Video · From Guatemala
Can a Guatemalan Own a US LLC? Where Your Work Is Taxed (2026)
Running a US company from Guatemala? Guatemala taxes Guatemala-source income only, and pay for services rendered in Guatemala counts, even when a US company is paid for it. 5:03 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Guatemalan resident own a US LLC?
It's late afternoon in Guatemala City, and Andrea has just shipped an update for a client abroad. She runs a small software agency, and her clients want to pay by card, so she's wondering about a US company. On the American side, she 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. The part to plan here is the tax.
Work Andrea does in Guatemala can be taxed in Guatemala, even when a US company gets paid for it.
0:35Do you need a US company for Stripe in Guatemala?
First, does she need one at all? The big card processor doesn't list Guatemala among the countries it supports. A US company with a US tax number and a US bank account can apply for a US account there. It reviews each application, and it can decline. Some US buyers and platforms want a US contracting party, which is another reason. Ask how Guatemala will source your work first. US investors usually want a Delaware C-Corp. Andrea's reason is the card payments.
Even then, the guide says get advice first, because services she renders here are still taxed here.
1:11Is income from your US company taxed in Guatemala?
Here's Guatemala's central rule. It taxes Guatemala-source income only. Pay for services rendered in Guatemala counts. Pay for services performed outside Guatemala doesn't. A company pays on its net income, or under a simplified system, on its gross income, with a higher rate above a monthly threshold. Your own pay for work done here is taxed at one rate up to a yearly threshold, and a higher one above it. Capital gains and investment income from outside the country aren't taxed by Guatemala, and it has no controlled foreign company rules.
The guide takes these rules from PwC's tax summaries, so confirm them with your adviser.
1:52Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
The American part is the quicker one. A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business that needs the card processor or sells to US customers. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors, though it pays US corporate tax. 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 Guatemalan company to form a US company.
Prices are in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:32Which US accounts work from Guatemala?
Where can the dollars land? Founders living in Guatemala can apply to a US fintech bank, because Guatemala isn't on its list of countries it doesn't serve. It decides each application, and it can decline. A multi-currency account gives no US dollar account details to founders living in Guatemala. Another US bank doesn't bar Guatemala, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself, so use the same names, addresses and business description everywhere.
With a US account, Andrea can apply to the card processor.
3:09Are dividends from the US company taxed in Guatemala?
So how does Guatemala see Andrea's company? The guide works one example through. Say her Wyoming LLC makes four hundred and eighty thousand quetzales of profit, from services she renders in Guatemala City for clients abroad. If Guatemala treats that as Guatemala-source income, taxed on net profit at the company rate, the tax is one hundred and twenty thousand quetzales. If the company then pays her a dividend, Guatemala doesn't tax it, because it's investment income from abroad. That's an illustration, not a quote.
Which system applies, and how Guatemala classes the LLC, are questions for her tax adviser.
3:47Do you pay US tax, and is there a US–Guatemala treaty?
In America, there's no income tax treaty with Guatemala. So US-source dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld at a flat rate, unless a US exemption applies. Pay for work you do in Guatemala generally isn't US income, so nothing is withheld on it, and 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. Money you put in, take out or are paid for your work can count, and missing it is expensive.
For a calendar-year company, it's usually due in mid-April.
4:29What to do first, in order
Put together, the order runs like this. Start with a Guatemalan tax adviser. Ask whether the work you do here is Guatemala-source income, and whether a Guatemalan company would serve you better. Then form the company, get the EIN, and apply to the bank and the card processor. Keep the books and a record of where the work is done, and put the IRS report and your Guatemalan filings on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser, is linked below. And Andrea?
Before she orders anything, she's asking where her work is taxed.
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 Guatemala, with sources.
Read the guide for GuatemalaWatch on YouTube