Video · From Armenia
Can an Armenian Own a US LLC? Why Where You Manage It Matters (2026)
Running a US company from Armenia? It stays foreign, but any place of management in Armenia can be a permanent establishment, with its profit taxed at 18%. 5:04 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can an Armenian resident own a US LLC?
It's early evening in Yerevan, and Davit has just shipped an update to his software. Customers abroad want to pay by card, and the big card processor doesn't take Armenian businesses. He wants a US company. On the American side, he can have one. No social security number, and no trip to the US. We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you. From Armenia, the first question is where the company will be managed.
Run it from a desk here, and Armenia can tax its profit.
0:35Do I need a US company for Stripe in Armenia?
Does he need one at all? It depends on why, and the guide says get advice first. For card payments from customers worldwide, a US company is a common route. With an EIN and a US bank account, it can apply for a US account with the card processor, which can decline. Raising from US investors is another reason, and they usually want a Delaware C-Corp.
Davit's reason is the card payments.
1:00Does running the company from Armenia make it Armenian?
Here's how Armenia sees the company. A company is Armenian-resident only if it's registered in Armenia. So a US company that Davit runs from Yerevan doesn't become Armenian. But there's a second rule, and it's the one to read first. A foreign company's permanent establishment includes any place of management in Armenia, however long it lasts, and its profit is taxed here. Manage the LLC from a desk in Yerevan, and it can have one.
Whether it does is a question for an Armenian tax adviser.
1:34Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
The American part is quicker. A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business that needs the card processor or sells to US customers, once you know where it will be managed. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors. The company needs a registered agent, an address in that state for legal papers, not where you work. Then the EIN, the company's US tax number. Without a social security number or an ITIN, the application goes on a separate IRS form instead of the online tool. You don't need an Armenian company to form a US company.
Prices are in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:12Which US accounts work from Armenia?
Where can the dollars land? Founders living in Armenia can apply to a US fintech bank, because Armenia isn't on its list of countries it doesn't serve. It decides each application. A multi-currency account gives no US dollar account details to founders living here, because Armenia isn't on its list of places where people can hold money. Another US bank doesn't bar Armenia, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself.
With a US account, Davit can apply to the card processor.
2:47How does Armenia tax you and the company?
Now Davit's own tax in Armenia. You're resident after a set number of days here in the calendar year, when your centre of vital interests is in Armenia, or when you're in its civil service. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Dividends have their own rate, and Armenia has no controlled foreign company rules. Here's the guide's illustration. Say Davit's Wyoming LLC makes thirty million drams of profit, and he manages it from Yerevan. It isn't Armenian-resident, but as a permanent establishment here it's taxed five million, four hundred thousand drams. If it pays him the rest as a dividend, Armenia taxes that at one million, two hundred and thirty thousand. Armenia has no controlled foreign company rules, so profit left in the company isn't taxed to him through them. That's an illustration, not a quote.
Whether there's a permanent establishment, and how Armenia classes a US LLC, are questions for your adviser.
3:41Do I pay US tax, and is there a US–Armenia treaty?
In America, there is a treaty. The IRS still applies an old treaty with the Soviet Union to Armenia. It exempts royalties from US withholding, and interest only on credit that finances trade. Dividends paid to you are still withheld at the full rate. Pay for work you do in Armenia generally isn't US income, so the treaty matters less for a services business. A US company with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. A single-owner LLC still files a report with the IRS when it has reportable transactions with you. Missing it is expensive.
For a calendar-year company, it's usually due in mid-April.
4:23What to do first, in order
Put together, the order runs like this. Start with an Armenian tax adviser, about whether you need a US company at all, and whether managing it from here gives it a permanent establishment. Then choose the name and registered agent, and file with the state. Sign the operating documents once every name and share matches your passport. Then the EIN, and then the accounts, starting with the US fintech bank. Keep the company's books and a record of where it's managed, and put the IRS report and your Armenian return on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser, is linked below. And Davit?
The update is live, and he booked the adviser before the company.
The founder in the video is an example, not a customer. The rules in it were checked when it was made; the guide carries the current sources.
The guide
Costs, documents, timelines and the rules in Armenia, with sources.
Read the guide for ArmeniaWatch on YouTube