Systems built for companies
Client vendor systems assume a company with an EIN and a US bank account, and an individual abroad takes longer to approve.
Cleared by the LLC
Built for · Consulting
A US LLC for consultants advising US companies from abroad
Consulting is sold to companies, and companies prefer to buy from companies. A US LLC is how a consultant abroad becomes a vendor a US client's finance team can approve without a meeting.
01 · Why a US company
What it does for consultants.
A US client paying a foreign individual has to set up an international wire to a person.
Read the full explanation
A US client paying a foreign individual has to set up an international wire to a person. Paying a US LLC with an EIN is a domestic ACH transfer to a company. The tax form is the same W-8BEN either way, because the IRS looks through a single-member LLC to its owner, and advice given from abroad isn't withheld on. For a consultant with several US clients, that difference pays for itself quickly.
The company also lets you hire subcontractors, sign agreements in its name, and keep the practice's money apart from yours.
- 01
ACH, not an international wire
A US client pays a US vendor by ACH, a domestic transfer.
engagement, phase 2 payout+8,000.00 USD - 02
Approved without a meeting
A US company with an EIN fits the vendor record a client's finance team keeps.
VendorAster Advisory LLC - 03
Agreements in the company's name
Hire subcontractors and sign engagements as the company.
Engagement letterSigned by the LLC - 04
The practice's money, apart
Fees land in the company's account, and you pay yourself from it.
Practice · YouSeparate accounts
02 · What stands in the way
Three things in the way, and one way through.
Accounts that don't serve your country
Payment processors and business accounts may not serve the country you live in.
Cleared by the LLC
A company's invoice, not a person's
Some clients will pay a company's invoice more readily than an individual's.
Cleared by the LLC
A US LLC, with its EIN and a US bank account.
One set of documents client vendor systems and the banks all accept.
Start a company03 · Your options
Three ways to consult for US companies.
Advice given from home is taxed the same way in all three. What changes is how fast a client can approve and pay you.
| You, as an individual | Your company at home | A US LLCWhat we set up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting onto the vendor list | A cost or a limit: The foreign-individual route | Neutral: The foreign-vendor route | Works in your favour: A company with an EIN and a US account |
| How clients pay | A cost or a limit: An international wire | A cost or a limit: An international wire | Works in your favour: ACH into the LLC's US account |
| The client's tax form | Neutral: W-8BEN, from you | Neutral: W-8BEN-E, from the company | Neutral: W-8BEN, from you as the owner |
| Advice given from home | Works in your favour: Usually no US tax | Works in your favour: Usually no US tax | Works in your favour: Usually no US tax |
| Days worked on site in the US | A cost or a limit: US-source, unless a treaty exempts them | A cost or a limit: US-source, unless a treaty exempts them | A cost or a limit: US-source, unless a treaty exempts them |
| A claim by a client | A cost or a limit: Reaches you | Works in your favour: Reaches your company | Works in your favour: Reaches the LLC |
| Yearly US filing | Works in your favour: None | Works in your favour: None | A cost or a limit: Form 5472, and Wyoming's report |
Works in your favourNeutralA cost or a limitNone of the three lets you do the work inside the US. A business visitor can meet clients and negotiate; working on site needs the right visa.
You, as an individual
- Getting onto the vendor list
- The foreign-individual route
- How clients pay
- An international wire
- The client's tax form
- W-8BEN, from you
- Advice given from home
- Usually no US tax
- Days worked on site in the US
- US-source, unless a treaty exempts them
- A claim by a client
- Reaches you
- Yearly US filing
- None
A cost or a limit:
A cost or a limit:
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favour:
Your company at home
- Getting onto the vendor list
- The foreign-vendor route
- How clients pay
- An international wire
- The client's tax form
- W-8BEN-E, from the company
- Advice given from home
- Usually no US tax
- Days worked on site in the US
- US-source, unless a treaty exempts them
- A claim by a client
- Reaches your company
- Yearly US filing
- None
Neutral:
A cost or a limit:
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
A US LLCWhat we set up
- Getting onto the vendor list
- A company with an EIN and a US account
- How clients pay
- ACH into the LLC's US account
- The client's tax form
- W-8BEN, from you as the owner
- Advice given from home
- Usually no US tax
- Days worked on site in the US
- US-source, unless a treaty exempts them
- A claim by a client
- Reaches the LLC
- Yearly US filing
- Form 5472, and Wyoming's report
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favourNeutralA cost or a limitNone of the three lets you do the work inside the US. A business visitor can meet clients and negotiate; working on site needs the right visa.
04 · Step by step
From company to first engagement paid by ACH, in seven steps.
Paper the engagement properly, and count your days in the US.
Step 1: Form the Wyoming LLC
We file the articles online. Wyoming approves an online filing the same day it is filed.
Same dayWe do itStep 2: Get the EIN
Without a Social Security Number the IRS issues it by fax, which is the slowest step. The expedited EIN, $199, has us file the day the company exists and chase it.
The longest waitWe do itStep 3: Open the US bank account
In the LLC's name, with ACH details for every invoice.
Often days, after the EINYou, with the bankStep 4: Paper the engagement
A consulting agreement signed by the LLC, a statement of work for each project, and who owns the work you hand over. An agreement you signed as yourself stays yours until it moves to the company.
Before the work startsYou, with the clientStep 5: Get through vendor onboarding
The LLC's name and EIN, a W-8BEN signed by you as the owner, ACH details, and often a certificate of professional liability insurance from larger clients.
A week or twoYou, with each clientStep 6: Count your days in the US
Pay for work done on US soil is US-source, whoever pays it, though a treaty may exempt it. Long stays can also make you a US tax resident: the IRS's test starts counting at 31 days in a year.
Every tripYouStep 7: Diary the filings
Form 5472 is due each 15 April, and Wyoming's annual report on the first day of the month the LLC was formed in. Your own country's return comes on top.
Every yearOn your calendar
05 · The honest part
What to know before you order.
Do visits to a client change the tax?
Advice given from home is foreign-source
Work done outside the United States is foreign-source income, and a company with no US office or staff has no US trade or business.
Read more
A few days a year visiting a client usually doesn't change that, but if you spend months on site in the United States, ask an accountant where the line is.
What does the LLC file every year?
Form 5472, every year
A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even a year with no income. It reports what moved between you and the company, and missing it carries a $25,000 penalty. It's on every plan's calendar.
Sources: IRS Publication 519, US tax guide for aliens; IRS Publication 515, withholding of tax on nonresident aliens and foreign entities; IRS, substantial presence test; USCIS, B-1 temporary business visitor; IRS, Instructions for Form W-8BEN; IRS, Instructions for Form 5472.
06 · What it costs
What the first year costs, line by line.
Ours from our price list. Nothing here is a bundle.
| Cost | Amount | When | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch, with Wyoming's fee | $351.40 | First year | $249 to us and $102.40 to Wyoming, at cost. The LLC, the EIN and the registered agent. |
| Expedited EINOptional | $199 | Once | Gets the bank account, and the first invoice paid, sooner. |
| A US tax specialistOptional | $149 | Once | Forty-five minutes on days in the US and your country's treaty, before a long on-site engagement. |
| Stripe, for card paymentsOptional | 2.9% + 30¢ | Each payment | A US card. Clients who pay by ACH skip it. |
| From the second year | $309 | Every year | $249 for Launch and Wyoming's $60 minimum. Form 5472 is an accountant's fee on top. |
Professional liability insurance, where a client asks for it, is quoted by a broker and depends on the work and the cover.
The plan that fits
Launch, usually.
A consultant's company is the simplest kind to run.
Launch
Fits consultantsFor your first company, when it needs to exist and nothing more yet.
What it covers
- Your Wyoming LLC, filed, with the state fee at cost
- The EIN a client's vendor record needs
- Form 5472 and the annual report on your calendar
Everything a client's finance team asks for.
07 · Questions
Questions from consultants.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
It can be. Pay for services is sourced where the work is done, so days worked on site are US-source income whoever pays you. Many treaties exempt it when you have no fixed base in the US. Keep a log of your days and ask before a long engagement.
A business visitor can meet clients, attend meetings and negotiate contracts. Doing the paid work on site generally needs a work visa. The LLC doesn't change that.
Often, for larger clients. Procurement may ask for a certificate of professional liability insurance before the first purchase order. A broker quotes it for the company.
Generally not, when you do the work outside the United States and the company has no US office or staff. The company files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year regardless.
A Wyoming LLC on Launch is $351.40 for the first year: $249 for Launch and $102.40 to Wyoming, at cost. After that it is $309 a year, $249 to us and $60 to Wyoming.
Ready when you are
Answer the questions. We do the filing.
It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, Wyoming fee included, before anything is charged.
Step 1 of 10 · About four minutesNothing charged yet
You're startingLLC · WY
Start a companyLaunch · $351.40 · Wyoming fee included