Start a US company from Kenya

Yes, as far as US law goes. It doesn't require an LLC's owners to be US citizens or residents, and formation, the EIN and the bank applications all happen remotely. On the Kenyan side, the KRA's rules on residents and on companies managed from Kenya apply. Owning a US company doesn't give you a US visa.

Yes, if you're resident. Kenya taxes residents on earned income for employment or services rendered in Kenya or abroad. You're resident if you have a permanent home in Kenya and were there in the year, or were there for 183 days or more, or for more than 122 days a year on average over three years.

It can. A company formed abroad is resident in Kenya if its management and control is exercised in Kenya in the year. A single founder running the company from Kenya should have a tax adviser look at this early.

Not necessarily. Your pay for work done anywhere is taxed in Kenya either way. A US company is for card payments in dollars, US contracts and platforms that need one.

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 bank charges in Kenya are separate. Wyoming's license tax can be more than its $60 minimum.

A Wyoming LLC usually suits an owner-run business selling to customers abroad. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from investors who want shares. Nonresident aliens can't hold shares in an S-corporation.

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. Your KRA PIN isn't part of it.

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.

Usually you can apply. Kenya 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.

Not for USD account details. Wise gives no USD account details to founders living in Kenya, which isn't on its list of places where people can hold money. Relay doesn't bar Kenya, but it asks every owner for a physical US address.

Not for local payments. In Kenya, Stripe works through Paystack, which it owns. For card payments in dollars from customers abroad, a US LLC with an EIN and a US bank account can apply for a US Stripe account, and approval isn't guaranteed.

Generally not. Pay for work you do in Kenya is generally not US-source income, so a single-owner LLC with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. It still files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 when it has reportable transactions with you.

No. US-source dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld at 30% unless a US exemption applies. Kenya gives foreign tax credits where it has a treaty, and the United States isn't one, but Kenyan citizens can claim a unilateral credit.

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 KRA return, and any filing for a company the KRA sees as resident, are for you and your tax adviser.

Through a bank or provider that supports your company and pays out in Kenya. Record whether each payment is pay for work or profit, because they're taxed differently.

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.