A Wyoming LLC may fit
Selling on Amazon US or to US buyers
US marketplaces and buyers often want a US entity. How you fund it from China is a SAFE question, so ask before you send money.
From China · Asia-Pacific
Start a US company from China
For Chinese sellers and founders who need Amazon US, US customers or Stripe. Stripe doesn't take businesses in mainland China, and founders here can apply to Mercury, which decides each application. China's rules on investing abroad and its tax rules both reach a US company, so read that section first.
Launch + Wyoming filing; the tax return is separate.Checked by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
At a glance
Mercury takes applications from founders living in China. Wise gives no USD account details to businesses there.
The banks, in detailUS law lets you form a US company from mainland China remotely, without an SSN, and founders here can apply to Mercury, which decides each application. Launch starts at $351.40 in Wyoming, including our plan and state filing fee. Stripe doesn't serve mainland China, so a US company is the usual way in. Two Chinese rules come first: SAFE's approval and registration for investing abroad, and tax rules that can reach a company managed from China or one that keeps profits back.
Watch
The first year from China, in 5 minutes
Selling to American customers from mainland China, and ready to fund a US company? Under SAFE's rules for individuals, investing directly abroad needs the local SAFE office's approval before the foreign currency is bought or sent, and the investment is then registered.
Before you form
Start with whether you need a US company, and how you'd fund it.
BaseAcross's Wyoming LLC and Delaware C-Corp options for founders in China
Wyoming LLC
Owner-run business selling on Amazon US or to US buyers.
- State filing
- $102.40
- Yearly state charge
- From $60
Delaware C-Corp
Raising from US investors; SAFE registration.
- State filing
- $110
- Yearly state charge
- $450 for the model shown
Both charges are the state's, before our plan, optional services and your advisers' fees. Wyoming sets a minimum yearly charge, and Delaware's franchise tax depends on how it's calculated. Staff, stock or premises in another state can bring obligations there. An S-corporation isn't an option, because nonresident aliens can't hold its shares.
Prepare the information
Different documents are needed at different stages.
You provide
Before state filing
- Your proposed company name, business activity and chosen structure.
- Owners' names exactly as on their passports, ownership shares, managers and home addresses.
- How you'll fund the company and where it will be managed, because SAFE and the tax bureau ask.
- The approved company name and formation details.
- The responsible party. Without an SSN or ITIN, the application goes on Form SS-4.
- Accurate mailing and principal business addresses, and your signed authorization where required.
You confirm; we prepare
After formation, for the EIN
- A passport for each owner the provider asks about.
- Formation documents, the EIN confirmation and the operating agreement.
- A real business address, your website, a description of the business and the source of funds, as each provider asks.
The provider verifies
For bank and payment applications
- SAFE's approval and the overseas investment registration, before you send capital.
- Your return, with income from overseas in it.
- Records of where the company's decisions are made, and proof of any US tax paid.
You and your adviser
For SAFE and the tax bureau
You don't need a Chinese company to form a US company, but you'll need SAFE's answer before funding it. The EIN is the US company's tax ID. Send identity documents through a secure request, and only the ones asked for.
How it works
Seven steps from China to a maintained US company.
The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In China, SAFE decides on the approval and your adviser handles the tax side; we don't file there.
You and your adviser
Check the Chinese side first
Decide whether you need a US company at all, how you'd fund it under SAFE's rules, and where it will be managed.
You leave this stage with: A funding and tax plan that fits China's rules.
01 / 07
You choose; BaseAcross checks
Choose the name and registered agent
We check the proposed name and provide the registered agent in the formation state. The registered office is for legal papers, not your operating address.
You leave this stage with: Confirmed filing details and a registered agent.
02 / 07
BaseAcross files; the state approves
File the company with the state
We submit the formation filing and send you the state's documents once it's approved. The company exists from that approval.
You leave this stage with: State-approved formation documents.
03 / 07
BaseAcross
Prepare the operating documents
We draft the LLC Operating Agreement or corporate bylaws. Check every name and share against your passport before you sign.
You leave this stage with: Operating documents for your records, your bank and US providers.
04 / 07
BaseAcross prepares; the IRS issues
Apply for the EIN
The EIN is a separate application after formation. Without an SSN or ITIN, it goes on Form SS-4 rather than the IRS's online tool.
You leave this stage with: The IRS's EIN confirmation once it's issued.
05 / 07
You apply; the providers review
Apply for banking and payments
Start with Mercury, which opens for founders living in China. Wise won't give the business USD account details. Use the same names, addresses and business description everywhere.
You leave this stage with: An approved account, if a provider accepts the application.
06 / 07
You, your US preparer and your tax adviser
Keep records and file in both countries
Record every payment between you and the company, and where decisions are made. Put Form 5472 and your Chinese return, with overseas income, on one calendar.
You leave this stage with: A yearly calendar with someone responsible for each filing.
07 / 07
Plan the wait
Formation, the EIN and banking have separate timelines.
Published service estimates and prerequisites for a Wyoming company from China
- Wyoming formationSame day
- Ordinary EINsix to eight weeks
- Expedited EINtwo to three weeks
- Bank and payment accountsProvider review
- US Stripe accountStripe's review
These are service estimates, not promised completion dates. The IRS and each provider set their own processing times. Names or addresses that differ between documents slow every stage.
What it costs
The same price from China as from anywhere.
Charged in US dollars, with the Wyoming state fee passed on at cost. Where you live changes which bank we introduce you to, not the price.
The full cost from China
What a Wyoming LLC costs from China, line by line, and what to budget for outside our plans.
Included in both plans
- State formation filing
- Registered agent and registered office
- EIN application without an SSN
- LLC Operating Agreement or corporate bylaws
- Bank and payment application guidance
- Filing calendar and reminders
The registered agent renews with the plan. Operate adds its published business tools and bookkeeping. Neither plan files your tax returns in either country.
What a Wyoming LLC costs from China, on each plan
Launch
To start, before optional extras
$351.40
- Our feeFor the first year; the plan renews each year
- $249
- Wyoming filing feePaid to the state, passed through at cost
- $102.40
- Recurring subtotal, fromPlan renewal + minimum state charge, before extras
- $309
OperateBilled yearly
To start, before optional extras
$2,490.40
- Our feeFor the first year; the plan renews each year
- $2,388
- Wyoming filing feePaid to the state, passed through at cost
- $102.40
- Recurring subtotal, fromPlan renewal + minimum state charge, before extras
- $2,448
Optional extras are priced before you order, such as filing ahead of our next batch for $39. See full pricing.
Budget for the work outside that subtotal
Managed annual state compliance
$149 service fee / year
Optional on both plans. The state's charge is separate, and a reminder alone doesn't file the report.
State filing serviceUS federal return preparation
Arrange separately
You or your accountant handle Form 5472 and any other US returns on Launch and Operate. Ask the preparer for their scope and fee.
Federal filing responsibilitiesSAFE and tax advice
Quote from your adviser
How you can fund the company, and how it and you are taxed, depend on your circumstances.
Optional tools after free periods
Published in full pricing
Check domain renewals and when Launch's email, phone and site trials end. Operate includes its stated tools while subscribed.
Plans, trials and add-onsWhat the totals assume
The $309 Launch renewal example is the $249 plan renewal plus Wyoming's $60 minimum license tax. Wyoming charges the greater of that minimum or 0.0002 of the company's assets located and employed in the state, and paying online can add a processor fee. The Operate example uses the same minimum.
Prices are in US dollars. Paying from China, check what your bank allows and your card's exchange rate and fees.
Get started from China
Use the first-year cost calculator to compare plans and optional tools. Then add your adviser's fees and US return preparation to that budget.
Launch
To start
$351.40
$249 our fee + $102.40 Wyoming fee
Renews from $309 a year
OperateBilled yearly
To start
$2,490.40
$2,388 our fee + $102.40 Wyoming fee
Renews from $2,448 a year
Included in both plans
- State formation filing
- Registered agent and registered office
- EIN application without an SSN
- LLC Operating Agreement or corporate bylaws
- Bank and payment application guidance
- Filing calendar and reminders
What changes because you live here
The filing is the same from anywhere. Four things aren't.
Treaty status, payment availability, bank eligibility and time zones. Sources checked 14 October 2026; account approval remains with the provider.
1 of 4: The tax treaty
The tax treaty
The tax treaty: In force
The US–China income tax treaty is in force.
It caps US withholding on interest, dividends and royalties at 10%. Pay for work you do in China generally isn't US-source income, so the treaty matters less for a services business.
SAFE and tax
Settle SAFE before you fund it, then plan where it's run.
The investment rule comes from SAFE's own implementing rules, in Chinese; the tax rules from the Individual Income Tax Law and PwC's summary. They run alongside the US steps below.
Before you send capital
You and your adviserYou and your adviser
An individual's direct investment abroad needs the local SAFE office's approval before foreign currency is bought or sent, and an overseas investment registration.
When you decide where it's run
You and your adviserYou and your adviser
A foreign company with its place of effective management in China is a resident enterprise, taxed in China.
If the company keeps profits back
YouYou
Controlling a company in a place with a distinctly low effective tax burden that holds back profits without a reasonable cause lets the tax bureau adjust.
Each year
YouYou
Report income from overseas on your own return, and credit tax paid abroad up to the Chinese tax on it.
Good to know
SAFE's rules for individuals send structures that hold Chinese assets or interests to its separate rules for special purpose vehicles.
What China expects
Owning a US company doesn't take you out of China's tax system.
China taxes residents on income from anywhere, can tax profits a low-taxed company you control keeps back, and treats a company effectively managed from China as resident. Investing abroad needs SAFE's approval.
Investing abroad needs SAFE
Under SAFE's rules for individuals, direct investment abroad follows state rules. The foreign currency needs the local SAFE office's approval before it's bought or sent, and the investment is registered.
Income from anywhere
An individual domiciled in China, or who stays 183 days or more in a tax year, is resident and taxed on income from within China and overseas. Income from overseas means filing a return yourself.
A company you control
If you control a company in a country with a distinctly low effective tax burden, and it keeps profits you'd otherwise receive without a reasonable business cause, the tax bureau can adjust and tax them.
Where it is run
A foreign company with its place of effective management in China is a Chinese tax resident enterprise, taxed in China on its income.
Credit for foreign tax
Tax paid abroad on foreign income is credited against Chinese tax, up to the Chinese tax on that income.
On the record
We form US companies. We aren't Chinese tax advisers. These are the rules as they're generally published, they change, and how they apply to you depends on details this page can't know. Take this list to a tax adviser in China before you order, and we'll tell you what the US forms need.
After formation
Someone has to own each filing, in each country.
US information reporting
A US LLC with one foreign owner is usually a disregarded entity that files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 when it has reportable transactions with you. Money you put in, take out or are paid for your work can count even in a year without sales. The IRS penalty for not filing starts at $25,000.
For a calendar-year company, the return is usually due 15 April, and Form 7004 requests an extension before then. A C-Corp, or an LLC with more than one owner, files different returns.
Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120State, SAFE and ownership checks
Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In China, keep the SAFE registration current, and file your return with income from overseas in it.
US-created companies are exempt from BOI reporting under FinCEN's current rule, effective 14 August 2026. Banks and payment providers still verify who owns the company.
| Task | Who handles it | Where the responsibility ends |
|---|---|---|
| Formation and EIN application | BaseAcross prepares and submits | The state approves formation; the IRS issues the EIN. |
| Bank and payment applications | You, with our guidance | The provider verifies the information and decides. |
| SAFE approval and registration | You and your adviser | We provide the formation documents they ask for. |
| Chinese tax returns | You and your adviser | We provide the US company records they need. |
| Annual state filing | You, or our optional filing service | Reminders are included; managed filing and the state charge are separate. |
| US federal returns | You and your US tax preparer | Launch and Operate remind you; they don't file the return. |
Prepare the conversation
Take these questions to your adviser before you order.
Bring the owners, where each lives, how you'd fund the company, where it will be managed and the business activity. Each question is also in Simplified Chinese.
Download the checklist for your adviser (.txt)- 01EN
Does owning a US company need SAFE's approval and an overseas investment registration, and how do I apply?
ZH持有美国公司是否需要外汇局核准并办理境外投资外汇登记？如何申请？
- 02EN
Would the structure be a special purpose vehicle under SAFE's SPV rules?
ZH该架构是否属于外汇局规定的特殊目的公司？
- 03EN
Would the US company's place of effective management be in China, making it a resident enterprise?
ZH美国公司的实际管理机构是否在中国境内，从而成为居民企业？
- 04EN
Could IIT Law article 8 apply to profits the company keeps?
ZH公司留存的利润是否可能适用《个人所得税法》第八条的规定？
- 05EN
How do I report income from overseas, and credit any US tax?
ZH我应如何申报境外所得，并抵免在美国缴纳的税款？
- 06EN
How can money the company earns reach me in China?
ZH公司赚取的资金如何合规地汇入我在中国的账户？
- 07EN
How should I keep records for the US return and my Chinese return?
ZH我应如何保存记录，以满足美国报税和中国申报的要求？
Questions
Questions from China.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
Can a resident of mainland China own a US LLC?
US law allows it, and formation and the EIN happen remotely, without an SSN. China's side comes first. Under SAFE's rules, an individual's direct investment abroad needs the local SAFE office's approval before foreign currency is bought or sent, and a registration.
Do I need SAFE's approval to fund a US company?
Under SAFE's implementing rules for individuals, yes. Direct investment abroad follows state rules, the foreign currency needs the local office's approval before it's bought or sent, and the investment is registered. Structures that hold Chinese assets follow the rules for special purpose vehicles.
Will China tax the US company's profits?
It can, two ways. A company with its place of effective management in China is a Chinese resident enterprise. And if you control a low-taxed company that keeps profits back without a reasonable business cause, IIT Law article 8 lets the tax bureau adjust.
Do I report income from the US company in China?
Yes. Residents are taxed on income from within China and overseas, and income from overseas means filing a return yourself under IIT Law article 10. Tax paid abroad is credited, up to the Chinese tax on that income.
How much does a US company from China cost?
Launch starts at $351.40: $249 for the plan plus $102.40 for the Wyoming filing. The plan and Wyoming's minimum yearly charge then total $309 a year. Your adviser's fees, US return preparation and Chinese filings are separate. Wyoming's license tax can be more than its $60 minimum.
Should I form a Wyoming LLC or a Delaware C-Corp from China?
A Wyoming LLC usually suits an owner-run business selling on Amazon US or to US buyers. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors, often with SAFE registration. Nonresident aliens can't hold shares in an S-corporation.
Can I get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN?
Yes. Without an SSN or ITIN, the application goes on Form SS-4 instead of the IRS's online tool. We prepare it after the company is formed, and the IRS issues the number.
How long does it take from China?
Each stage has its own clock. Wyoming's published turnaround is same day once a complete filing is accepted. Our ordinary EIN estimate is six to eight weeks after the application, or two to three weeks with the $199 expedited option. SAFE, banks, payment providers and Stripe each set their own times. These are estimates, not promises.
Can I open a Mercury account from China?
Usually you can apply. China isn't on Mercury's list of countries it doesn't serve, and the list goes by where you live. Mercury still reviews each company and can decline.
Can I use Wise Business for the US company?
Not for USD account details. Wise says it can't give USD account details to a business account held from China. Relay doesn't bar China, but it asks every owner for a physical US address.
Do I need a US company for Stripe in China?
For Stripe itself, usually yes. Stripe doesn't list mainland China among the countries it supports. A US LLC with an EIN and a US bank account can apply for a US Stripe account, and Stripe can decline.
Do I pay US tax on work I do from China?
Generally not. Pay for work you do in China is generally not US-source income, so a single-owner LLC with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. It still files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 when it has reportable transactions with you.
Is there a US–China tax treaty?
Yes, it's in force. It caps US withholding on interest, dividends and royalties at 10%.
Does BaseAcross file the US and Chinese returns for me?
On Launch and Operate, we add deadlines and reminders; you or your accountant file the federal returns. Managed annual state compliance is an optional $149 service fee a year, with the state's charge separate. SAFE's approval and registration, and your Chinese returns, are for you and your adviser.
Does my new US LLC need a BOI report?
US-created companies are exempt under FinCEN's current BOI rule, effective 14 August 2026. A company formed outside the US and registered to do business there is a different case. Banks still collect ownership details for their own checks.
Sources and editorial scope
Check the published rules behind the explanation.
Prepared by the BaseAcross team and reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer. Sources checked . This is general formation information, with source links for the tax and banking context. An individual tax or legal review remains with your qualified advisers.
China
United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)
Banks and payments
The investment rule is read from SAFE's implementing rules for individuals, in Chinese, and the tax rules from the NPC's English text of the Individual Income Tax Law. Residence by effective management comes from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Confirm the current position with your adviser before acting.
Ready when you are
Answer the questions. We do the filing.
It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, state fee included, before anything is charged.
Compare the plansYour company's route
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Wyoming
LLC · Cheyenne, WY
- Plan
- Launch
- First year
- $351.40
- To order
- 10 steps
Launch · $249 + $102.40 Wyoming · Same day