Video · From Finland
US Company from Finland? If Your Board Decides Here, It's Finnish (2026)
Running a US company from Finland? If its board makes its top-level decisions in Finland, the company is Finnish-resident and taxed on income from everywhere. 4:54 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Finnish resident own a US LLC?
It's late afternoon in Helsinki, and Mikko makes games. A US platform he sells through would rather deal with a US company, so he's wondering about one. 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 Finland, the bank is the easier part. The harder part is the room he works in.
If the company's top-level decisions are made there, Finland can treat it as Finnish.
0:32Do you need a US company for Stripe in Finland?
First, does he need one at all? For card payments, probably not. The big card processor already supports businesses in Finland, so a Finnish limited company, an Oy, gets you that too. A US company is for selling as a US vendor, for US contracts, for US investors, or for a platform that needs one. US investors usually want a Delaware C-Corp. Mikko's platform wants a US contracting party.
That's his reason.
1:02Can Finland tax your US company as Finnish?
Here's the Finnish rule that shapes everything else. A foreign company is Finnish-resident if its place of effective management is in Finland. That's where its board, or another body, makes top-level decisions on day-to-day management. A resident company pays Finland's corporate rate on income from everywhere. It also prepares financial statements on all its business, even if none of it is operated in Finland.
So before you form anything, decide where the board will make its decisions.
1:30Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
The American paperwork is the simpler part. A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business selling to US customers, once you know where its decisions will be made. 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 a Finnish company to form it.
Prices are in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:09Which US accounts work from Finland?
Where can the dollars land? From Finland, several doors are open. Founders living in Finland can apply to a US fintech bank, because Finland isn't on its list of countries it doesn't serve. The bank decides each application. A multi-currency account can give a US company run from Finland US dollar account details, and it reviews each business. Another US bank doesn't bar Finland, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself.
With a US account and a website, the company can also apply to the card processor as a US business, and it can decline.
2:46Can the CFC rules tax you on profit the company keeps?
Then Finland's side. Here's the guide's illustration. Say Mikko's Wyoming LLC makes a hundred thousand euros of profit, and as its only manager he makes every top-level decision in Helsinki. Its place of effective management is in Finland, so it's Finnish-resident. It pays corporate tax at Finland's rate, and prepares financial statements on all its business. Being resident here, it can't also be a controlled foreign company. That's an illustration, not a quote. How Finland classes the LLC, and how it pays him, are for his tax adviser. If a company isn't resident, and it's taxed below a set share of what Finland would charge, the controlled foreign company rules can tax its undistributed profit to an owner with enough control.
And a dividend it pays you is taxed like a Finnish one, because of the treaty.
3:36Do you pay US tax, and is there a US–Finland treaty?
In America, there's an income tax treaty with Finland, and it's in force. It exempts interest and royalties from US withholding, and it caps the rate on dividends. Pay for work you do in Finland generally isn't US income, so the treaty matters less for a services business. A single-owner LLC with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. It still files a report with the IRS when it has reportable transactions with you, and missing it is expensive. For a calendar-year company, it's usually due in mid-April.
A C-Corp files different returns.
4:11What to do first, in order
Put together, the order runs like this. Start with your tax adviser: whether you need a US company at all, and where its board will make its top-level decisions. Then choose the name and the registered agent, and file with the state. Check every name and share in the operating documents against your passport before you sign. Then get the EIN. After that, apply for banking and payments, with the same names and addresses everywhere. Keep the books and the board minutes, and put the IRS report and your Finnish return on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser, is linked below. And Mikko?
He's settling where his company's decisions will be made before he signs with the platform.
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 Finland, with sources.
Read the guide for FinlandWatch on YouTube