US LLC from Indonesia: Ask Who Will Bank You Before You Form

0:00Can an Indonesian resident own a US LLC?

It's late in Yogyakarta, and Putri is still at her desk. She designs websites for clients abroad, and she wants card payments on her own site. So she searches. Can I start a US company from Indonesia? As far as America goes, yes. No social security number, and no trip to the US. Cheyenne, in Wyoming, is thirteen hours behind Jakarta in July. But it all happens online and in writing, so you never need to be awake in US hours.

We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you. Two things matter more than the paperwork here. Who will bank you, and one Indonesian tax

0:45Do I need a US company to get paid as a freelancer in Indonesia?

rule. Before anything else, does she need a US company at all? For some freelancers in Indonesia, maybe not. Some people with business turnover under a yearly limit pay a final tax on it at a set rate, and the first part of each year's turnover is free of it. Here's the guide's own illustration. Say your turnover for the year is eight hundred million rupiah, and that tax applies to you.

The first five hundred million is free, so you'd pay one and a half million rupiah for the year. That's an illustration, not a quote, and whether pay from your own US company counts is for your adviser. A US company adds US filings, so it needs a reason. Putri has one: card payments on her own site.

1:32Which US accounts work from Indonesia?

In batik, the wax goes on before the dye. Here, the bank question goes before the company. One of the US fintech banks doesn't open accounts for people who live in Indonesia. It goes by where you live, not your passport. A well-known multi-currency account gives no US account details to founders here. Another bank doesn't bar Indonesia, but it asks every owner for a physical US address.

So the honest answer is fewer than most guides suggest. Ask each provider about Indonesia before you order anything.

2:09Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN

Once you know where you'll bank, forming the company is the quick part. A Wyoming LLC usually suits an owner-run business selling to customers abroad. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from investors who want shares. The company needs a registered agent, an address in that state for legal papers, not where you work. Then the EIN, its US tax number. Without a social security number, it's a paper form to the IRS.

It doesn't replace your Indonesian tax number. Prices are in US dollars, so check the rupiah amount and your bank's fees.

2:47Will a US LLC get me Stripe from Indonesia?

Now Putri's reason, the card payments. The big card processor lists Indonesia only as in preview. A US LLC with its tax number and a US bank account can apply to its US side instead. It reviews the business and the person behind it, and it can decline. Use the same name, address and business description everywhere you apply.

3:13Can Indonesia tax the company's profits before they're paid out?

Here's the rule most guides leave out. Indonesia taxes its residents on income from anywhere. And a foreign company that Indonesians control can be a controlled foreign company. Its passive income, like interest, royalties or dividends, can be taxed in Indonesia as if it were paid to you, even if it never is. Active business income from abroad is different. It can be exempt if it doesn't come through a branch or a foreign subsidiary, and it's invested in Indonesia within a set period.

US tax you've paid can be credited, with proof attached to your return. Whether your company's income fits any of this is for your tax adviser.

3:55Is there a US–Indonesia tax treaty?

On the American side, there's a US tax treaty with Indonesia, and it's in force. It caps US withholding on interest, royalties and dividends paid to you. But pay for work you do in Indonesia generally isn't US income in the first place, so for a services business the treaty matters less. What doesn't go away is the paperwork. The company files a report with the IRS every year, even without sales, and missing it is expensive.

It's usually due in the spring, and there's a form to ask for more time, filed before the deadline.

4:32What order should I do it in?

So this is how Putri would do it. Take the Indonesian questions to a tax adviser. Ask each bank about Indonesia. Then form the company, and only then apply. Record every payment between you and the company. Put the IRS report and your Indonesian return on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your tax adviser, is linked below. And Putri's late-night search?

She put the question to the banks first, before she ordered anything.