality for Canadian residents, thanks to the CRA.

@francoisleblanc007 If you stay in Canada, you could instead setup a US LP as that would not be taxed in the US (only in Canada, assuming that no work is performed in the US, and as a transparent entity, unlike a c-corp). If you leave Canada, how your US business will be taxed will depend on where you move to. In most cases, you?ll pay no US tax if no work is performed there (with an LLC that is treated as a disregarded entity or with an LP).

Hey Everyone! I'm excited to be a part of this group. My friends have had great things to say about Simon and this forum, and so far Simon has already been a great help! I wanted to make a post here because I'm curious to see if any of you have successfully set up the following business structure: A quick backstory: I?m a USA resident currently traveling and staying in Indonesia. My business is %100 generated online (digital products and courses). So naturally, I?ve been looking for ways to save on taxes & that?s when I reached out to Simon. He recommended that I set up an Estonian E-Residency Business (the holdings company) and then create a Wyoming LLC as a pass through company (which would be owned by the Estonian Business). The benefit would be that I can still use US banking, Credit Cards, and Payment Processors. Meanwhile all the profits would be sent off to Estonia meaning 0% would be taxed in Wyoming. Then I would just hire myself as an employee to the Estonian business, meaning I pay 0% Tax to Estonia. And since I?m living abroad & working for a foreign company: 1. I would qualify for the FEIE (100K income tax free) 2. Any income after 100K would only be taxed at a federal level (23%) Let me know if you see any loopholes here?  I?ve already applied for e-residency, I pick up my card next month, and then I?ll be moving forward with this structure asap (unless if there are flaws here). The only question I have for you all, is how does the money pass from Wyoming to Estonia? Is it considered a business expense? or how does it work? I?ve done a ton of research into everything so far, but I?m still fresh to the idea of holdings companies & pass through companies. Any help here would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Julian.

@simon Tagging you in case you it's the only way you get notified of messages like the one above :slightly_smiling_face:

If you process pyments through Stripe better open the account in Europe, not the US. This will save you a ton in fees.

@julian It?s not a business expense, it?s a profit distribution. It?s reported as such in the US on form 5472 (part V) and in Estonia on the annual report. I?m currently putting the finishing touches on an accounting / compliance guide for Estonia and will cover how to report US LLC / UK LLP / CA LP / LLP profits.

@simon Awesome! I did some more digging. Is it the same as filing a ?disregarded? entity? And is this a package you?ll be offering for sale? or is it a blog post?

Yes, the LLC in a situation like this is treated as a disregarded entity. It?s a blog post that will be available to all members (as part of the new FS site).

Hi guys! We get some comments from customers because we have a LLC in WY. For many people it still seems that your office is where your registered address is. We don?t care too much about privacy of the LLC, but it must be a passthrough with 0% corporate tax. Would we still have the before mentioned benefits if we would have a LLC in e.g. NY or San Francisco?

Couldn?t you setup an address in NYC/SF with a service that would forward any mail?

It?s not about the mail. It?s when people check our LLC they see that?s incorporated in Wyoming and that raises some questions, especially from US clients.

Recently someone asked us what we do in between all the buffalos hahahah

Following. I have the same issue. I thought about opening an office in another state, but our contracts have the legal business address on them. It's strange if you claim to be from NY but then you're contract says WY

exactly.

Any suggestions @simon?

I?ve never heard of that being an issue, it is fairly common to have entities registered in states other than where they operate like Delaware

You could use a correspondence address in another state, that will not usually trigger local taxation.

So as soon as we found a LLC in e.g. NY it will trigger taxation besides being a pss-through entity?

Forming a NY LLC will not usually trigger local taxation but selling to NY-based customers may, either directly or indirectly (for example, the annual filing fees for a NY LLC are based on your NY sales). There?s also some weird quirks such as having to place ads in local newspapers to announce the formation of the LLC. Frankly if you want to setup in a ?major? state you?d be better off in Florida or Texas.

ok, Thank you for the suggestion. That?s exactly what I am concerened about, the local quirks such as putting up a newspaper ad :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing:

Get address or virtual office in state like Florida, this should solve most of your problems and you wouldn't risk being taxed like in NY or CA

Thanks everyone!

Can somebody share a US LLC member certificate template?

@twinorita An operating agreement?

something like that?

You don?t need such certificates, the operating agreement lists all members and their stake. You can give copies to each members.

When delivering consultancy on fixed and/hourly fees to EU clients, is there a VAT advantage setting up a Wyoming LLC over a UK LLP?

No, as VAT has nothing to do with where a company is registered (and all to do with where your services are performed).

In form 5472 at which line should I put things like paying for company formation from personal funds? Or should I just put zeroes everywhere here and only list these transactions on separate sheet for part V?

@michal.opoka Yes, on part V

@simon Thanks, so 1f and 1h are also zero I guess, if I have nothing in part IV and VI

Correct

ok thanks a lot, IRS is certainly not making filling this easy

This is also tricky, should I put here: United States - because I still have to fill form 1120 pro-forma None - because it's disregarded entity Country of my tax residence - because it's where taxes are due, even though LLC doesn't fill any returns there as it's disregarded.

You have to enter the country where the member files his / her personal return (if natural person)

ah ok, I thought I only put that here

I hope that one day we get separate form for LLCs

You have to fill in all the countries boxes

yeah

I wouldn?t hold my breath on a new form! The IRS is extremely slow at this sort of things, they don?t even accept most forms via e-filing

yeah and they still use fax, I have seen fax machine only once in my life xD

when I was a kid

do you send these forms by mail or use some kind of online fax service?

I use Phaxio + Zapier (I dump forms in a folder, the name of which is the number to dial, and the forms are automatically picked up by Zapier and faxed)

It?s very efficient, considering the number of forms I fax every year

If you only need to fax one form, you can sign up for a free trial with hellofax or similar and cancel once you are done

I guess so, but isn't mail safer since IRS doesn't send anything back to confirm that they got it?

You get a confirmation when a fax has been successfully sent (with the details of the call). That?s good enough to challenge a penalty notice in case something happens to the form on their end

ah ok

that's nice to know

What?s the last day to file form 5472?

@asarun72 Mid-April

How long is it taking to get ITINs for bank accounts for WY LLCs opened by foreigners (without SSNs)?

@claudiaroitmancorp An EIN you mean? A few months at the moment

Yes, I meant an EIN. By few months you mean 2 or 8?

@claudiaroitmancorp 2-3 at the most

That?s for an EIN. For an ITIN application it currently takes 4-6 months.

Which one is needed for what?

The EIN is needed for the LLC. The ITIN is a personal tax ID, optional but useful when it comes to opening bank accounts, applying for credit cards etc.

I needed to wait 9 weeks!

@community, Simon Can I register a digital mail address in Munich to receive mails from europe without triggering tax residency or run into any problems? I am not a German citizen and have zero ties with Germany. Can I open a private bank account with this address in Germany or can I run into trouble? Additionally I would like to register a digital private address in Bangkok or Hong Kong to receive my mails from the US and also europe. Can I use the asian address to proof residency? Are these addresses sufficient for address proof when applying for bank accounts? Is clevver a good vendor to rent addresses? Thank you very much!

For europe, is it better to choose a low tax country like Cyprus or Malta, then Munich?

hi, check out public reviews of http://clevver.io, i heard many bad things which is why i would avoid them, i am from germany and if no work is executed here, no problem. Most german banks i know of here will not work with virtual/mailbox adresses, but there are german banks like dkb/fidor which allow remote opening also without a german residency/adress.

Any recommendation for renting digital addresses? Generally I only need it for receiving mails in europe and there is probably no need for opening a german bank account. thank you Thomas!

http://getcaya.com or http://mailboxde.com are probably the best choices depending on your needs

thank you very much!

Using a virtual address won?t usually create a tax liability. You can use virtual addresses when opening bank accounts but you?ll still have to provide the banks with your real tax ID.

@simon What if I don't have a tax ID as a digital nomad? Is the EIN number for my business sufficient?

For a personal account you?ll have to provide a tax ID. If you do not maintain a tax residency, you?ll need to provide that of your home country.

Here?s the requirements per country

@simon If I move to Asia and lets say live in Indoensia or Thailand, which Tax number should I apply for if I don't want to pay any taxes. Does it make sense to apply for a Tin in the US or would this trigger tax duty there?

If you move to either of those countries, you?ll be liable to tax on your worldwide income (they aren?t low tax countries either). I wouldn?t recommend using a US tax ID to claim tax residency in the US as that would trigger FATCA (and might raise questions at the IRS).

@simon What if I stay under 180 days? How can trigger tax liability in Thailand if my income is earned outside of Thailand and this income is tax exempted? Secondly, how they can tax me when their stupid laws say, that I am not allowed to work in Thailand? I could remit a little bit and pay 5% tax in Thailand like we already discussed? Or whats my best option and where should I get a Tax ID? HK?

Getting a UAE tax ID is far easier. Only a few hundred dollars at the moment via the Dubai remote work visa.

Do you have to stay 180 days in Dubai to get a tax id ?

You need to spend 183+ days to qualify for tax residency but there is no stay requirement to apply for an Emirates ID (the number usually used in lieu of a personal tax ID in the UAE).

May you share a link how I can apply for one? Thank you!

@simon How long is this emirates ID valid, 1 year? I would have a flight to Dubai this Friday with a 12h layover, just in case I cannot do it online.

You can apply for the visa online but for the ID card you must go in person. The visa is valid for a year.

is it necessary to get an EIN for an LLC if it won't trade/have a bank account?

let's say it'll just hold a domain name, that's it

yeah, you need it to fill form 5472

due date is april 15, right? so if I form an LLC next week (foreign owned & disregarded, ofc) the deadline would be april 15, 2021?

yea seems like it, according to llcuniversity

same with form 1120

any other forms to file? anything related to UBO?

@seb.malek The deadline would be April 2022, not 2021 (the 2021 deadline is for LLCs active during FY2020).

For most LLCs (treated as disregarded entities) there?s no other forms to file (assuming no ECI).

yeah, 2022 :slightly_smiling_face:

awesome, thanks

I made a questionable decision and set up an S-corp through Stripe Atlas last year, because I had a business idea (print on demand) that I was convinced I could make work in the US. Long story short, it did not work, and now I just want to get rid of the company, so I don't have to deal with taxes, filings etc... What is the easiest/cheapest way to do that? Or does it make sense to sell it to somebody who needs a new, blank company? It is ~9 months old, has a bank account with Mercury etc.

@klaus I assume you mean a C Corp? (an S Corp cannot usually be owned by a non-resident)

@simon Yes, my bad. C Corp :slightly_smiling_face:

Dissolving a C Corp in Delaware is fairly simple (you file a notice and pay a dissolution fee, around 200 USD). Once the company has been dissolved, file your final return with the IRS and include a copy of the certificate of dissolution plus a short notice asking them to close your EIN account.

Thanks. It sounds like something I need a professional to do for me - I don't know how to file returns, notices etc. :)

But maybe if I put a few hours in, I would figure it out.

There was almost no activity in the company, so I guess it is as simple as it could possibly be

@simon my LLC is filed on the Nov 24 2020, do i need to submit the 5472 form this april? And what else should I do?

yes you have to

@michal.opoka thank you

what kind of financial related accounts are useful for a non-resident US LLC that are easy to open? I have registered for Mercury and RelayFi.

@joe has mercury asked you for an office lease agreement?

i haven't got there yet.... still under verification, would they ask?

i didn't know that

oh

yea I think they do

oh damn

what about relayfi, have they approved your account?

then it will essentially shut me down..

same, under verification lol

hmm

well good luck

so both asked for lease agreement in your experience?

have you tried transferwise?

well based on what i've read so far, yes

:no_mouth:

oh damn

ok

haven't used any of those myself though

as I don't have a US LLC anyway

i haven't tried transferwise

tw should be fine I think

will transferwise work for non-us US LLC?

ok

thanks!

I think so

I never heard that they ask for a lease agreement

I used http://www.mountainbusinesscenter.com/. They set up a mailbox for me and provided an office lease when I asked for verification with mercury.

Mercury doesn?t need a lease agreement, nor does the major banks (Chase, Citi, BoA etc). Usually it?s the payment processing services that ask for such documents

mercury asked me to validate the address I provided them, which was my mailbox address. They accepted the lease document. I suppose it might have been different had I provided them with a residential address in another country for which I could provide utility bills.

hm, okay

Just to update, RelayFi and TransferWise opened for my US LLC. No lease agreement needed.

what did you need to open account with RelayFi? what questions about your business did they ask?

nice

they virtually asked nothing, just mere description of what we are doing.

I got denied with Brex as well, Mercury already denied me before. What can I do now?

Thats what Brex told me: Usually, organizations with Brex have a physical product that they sell. Unfortunately, the type of business that you have, is not in the scope of business that Brex is onboarding at this time.

I just ask them if they would onboard me if I sell screen protectors. They are insane and I am speechless.

What type of business do you have?

I told them I offer IT services

Mercury I told I am a trader which was a mistake, so I tried to go with IT services and also failed

@twinorita Try http://relayfi.com and http://transferwise.com

I applied for relayfi, transferwise and mercury last week, i have been approved for all three.

Whats your business activity?

relayfi I applied yesterday, I hope they accept me although I didn't tell them the real nature of my business

as a trader it seems to get treated like an alien in the US

I used IT Consulting

Hey @simon I'm contemplating if it's still worth to setup an Estonian holdings company for a Wyoming LLC as a USA resident. I currently live abroad so I was planning on using this setup to qualify for the FEIE income exclusion... but I was recently told that I don't need to be working for a foreign comapany to qualify for that (I just need to be out of the US 330 days of the year) and even if I'm working for a US comapany I will qualify. Is this true? And if so is there any point to continuing to setup the Estonian Business?

As a side note. I'll be outside of the USA for the rest of the year, but I'm probably moving back early 2022. So the benefit to a Estonian business I see would be avoiding all self-employment tax & state tax? or does it not work that way? Thanks in advance for any help!

@julian That is correct, you will qualify if you spend >330 days overseas. The exemption only applies to earned income, however, and does not apply to the self employment tax. A foreign holding company allows you to pay yourself a salary (earned income) and avoid self employment tax. If you plan to move back to the US, however, setting up a C-Corp instead might be a better idea.

Okay that makes sense. Wouldn't a C Corp just be better from the start then? or does having an Estonian company have some benefit over a US C Corp in my situation?

Given that you plan to move back next year, yes that would likely make more sense (especially if you can keep your profits to a minimum).

anyone looking to get an EIN for a US LLC? I think I found a way to get it quickly. Pls DM me if you are interested. I don't need it because Simon has got it for me.

I need to transfer money out of my US LLC business account to my private account to fund my forex account and other accounts. Now I am afraid that they ask for information and that they block the transfer. Anybody with experience how I can handle this without getting into trouble? Thank you very much!

Hi, for those that formed an US LLC and already had money making websites, how did you manage the transfer? Do I need to include this as a capital contribution? Or I can just create a new registrar account for the company and put the domains there + changing the payment details on the ad providers/affiliates. Thanks

Do you guys think a US LLC or Estonia OÜ is better with Residence in Thailand?

@taylorwalkerllc They are both equivalent if you are planning to be fully compliant in Thailand (a business run from Thailand must register a PE there and pay corporation tax). If you plan to fly under the radar, a US LLC will work better as it is far easier to "hide".

@simon I have a question that's been bugging me. Lets say I have a non-US SMLLC, I sold my service to a customer outside the US, but I bought the service from a contractor in the US, would this be regarded as USTB or ECI?

@joe No, assuming the contractor is independent (not only working for you / in a de facto employment situation).

under the same circumstances, what if I sold the service to a US customer? @simon

@joe Same, no ECI

ok but ustb?

No

Again, assuming that the contractor is independent

ok.

but what if i change the circumstance from selling outside US to selling to US customers? using independent contractors of US.

@simon do you have any taxation attorney that i could talk to get a second opinion? i am actually getting conflicted opinions, but i do reckon they are US-centric accountants and lawyers, which are not that useful in this situation.

The IRS manual is pretty clear regarding this, to be engaged in a USTB you must be engaged in a business activity, either directly or via a dependent agent, in the US. In your case, you aren?t working from the US and have no dependent agent in the US, nor a US PE.

haha i've been reading this IPU over and over

either directly or through a dependent agent.

Directly is my point of concern. that means even if there's no dependent agent, the NRA directly engaged in activity that is considerable, continous and regular will give rise to USTB

If it is performed in the US. If your activity is performed from another country that is where the tax liability will be.

If it is performed in the US, that would be US source income, if it is performed outside US, it would be foreign source income. Generally IRS will first determine if you are USTB, if you are USTB, then they will look at your US Source Income, these US Source income are Effectively Connected Income. Any ECI arisen that is tied to the USTB will be taxed. When there's no independent/dependent contractor, and if we perform the service out from the US to the US Customer, this will be strictly Foreign Source Income, not taxable even when there's a USTB. The confusion arises when an independent contractor participates, that contractor is literally providing service in the US....

You?ll be fine if it?s an independent contractor (for example, Amazon FBA fulfilling your orders). Where you may get in trouble is if the IRS thinks the contractor is dependent, or in a de facto employment situation. This can be an issue if your contractor works mostly for you, has authority in your company etc

yeah...

i understand where you are coming from. Thanks simon! maybe i went too far into this rabbit hole...

oh its good news, so they are actually revising down?

They are increasing their fees in the US

Typical PayPal, they recently increased their fees in other countries as well and phased out USD withdrawal support in Europe

oh so what was the original fee structure like? do you remember?

We ended up just turning off PayPal at checkout, too expensive and too many issues. Have not seen a decline in customers.

2.90% + 0.30$, now it goes up to 2.99% + 0.49$ and some payment types go up to 3.49$

oh that sucks

@burrup.lambert Interesting. Can you share a bit of info? Ecom? Digital product? GEO? High/Low Ticket? Obviously, every offer is different and once we have the courage we will need to test this as well :)

Hey guys anyone knows about this: If I have a non resident single owner US LLC and I?m banking with let?s say Mercury will that mean that I become taxable in the US? I was reading this: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/effectively-connected-income-eci Any opinion on this?

No, that's not enough, here's good explanation how it works https://ustax.bz/non-us-entrepreneurs/

Ok that?s an interesting read. Thank you. So basically I should be good (selling online courses mostly in the EU and Latin America) What about sales tax for us customers on digital courses? That applies or?

As far as I know it depends on state, I think there might be some articles about that on that page.

@michal.opoka @simon someone on an offshore group wrote this: I started a Single Member LLC in the US (foreign owned) but I think I will close it soon. Here is why: I was able to open a "TransferWise" business account for the company and this is logically a "US" bank account registered under my company name. The best advantages of having a "SMLLC" as a foreigner is that you don't need to pay US taxes unless you have what the IRS calls "Effectively Connected Income", so you don't need to file form 1140nr. I'm quite sure that all my income is NOT ECI as I live outside the US and I get only income for digital stuff (AdSense revenue and PlayStore in app purchases), but this is not the point. The point is that I talked to a few accountants (CPA), and although they agree that my income is theoretically NON ECI, the only fact that I receive it on a "US business account" makes this income "ECI" and therefore taxable (and I would need to file 1140nr). What do you think? If this is true, having a SMLLC as foreigner would no longer be an attractive setup. Based on this IRS page: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/effectively-connected-income-eciInternal It seems they don't mention anything about the account location. I wonder why a lot of reputable CPA interpret this in that way? Are they simply no up-to-date or not familiar with foreign owned SMLLC? What do you guys think? All the confusion around is issue is quite discouraging. My opinion: I think he is wrong and just being paranoid.

Account location doesn't matter at all, CPA are not tax lawyers and can confuse things in areas they are not familiar with. I think that tax lawyer in that article I posted explained it quite well

I agree thank you!

If you talk with any CPA on the US, 9/10 times you will hear you need to file 1040NR and pay taxes . You have to work with someone who actively practices the filing and have experience

Hey guys, is this something normal to get charged $150 for forwarding a debit card from my US virtual address to Europe? I?m trying to open a Brex Cash account and they only send the card to tue US. Any help is appreciated!

@asarun72 any recommendation for a good CPA which doesn?t cost the earth? Thank you!

Do you need the physical card? Just save the details, destroy the physical and use it online.

You can also add it to Apple Pay / Google Pay for use in person (you only need the card number to do that)

I was thinking exactly the same! There is a virtual card so what for the physical. Anyway with Brex you can?t get cash out I also found out that it?s cheaper to register for a month to US Global Mail and get it sent with Fedex or budget USPS

http://physicaladdress.com is cheaper

Thanks Joe will look!

Also my address for my LLC is my agents address. Brex doesn?t want to accept it. It says the following: A valid US business address. Note that we are unable to accept PO Boxes, UPS shipping addresses, virtual offices, or registered agent offices. A residential address may be submitted if you are currently operating your business from a residence. Any suggestion for this? I?ve got offered a real physical address for $160/month. I think there has to be a cheaper option. Or what if I register for one month then I cancel the address?

I've registered a physical address temporarily for banks in the US before, but not Brex. I don't see why it wouldn't work

I just had to show a copy of the lease

Where did you register? Do you have a provider in WY?

Contact http://postscanmail.com and ask about their pay as you go plan. Perfect for what you want. Cheap / real street address.

But that?s a virtual address again? I?m in the same position as with my agents address, or? Have you done this before?

They shouldn't be able to tell. I use this address for all my US related activities, banking, credit cards etc.

@carolarnelas probably not what you're looking for. But I use a company that provides me with a real address, lease and business phone with a Verizon utility bill in my company name. Approx cost is $500-$1000 a year. Probably a bit too much for you if it's just to receive mail. But let me know if you want the details.

Ok I?ll reach out to them thank you!

@benjamin Can you share the details of that company? Do they offer similar solutions for UK?

@yaron.been They're called http://Startpack.io They've increased their prices for the lease. But the phone is mostly the same price. I use them but actually don't really recommend them. They're good if you're desperate to beat an address verification for a payment processor like I was. They don't offer the same in the UK unfortunately. I'm still looking for a similar service for the UK.

Got it, Thanks, Benjamin. Look for a solution for Shopify payments I will update you if I stumble upon a solution.

This doesn?t work. I just contacted them...

I'm also looking for a solution for Shopify payments. It's much easier using Stripe for some reason. So I usually get a virtual address for a non Shopify payments country. Set the Shopify business address to that. Then it gives you the option to use Stripe. The main negative is the transaction fee.

Yeah, I've used Stripe as well, then got greedy, wanted to reduce the transaction fees so tried switching to Shopify payments.

They let me process transactions but after a few days asked for a new proof of identity etc. Unfortunately, I haven't solved this yet so they are holding my money. And now, in order to switch back to Stripe I need to contact support, the option of updating via the backend is gone.

Ah damn that sucks man

Yep. I will update here if I manage to solve this

Just updating about this, After going back and forth with the Shopify team, I'm communicating with someone from their risk team and he told me the following: _"Could you please provide us with the following documentation - an upload link has been added to your admin to provide this:_ ? _Proof of residential address (e.g. Driver license, Utility Bill from the last 3 months with your name, Government issued letter etc)_ ? _Proof of business operations in the UK (e.g. A lease agreement for your warehouse, or examples of verifiable tracking numbers (include courier name + Shopify order number))_ ? _A copy of your business license or business registration documents_ _If you do not have these documents, you may not qualify for use of the Shopify Payments gateway. If this is the case, we can guide you to set up a new payment provider available in your region."_ I don't seem to have a good solution to provide, probably will try to switch back to Stripe. Just posting this for future reference, if anybody will think of switching to Shopify payments without having utility bills in the UK.

Hi Carol. I'm in the same exact situation. Did http://postscanmail.com work for you?

Haven?t tried it but will try it next week. I think this goes on pure luck. 2 of my friends got approved in seconds with their florida agents address. So might be good to give an address in Miami? I don?t know. Mercury approved my WY agents address and so far it?s been great. Also Wise business works for me too.

Thank you. I went ahead with http://postscanmail.com and got approved. Did a bit of research on the addresses and chose one in a big office building with no mentions of "virtual office" on the first page of google. That might have helped but I can't be sure.

Wow this is great news! Which state did you pick?

California

Me too! I?m just doing this notarisation service. It?s a massive headache. Did you do it before giving your address to Brex?

I didn't, I just got the address and sent it to them right away. I'm not sure if it's even worth doing the notarization and keeping the new address because my original, refused address is the one that shows up on Brex's website as my company address.

Hi guys! I was wondering opening a US LLC while being a resident and living in Dubai, do I need to pay tax to the US or am I completely free from Tax as it is for the UK LLP?

@ivan550 Assuming no work is performed in the US, such a setup would be tax-free.

Thanks Simon!

Interesting. So if a green card holder (of only a few years) abandons his green card, he can just move all the money and shares to LLC and manage it that way? One disadvantage of holding money in the US as non-resident is that high estate taxes kick in after only 60,000$

@ashishbhatia.ab US estate tax applies to US assets, where your trading account is located doesn?t matter. Non-US assets, even if held in a US brokerage account, aren?t liable to US estate tax. Same for cash deposits (not liable). Also, keep in mind that tax treaties come into play, there are also some exemptions based on the value of your worldview assets etc.

Ok but where do you tell them to send the card? To your original refused address?

I have a problem with my US bank that just closed my account (Relayfi) and sent me a check that I cannot cash out because I am not residing in the US. Its far from my understanding why they don't just send me the remaining balance to a bank account in my name or the bank account I already performed cash withdrawals. What should I do in this situation? Can the bank cancel a check even if it's on the way already? I already messaged them that I cannot accept checks. I have zero experience with this old school payment method.

Hello! Has anyone had success with creating a US WY LLC account with stripe without an ITIN?

Hello ! If opening a US WY LLP, do you guys have any recommendation for opening a professional bank account in the US from abroad? Or can I use a Transferwise pro account instead ?

@fernandoalvarez Stripe doesn?t require a SSN / ITIN, they can verify your account without one. @antunesjordan Mercury and Relayfi are popular options. Wise also works fine although they do not issue debit cards to US businesses.

isn't Stripe closing accounts for foreign-owned US LLCs without US-based employees (minimum 1)?

i.e. https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/bgpffg/stripe_us_account_requires_local_us_employees_for/

They?ve had this requirement for years but it?s not enforced most of the time. Many of us here have Stripe US accounts but no US connection (except for an LLC).

:thumbsup:

*Important Update about Relayfi:* They closed my account without a reason and they refuse to send my remaining funds internationally and postpone the process since 2 weeks, so I don't recommend to put large amounts of money in this bank account. Also they closed my account and didn't let me withdraw the remaining funds. Wouldn't it be normal to let me withdraw my funds and close the account afterwards? Shady business practice from them. I will update you if there is a change.

Thanks for the heads-up. Any clue what?s the reason?

What business are you in?

They didn't specified but I think they don't like traders, although they initially said forex and stocks is ok for them. I also didn't do many transactions through this bank account. I cannot see their reason.

Strange. Thank you for sharing.

Can somebody recommend me a 100% safe solution to receive a bigger amount of fiat to an ACH account, who passes on the money to me on my international bank account? Should I use a lawyer? Any recommendations? Thank you very much!

Hey guys, I hope everybody is doing well! Could you guys tell me if I could open an amex business account as a non resident sm llc owner? Obviously don?t have SSN. Thank you :two_hearts:

if they ask for an ITIN as an alternative to SSN you can use that, some banks do