Video · From Honduras
US LLC from Honduras: When Does Honduras Tax It? (2026)
Running a US company from Honduras? Honduras taxes Honduran-source income only, and a US company with a fixed place of business here can owe Honduran tax. 4:59 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Honduran resident own a US LLC?
It's late afternoon in Tegucigalpa, and Daniela has just sent a proposal to a client abroad. She runs a small agency, and this client wants to pay by card. The big card processor doesn't take Honduran businesses, so she's looking at 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. From Honduras, the part to plan is where the work happens.
A US company worked from a fixed place here can owe Honduran tax.
0:34Do you need a US company for Stripe in Honduras?
First, does she need one at all? It depends on why. The big card processor doesn't list Honduras among the countries it supports. A US company with an EIN and a US bank account can apply for a US account there. A US company also helps if you sell into the US, because some buyers and platforms want a US contracting party. Raising from US investors usually means a Delaware C-Corp. For card payments and US sales, the guide says get advice first.
Daniela's reason is the card payments.
1:09Is your US company taxed in Honduras?
Here's the Honduran rule everything else hangs on. Honduras taxes Honduran-source income only, for residents and non-residents alike. A company formed abroad isn't resident here. It is taxed here if it has a permanent establishment, which means a fixed place of business through which it works in Honduras. So for Daniela, what matters is where the agency's work gets done. Whether a home office counts is something the guide leaves to a Honduran tax adviser.
These rules come from PwC's tax summary, so confirm them before you act.
1:41Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
The American part is simpler. 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 Honduran company to form a US company.
Prices are in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:24Which US accounts work from Honduras?
Where can the dollars land? Founders living in Honduras can apply to a US fintech bank, because Honduras isn't on its list of countries it doesn't serve. That list goes by where you live, and the bank decides each application. A multi-currency account gives no US dollar account details to founders living here. Another US bank doesn't bar Honduras, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself. With a US account, Daniela can apply to the card processor.
It reviews her business, and it can say no.
2:57What does a company pay in Honduras?
So when would Honduras tax the company? The guide works one example through. Say Daniela's Wyoming LLC makes one point two million lempiras of profit, all from work she does at a fixed desk in Tegucigalpa. If that desk is a permanent establishment, and the profit is Honduran-source, corporate tax applies, plus a Solidarity Contribution on the part above a set amount. That comes to three hundred and ten thousand lempiras. It's an illustration, not a quote. A dividend from what's left is foreign-source, so it's generally outside Honduran tax. Confirm that with your adviser.
Daniela herself is resident after a set number of days here in a fiscal year, and pays rising rates on Honduran-source income above an exempt amount.
3:46Do you pay US tax, and is there a US–Honduras treaty?
In America, there's no income tax treaty with Honduras. Honduras has no tax treaties in force at all. So US-source dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld at a set rate, unless a US exemption applies. Pay for work you do in Honduras generally isn't US income, so nothing is withheld on it. 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.
4:21What to do first, in order
Put together, the order runs like this. Start with a Honduran tax adviser: whether you need a US company at all, and whether your workplace gives it a permanent establishment here. Then form the company, get the EIN, and apply to the US fintech bank first. Keep the company's books, and a record of where the work is done. Put the IRS report and your Honduran filings on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist in English and Spanish for your adviser, is linked below. And Daniela?
The proposal is out, and her next appointment is with the adviser.
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 Honduras, with sources.
Read the guide for HondurasWatch on YouTube