Video · From Jamaica
Can a Jamaican Own a US LLC? Where It's Managed Decides the Tax (2026)
Running a US company from Jamaica? A company whose central management and control is exercised in Jamaica is resident there and pays 25% on its worldwide income. 4:54 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Jamaican resident own a US LLC?
It's late in the day in Kingston, and Shanice is packing the last of today's print orders. She's a photographer, and more of her buyers are abroad, wanting to pay by card on her site. She wants 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 Jamaica, one thing needs care first.
A company that's managed and controlled from here can be resident here, wherever it was formed.
0:32Do I need a US company for Stripe in Jamaica?
Does she need one at all? It depends on why. The big card processor doesn't take Jamaican businesses, so for card payments the guide's answer is a US company, after advice. A US company with an EIN and a US bank account can apply for a US account there, and it can be declined. A US company also suits selling into the US, after advice, as some buyers and platforms want a US contracting party. US investors usually want a Delaware C-Corp, and a Jamaican company can own a US one as a subsidiary.
Shanice's reason is the card payments.
1:11Can my US company be resident in Jamaica?
Here's the Jamaican rule to read first. A company is resident in Jamaica if its central management and control is exercised here, wherever it's incorporated. That usually means the meetings and the major decisions happen here. A resident company is taxed on its worldwide income. So a Wyoming LLC that Shanice runs from Kingston can be resident in Jamaica. Jamaica has no controlled foreign company rules, and no tax on capital gains. So the question is where the company is managed.
Ask your adviser that first.
1:43Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
In the US, 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 Jamaican company to form a US company.
Prices are in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:23Which US accounts work from Jamaica?
Where can the dollars land? Founders living in Jamaica can apply to a US fintech bank, because Jamaica isn't on its list of countries it doesn't serve. It decides each application. A multi-currency account gives no US dollar account details to founders living here, because Jamaica isn't on its list of places where people can hold money. Another US bank doesn't bar Jamaica, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself.
With a US account, Shanice can apply to the card processor, and it can say no.
2:57How is my income taxed in Jamaica?
Now Jamaica's tax on her. You're resident after a set time here in a tax year, or if a home is available to you here and you visit at all. If you're resident and domiciled here, you're taxed on your worldwide income, at rates that step up above a set amount, after a tax-free threshold. If you're resident but not domiciled, investment income from abroad is taxed only when you bring it into Jamaica. Here's the guide's illustration. Say her Wyoming LLC makes nine million Jamaican dollars of profit, and she makes every decision from Kingston. If Jamaica treats it as managed and controlled here, the company's tax is two million, two hundred and fifty thousand. If she's domiciled here, a dividend from what's left is part of her worldwide income.
That's an illustration, not a quote.
3:47Do I pay US tax, and is there a US–Jamaica treaty?
On the American side, the US and Jamaica have an income tax treaty in force. It caps what the US withholds on interest, royalties and dividends paid to you. Pay for work you do in Jamaica generally isn't US income, so the treaty matters less for a services business. 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. Missing it is expensive.
For a calendar-year company, it's usually due in mid-April.
4:21What to do first, in order
The order runs like this. Start with a Jamaican tax adviser, about whether you need a US company at all, and where it will be managed and controlled. Then form it, get the EIN, and apply for the accounts. Keep the company's books, and a record of where its decisions are made. Put the IRS report and your Jamaican return on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser, is linked below. And Shanice?
She booked the adviser before the company, then went back to tomorrow's orders.
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 Jamaica, with sources.
Read the guide for JamaicaWatch on YouTube