How to form a US LLC step by step: complete process guide

7 to 14 days and costs 400 to 1. Forming a US LLC as a non-resident involves several distinct steps. Here is the complete process from start to finish.

Forming a US LLC as a non-resident is a 100% online process that can be completed in a few weeks. You don't need to travel, you don't need a visa, and you don't need a US lawyer.

Here's the complete step-by-step process.

Step-by-step process

Step 1: Choose your state

The first step is deciding which state to form your LLC in. The three most popular for non-residents:

New Mexico: No Annual Report or annual fees (no state maintenance fee)
Wyoming: Maximum privacy. Strongest asset protection.
Delaware: Best legal framework. Recommended only if seeking investors.

Most freelancers and digital entrepreneurs choose New Mexico for its simplicity and low cost, or Wyoming for its privacy and asset protection.

Step 2: Choose your LLC name

Your LLC needs a unique name not already registered in the state. The name must include "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company."

Example: "Smith Digital LLC"

You can verify name availability on the Secretary of State's website for your chosen state.

Step 3: Designate a Registered Agent

Every LLC needs a Registered Agent. a person or company with a physical address in the state who receives legal documents on behalf of your LLC.

As a non-resident, you hire a professional Registered Agent service. This is included in Exentax formation plans.

Step 4: File the Articles of Organization

This is the official document that creates your LLC. Filed with the Secretary of State, it includes:

LLC name
Registered Agent address
Management type (Member-Managed or Manager-Managed)
Organizer name

Processing time varies:

New Mexico: 1-2 business days
Wyoming: 1-3 business days
Delaware: 1-3 business days

Step 5: Obtain the EIN

Once the LLC is formed, you need the EIN (Employer Identification Number), your company's tax ID with the IRS.

The EIN process for non-residents is done by fax or mail to the IRS. Response time: 2-8 weeks. This is the biggest bottleneck in the process.

Step 6: Prepare the Operating Agreement

The internal document defining your LLC's rules. Although most states don't require filing it with any authority, it's essential for opening bank accounts and verifying your LLC with payment platforms.

Step 7: File the BOI Report

Since 1 January 2024, all LLCs must report their beneficial owners to FinCEN. You have 90 days from formation to file this report. Penalty for non-compliance: $591/day. This is where Exentax steps in: we file the form, archive the receipt and, if the authority asks, your answer is already on the desk.

Step 8: Open the bank account

With documents in hand (Articles of Organization, EIN, Operating Agreement), you can open your US bank account. The most popular options:

Mercury: The preferred option for non-resident LLCs (Column NA, FDIC, $0 wires)
Relay: Alternative with up to 20 sub-accounts (Thread Bank, FDIC, Adyen payment links)

The process is 100% online and typically takes 1-5 business days.

Step 9: Configure payment gateways

With your LLC and bank account active, you can register on:

Stripe US: Card payment processing (2.9% + $0.30)
PayPal Business: Requires ITIN from the owner
DoDo Payments: Merchant of Record for B2C digital products

Step 10: Set up additional financial tools

Complete your financial infrastructure:

Slash: Corporate treasury (yield on idle cash)
Wallester: Virtual and physical corporate cards
Wise Business: Multi-currency accounts and conversion

Step 11: Start operating

Your LLC is ready. You can now invoice clients, receive payments, and operate your business from anywhere in the world.

Complete timeline

The bottleneck is the EIN. the IRS can take several weeks for non-residents.

Can I do it myself?

Technically yes. But let's be honest: do you want to spend weeks navigating English-language forms, calling the IRS (during US business hours with 45+ minute hold times), hoping Mercury doesn't reject your account because of a mismatched detail, and discovering after the fact that your generic Operating Agreement doesn't work?

Common DIY errors:

LLC name with characters the state rejects
EIN requested with the wrong form (SS-4 vs W-7)
Operating Agreement downloaded from the internet that doesn't meet Mercury's requirements
BOI Report filed after the deadline (90-day window)
Bank account rejected due to inconsistent documentation

Each error costs you weeks of delay and, in some cases, money.

With Exentax, you do nothing (literally)

We handle the entire formation process from start to finish. You give us your passport, tell us what you want your LLC to be called, and we do the rest:

We choose the optimal state together during the initial consultation
We file the Articles of Organization: typically in 1-3 days
We obtain the EIN from the IRS. we handle all communication
We prepare your Operating Agreement: customized, not a generic template
We file the BOI Report with FinCEN
We open your bank account on Mercury with complete, perfect documentation
We leave you operational: ready to invoice, collect, and start working

If something in this structure left you wanting more detail, Common LLC problems and how to avoid them: lessons from real clients and EIN: what is your LLC's tax number and how to get it step by step dive into neighbouring pieces of the puzzle we usually keep for separate write-ups.

Tax compliance in your country: CFC, controlled-foreign rules and income attribution

A US LLC is a fully legal, internationally recognized vehicle. But compliance does not end at incorporation: as an owner who is tax-resident elsewhere, your local tax authority still has the right to tax what the LLC earns. The key is under which regime.

By jurisdiction

Spain (LIRPF/LIS). An operative single-member disregarded LLC (real services, no significant passive income) is generally treated under income attribution (art. 87 LIRPF): the LLC's net profits are attributed to the member in the year they arise and integrated into the general IRPF base. If instead the LLC elects corporation treatment (Form 8832) and is controlled by a Spanish resident with mostly passive income, the CFC regime (art. 91 LIRPF for individuals, art. 100 LIS for companies) can apply. The choice is not optional: it depends on economic substance, not on the label.
Information returns. US bank accounts with average or year-end balance >€50,000: Form 720 (Law 5/2022 after CJEU C-788/19, 27/01/2022, penalties now under the general LGT regime). Related-party transactions and dividend repatriation: Form 232. US-custodied crypto: Form 721. That is exactly why at Exentax we keep your calendar tight — you stop thinking about deadlines and we close them before they ever bite.
Spain–US tax treaty. The treaty (BOE 22/12/1990, Protocol in force 27/11/2019) governs double taxation on dividends, interest and royalties. An LLC without a permanent establishment in Spain does not by itself create a PE for the member, but effective management can if all activity is run from Spanish territory.
Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and other LATAM jurisdictions. Each has its own CFC regime (Mexico: Refipres; Argentina: foreign passive income; Chile: art. 41 G LIR). Common principle: profits retained inside the LLC are deemed received by the member if the entity is treated as transparent or controlled.

Practical rule: an operative LLC with substance, properly declared in your country of residence, is legitimate tax planning. An LLC used to hide income, fake non-residence or shift passive income with no economic justification falls within art. 15 LGT (anti-abuse) or, worse, art. 16 LGT (simulation). The facts decide, not the paperwork.

At Exentax we structure the entity to fit the first scenario and document every step so your local return can be defended in case of review.

Legal and regulatory references

This article relies on rules currently in force. Main sources for verification:

United States. Treas. Reg. §301.7701-3 (entity classification / check-the-box); IRC §882 (tax on foreign income effectively connected with a US trade or business); IRC §871 (FDAP and withholding on non-residents); IRC §6038A and Treas. Reg. §1.6038A-2 (Form 5472 for 25% foreign-owned and foreign-owned disregarded entities); IRC §7701(b) (tax residency, substantial presence test); 31 U.S.C. §5336 (Corporate Transparency Act, BOI Report to FinCEN).
Spain. Law 35/2006 (LIRPF), arts. 8, 9 (residency), 87 (income attribution), 91 (CFC for individuals); Law 27/2014 (LIS), art. 100 (CFC for companies); Law 58/2003 (LGT), arts. 15 (anti-abuse) and 16 (simulation); Law 5/2022 (Form 720 penalty regime after CJEU C-788/19 of 27/01/2022); RD 1065/2007 (Forms 232 and 720); Order HFP/887/2023 (Form 721 crypto). We close it with you from Exentax: one call, the filing goes out, the archive is set, and the risk stays on paper.
Spain–US treaty. BOE of 22/12/1990 (original DTT); Protocol in force since 27/11/2019 (passive income, limitation on benefits).
EU / OECD. Directive (EU) 2011/16, amended by DAC6 (cross-border arrangements), DAC7 (Directive (EU) 2021/514, digital platforms) and DAC8 (crypto-assets); Directive (EU) 2016/1164 (ATAD: CFC, exit tax, hybrid mismatches); OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
International framework. OECD Model Convention, art. 5 (permanent establishment) and Commentaries; BEPS Action 5 (economic substance); FATF Recommendation 24 (beneficial ownership).

Applying any of these rules to your specific case depends on your tax residency, the LLC's activity and the documentation you keep. This content is informational and does not replace personalized professional advice.

A balanced banking stack: Mercury, Relay, Slash and Wise

There is no perfect account for an LLC. There is the right stack, where each tool plays a role:

Mercury (operated as a fintech with partner banks (Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust primarily; Column N.A. on legacy accounts), FDIC via sweep network up to the current limit). Main operating account for non-residents with strong UX, ACH and wires. Still one of the most proven options to open from outside the US.
Relay (backed by Thread Bank, FDIC). Excellent backup account and for envelope-style budgeting: up to 20 sub-accounts and 50 debit cards, deep QuickBooks and Xero integration. If Mercury blocks or asks for KYC review, Relay keeps your operations running.
Slash (backed by Column N.A. (federally chartered, FDIC)). Banking built for online operators: instant virtual cards by vendor, granular spend controls, cashback on digital advertising. The natural complement when you manage Meta Ads, Google Ads or SaaS subscriptions.
Wise Business (multi-currency EMI, not a bank). To collect and pay in EUR, GBP, USD and other currencies with local bank details and mid-market FX. Does not replace a real US account but is unbeatable for international treasury.
Wallester / Revolut Business. Wallester provides corporate cards on a dedicated BIN for high volume. Revolut Business works as a European complement, not as the LLC's main account.

The realistic recommendation: Mercury + Relay as backup + Slash for ad operations + Wise for FX treasury. This setup minimizes block risk and reduces real cost. At Exentax we open and configure this stack as part of incorporation.

Banking and tax facts worth clarifying

Fintech and CRS information evolves; here is the current state:

Before going further, put numbers on your case: the Exentax calculator compares, in under 2 minutes, your current tax bill with what you would carry running a US LLC properly declared in your country of residence.

> Start today, 100% online

Notes by provider

Mercury operates with several federally chartered partner banks and FDIC coverage via sweep network: mainly Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust, with Column N.A. still in some legacy accounts. Mercury is not itself a bank; it is a fintech platform backed by those partner banks. If Mercury closes an account, the balance is typically returned by paper check mailed to the account holder's registered address, which can be a serious operational problem for non-residents; keep a secondary account (Relay, Wise Business, etc.) as contingency.
Wise ships two clearly different products: Wise Personal and Wise Business. For an LLC you must open Wise Business, not the personal account. Important CRS nuance: a Wise Business held by a US LLC sits outside CRS because the account holder is a US entity and the US is not a CRS participant; the USD side operates via Wise US Inc. (FATCA perimeter, not CRS). In contrast, a Wise Personal opened by an individual tax-resident in Spain or another CRS jurisdiction does trigger CRS reporting via Wise Europe SA (Belgium) on that individual. Opening Wise for your LLC does not bring you into CRS through the LLC; a separate Wise Personal in your own name as a CRS-resident individual does report.
Wallester (Estonia) is a European financial entity with an EMI/issuing-bank licence. Its European IBAN accounts are within the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and therefore trigger automatic reporting to the tax administration of the holder's country of residence.
Payoneer operates through European entities (Payoneer Europe Ltd, Ireland) that are also in scope for CRS for clients resident in participating jurisdictions.
Revolut Business: when paired with a US LLC, it operates under Revolut Technologies Inc. with Lead Bank as its US banking partner. The account delivered is a US account (routing + account number); no European IBAN is issued to a US LLC. The European IBANs (Lithuanian, Belgian) belong to Revolut Bank UAB and are issued to European clients of the group. If you are offered a European IBAN tied to your LLC, confirm exactly which legal entity holds that account and which regime it reports under.
Zero tax: no LLC structure delivers "zero tax" if you live in a country with CFC/tax transparency or income attribution rules. What you achieve is no double taxation and correct reporting at residence, not elimination.

On the same topic

How to read the LLC formation process as a single ordered sequence rather than a checklist

The LLC formation process reads more clearly when it's treated as a single ordered sequence rather than as a checklist of independent items. The order matters because each step generates the document that the next step needs, and skipping or reordering steps usually means doing some of them twice.

Legal & procedural facts

FinCEN and IRS reporting requirements moved recently; the current state is:

BOI / Corporate Transparency Act: your LLC is NOT required to file (a competitive advantage). After FinCEN's March 2025 interim final rule, the BOI Report obligation was narrowed to "foreign reporting companies" (entities formed OUTSIDE the US and registered to do business in a state). A US-formed LLC owned by a non-resident does NOT file the BOI Report: one fewer filing on your calendar, less paperwork, and a cleaner structure than ever. If your LLC was formed before March 2025 and you already filed BOI, keep the acknowledgement. The regulatory status can change again: we monitor FinCEN.gov on every filing and, if the obligation comes back, we handle it at no extra cost. Current status verifiable at fincen.gov/boi.
Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120. For a Single-Member LLC owned by a non-resident, the final regulations of Treas. Reg. §1.6038A-1 (in force since 2017) treat the LLC as a corporation for 5472 purposes. Procedure: pro-forma Form 1120 (header only: name, address, EIN, tax year) with Form 5472 attached. It is filed by certified mail or fax to the IRS Service Center in Ogden, Utah, not e-filed via standard MeF. Due date: April 15; extension via Form 7004 to October 15. Penalty: $25,000 per form per year, plus $25,000 per additional 30 days of non-filing after IRS notice.
Substantive Form 1120. Only applies if the LLC has filed a check-the-box election to C-Corp (Form 8832): it then pays 21 % federal corporate tax and files a substantive 1120. A standard disregarded LLC does not file a substantive 1120 and does not pay federal corporate tax.
EIN and notice. Without an EIN you cannot file 5472 or BOI. The IRS does not warn before imposing penalties; you find out when an EIN is flagged or a later filing is rejected. Breathe: at Exentax this is routine, we bring you up to date and the next review closes in one round, no drama.

Tax compliance in your country: CFC, TFI and income attribution

We treat this block as one of the load-bearing decisions of the LLC strategy: get it wrong and the rest of the structure leaks tax, banking access or compliance. The notes below distil what we actually do with clients facing this exact case, prioritising the variables that move the needle.

Balanced banking stack: Mercury, Relay, Slash and Wise

Read this section as a checklist with teeth: each point flags a real failure mode we have seen in cross-border LLC files. Skip none of them - most reassessments and account closures we clean up later trace back to one of these items.

Exentax today update: the formation process, with no surprises

The formation flow stabilized recently; the three operational keys are:

Real timelines today. Wyoming delivers Articles in 24-48 h online (filing USD 100), New Mexico in 3-5 business days (filing USD 50), Delaware in 5-10 business days (filing USD 110, expedited +50 to +1,000 USD).
EIN without SSN. The IRS still processes Form SS-4 by fax to +1-855-215-1627 in 4-6 weeks. Online is reserved for applicants with SSN/ITIN. Keep the original CP 575; if lost, request a 147C by calling the IRS Business Line.
Operating Agreement signed on day 1. Banks (Mercury, Relay) have asked for it during onboarding KYC since January 2024. Without an OA, account opening stalls. Use a non-resident SMLLC template, signed and stored digitally.

Frequently asked questions

What is the optimal order? Articles → EIN (fax SS-4) → signed OA → Mercury/Relay → bookkeeping. Skipping steps delays the first invoice collected in USD.

Do I need BOI after the March 2025 rule? If the LLC is 100% U.S.-formed and your beneficial owners are non-U.S., no. If the LLC is foreign, yes. Verify on the day you file.

What annual cost should I budget? Wyoming ~USD 225/yr (RA + USD 60 Annual Report), Delaware ~USD 450 (RA + USD 300), New Mexico ~USD 125 (RA only, no Annual Report).

How we set up an LLC at Exentax so it does not break in month one

Forming is the easy part; the hard part is not breaking it in the first thirty days through small oversights that turn into fines or closed bank accounts. The Exentax method assembles the five blocks in order and leaves a record of every step.

Correct state before the Articles of Organization: Wyoming, New Mexico or Delaware chosen by real use (banking, holding, ecommerce), not by YouTube trend.
EIN, BOI and Operating Agreement signed and archived before opening banking; without an OA, Mercury and Relay decline the account.
Coherent banking stack with the same owner name and address across every KYC to avoid blocks on the first incoming transfer.

To see the exact cost and timeline before deciding, run the Exentax calculator or book thirty minutes: we send the proposal and the formation plan in writing.

Want to discuss it now? Message us on WhatsApp and we'll get back to you today.

If you want to see the full process in detail, check our services page with everything we cover.

Or call us directly at +34 614 916 910 if you'd rather talk.

Prefer a calendar slot? Book a free session and we'll review your real case in thirty minutes.

For state-specific details, see our Wyoming LLC service page with closed costs and timelines.

Formation, EIN, BOI, banking and ongoing maintenance — one team that understands your case end to end. Explore all services.