You may not need a US company
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Stripe already supports Greek businesses, and an IKE is what Greek banks and the tax authority understand.
From Greece · Europe
Start a US company from Greece
For Greek founders who sell into the US as a US vendor or raise from US investors. A Greek IKE already gets you Stripe, and Mercury and Wise Business both serve founders here. A US company managed from Greece is Greek-resident, and a low-taxed one with passive income can be taxed to you, 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 Greece. Wise Business is the usual second account.
The banks, in detailYou can form a US company while living in Greece, without an SSN or a US visit, and Mercury and Wise Business both open for founders here. Launch starts at $351.40 in Wyoming, including our plan and state filing fee. A Greek IKE already gets you Stripe, so the reason is usually US customers or investors. The Greek points: a company managed from Greece is Greek-resident, and a low-taxed one with mostly passive income can be taxed to you.
Before you form
Start with whether you need a US company, and where it will be managed.
BaseAcross's Wyoming LLC and Delaware C-Corp options for founders in Greece
Wyoming LLC
Owner-run business selling to US customers, after advice.
- State filing
- $102.40
- Yearly state charge
- From $60
Delaware C-Corp
Raising from US investors; plan where it's managed.
- 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.
- Where daily management and strategic decisions will happen, because Greece's residence test asks.
- 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
- Your return, with any dividends the company pays you.
- The company's income by type, for the CFC rule.
- A record of where daily management and strategic decisions happen.
You and your tax adviser
For the tax authority
You don't need a Greek company to form a US company. 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 Greece to a maintained US company.
The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In Greece, your tax adviser handles the tax authority; we don't file there.
You and your tax adviser
Check the Greek side first
Decide whether you need a US company at all, where it will be managed, and whether its income is passive.
You leave this stage with: A structure and tax plan that fits Greece'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 or Wise Business, which both serve founders living in Greece. 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
Keep the company's books, with income split by type, and minutes showing where decisions are made. Put Form 5472 and your Greek return 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 Greece
- 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 Greece 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 Greece
What a Wyoming LLC costs from Greece, 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 Greece, 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 responsibilitiesGreek tax advice
Quote from your tax adviser
Where the LLC is managed, whether its income is passive and how it pays you 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 Greece, check your card's exchange rate and fees.
Get started from Greece
Use the first-year cost calculator to compare plans and optional tools. Then add your tax 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–Greece income tax treaty, from 1950, is in force.
It exempts interest and most royalties from US withholding, but leaves dividends at the full 30%. Pay for work you do in Greece generally isn't US-source income, so the treaty matters less for a services business.
How Greece sees it
Managed from Greece, a US company is Greek.
Residence, the rate, the CFC rule and dividends come from PwC's summary. They run alongside the US steps below.
If it's managed from here
The companyThe company
Greek-resident, with corporate tax at 22%.
If it's low-taxed and over 30% passive
You, if you control itYou, if you control it
Its undistributed income is added to yours.
When it pays you a dividend
You
Worked example
This is an illustration, not a quote. How Greece classes your LLC is for your tax adviser.
Your Wyoming LLC makes €100,000 of profit, and you take its daily and strategic decisions in Athens.
Its place of effective management is in Greece, so it's Greek-resident, and corporate tax at 22% is €22,000.
Paying the remaining €78,000 to you as a dividend costs 5% more, or €3,900.
Run from abroad and mostly earning royalties instead, it could fall under the CFC rule.
What Greece expects
Owning a US company doesn't take you out of Greece's tax system.
Greece treats a company effectively managed there as resident at 22%, adds a low-taxed, mostly passive foreign company's income to its controlling owner's, and taxes dividends at 5%.
Where it is managed
A company is Greek-resident if its place of effective management is in Greece, judged from where its daily management and strategic decisions happen. It then pays corporate tax at 22%.
Controlled foreign companies
If you control more than 50% of a foreign company that pays less than half the tax Greece would charge, and more than 30% of its income is passive, its undistributed income is added to yours. The exception for real activity covers only EU and EEA companies.
Dividends
Greece taxes dividends at 5%.
Residence
Residence turns on how long you're in Greece in any 12 months and on where your vital interests are: your home and your personal and economic ties.
On the record
We form US companies. We aren't Greek 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 Greece 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, residence and CFC checks
Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In Greece, declare dividends and any CFC income, and expect corporate returns if the company is managed here.
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. |
| Greek returns | You and your tax 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 tax adviser before you order.
Bring the owners, where each lives, the operating agreement, where decisions will be made and the business activity. Each question is also in Greek.
Download the checklist for your tax adviser (.txt)- 01EN
Would my US LLC's place of effective management be in Greece, making it resident and taxed at 22%?
ELΘα βρίσκεται ο τόπος πραγματικής διοίκησης της αμερικανικής LLC μου στην Ελλάδα, ώστε να είναι φορολογικός κάτοικος με συντελεστή 22%;
- 02EN
How does Greece class the LLC: as a legal entity or as transparent?
ELΠώς χαρακτηρίζει η Ελλάδα την LLC: ως νομικό πρόσωπο ή ως διαφανή οντότητα;
- 03EN
Could the CFC rule add its undistributed income to mine?
ELΜπορούν οι κανόνες για τις ελεγχόμενες αλλοδαπές εταιρείες να προσθέσουν τα αδιανέμητα κέρδη της στο εισόδημά μου;
- 04EN
How are payments from the company to me taxed, and does the 5% dividend rate apply?
ELΠώς φορολογούνται οι πληρωμές της εταιρείας προς εμένα, και ισχύει ο συντελεστής 5% στα μερίσματα;
- 05EN
What social security contributions do I owe on this income?
ELΠοιες ασφαλιστικές εισφορές οφείλω για αυτό το εισόδημα;
- 06EN
Would a Greek IKE serve me better than a US company?
ELΘα με εξυπηρετούσε καλύτερα μια ελληνική ΙΚΕ από μια αμερικανική εταιρεία;
- 07EN
How should I keep records for the US return and my Greek return?
ELΠώς πρέπει να τηρώ αρχεία για την αμερικανική δήλωση και την ελληνική μου δήλωση;
Questions
Questions from Greece.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
Can a Greek resident own a US LLC?
Yes. US law doesn't require an LLC's owners to be US citizens or residents, and formation, the EIN and the bank applications all happen remotely. The Greek questions are where it's managed and whether its income is passive.
Can Greece tax my US company as Greek?
It can. A company is Greek-resident if its place of effective management is in Greece, judged from where its daily management and strategic decisions happen. It then pays corporate tax at 22%.
Can the CFC rule tax me on profit the company keeps?
It can. If you control more than 50% of a foreign company that pays less than half the tax Greece would charge, and more than 30% of its income is passive, its undistributed income is added to yours. The exception for real activity covers only EU and EEA companies.
How are dividends from the company taxed in Greece?
At 5%. The US–Greece treaty doesn't cut US withholding on dividends, so a US corporation paying you is withheld at 30% first.
How much does a US company from Greece 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 tax adviser's fees, US return preparation and Greek 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 Greece?
A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business selling to US customers, once you know how Greece will tax it. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors. 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 Greece?
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. Banks, payment providers and Stripe each set their own review times. These are estimates, not promises.
Can I open a Mercury account from Greece?
Usually you can apply. Greece 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?
Usually, yes. Greece is on Wise's list of places where people can hold money, so a US company run from Greece can get USD account details. Wise reviews each business.
Do I need a US company for Stripe in Greece?
No. Stripe supports businesses in Greece, and an IKE gets you Stripe too. A US company is for selling as a US vendor, US contracts, US investors or platforms that need one.
Do I pay US tax on work I do from Greece?
Generally not. Pay for work you do in Greece is generally not US-source income, so a US company with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. A single-owner LLC still files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 when it has reportable transactions with you.
Is there a US–Greece tax treaty?
Yes, a 1950 treaty is in force. It exempts interest and most royalties from US withholding, but leaves dividends at the full 30%.
Does BaseAcross file the US and Greek 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. Your Greek returns are for you and your tax 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.
Greece
United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)
Banks and payments
Residence, the rate, the CFC rule and dividends come from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Confirm the current position with your tax 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
Nothing charged yetFrom
Athens
Greece
To
Wyoming
LLC · Cheyenne, WY
- Plan
- Launch
- First year
- $351.40
- To order
- 10 steps
Launch · $249 + $102.40 Wyoming · Same day