Video · From Lebanon
Is Income From My US Company Taxed in Lebanon? (2026)
Selling to a US buyer from Lebanon and wondering whether a US company keeps that income out of Lebanese tax? Not if the work is done here. 4:37 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Lebanese resident own a US LLC?
It's evening in Beirut, and Karim has a buyer in America who wants to sign with a US company. Karim wonders whether one would also keep that income out of Lebanese tax. Not if the work is done here. Lebanon taxes profit that comes from work done in Lebanon, whoever earns it. We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you.
On the American side, a Lebanese resident can own one, with no social security number and no trip to the US.
0:31Do I need a US company to get paid from Lebanon?
First, does Karim need one at all? If you're simply getting paid by clients abroad, you may not need a company yet. Form one when a client needs one. The guide's first step is to decide three things before you order. Whether you need a US company at all, how Lebanon will tax the work you do here, and who will bank the company. Karim's case is clear.
Some US buyers and platforms want a US contracting party, and his does. That's where a Wyoming LLC can fit, once a bank will open for it.
1:01Is income from my US company outside Lebanese tax?
Here's the rule at the centre of it. Lebanon taxes profit that comes from effort exerted in Lebanon, whoever earns it and wherever they're resident. So the work Karim does at his desk in Beirut for a US company counts. The company's own residence matters too. It's resident in Lebanon if it's established or registered under Lebanese law, or if it has a place of business here.
Whether that makes your US LLC resident here, and how Lebanon classes it, are questions for your tax adviser. Keep a record of where the work is done from the start.
1:36Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
Forming the company is the simple part. A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business selling to US customers. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors. It 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.
Prices are in US dollars, so check your card's limits and fees before you pay from Lebanon.
2:08Which account can a founder in Lebanon use?
Plan the bank before you order. Here it's the hard part. A US fintech bank doesn't open for people living in Lebanon, and it goes by where you live, not your passport. A second US business bank won't serve Lebanon either, and the multi-currency account gives no US dollar details to people living here. Expect banks to ask more questions, too. Ask your adviser which bank or payment provider will serve a US company owned from Lebanon. Each provider decides for itself. The big card processor doesn't list Lebanon.
A US company with a US bank account can apply, and it can decline, so find the bank before you count on it.
2:48How are the company and its dividends taxed in Lebanon?
So how does Lebanon tax the company and its owner? The guide works one example through. Say a one-person LLC run from Beirut makes sixty thousand dollars of profit, all from work done there. That's effort exerted in Lebanon, so at the company rate it's ten thousand two hundred dollars. If the company then pays out the rest as a dividend, that's taxed too, four thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars, declared on a Lebanese form early in the year. That's an illustration, not a quote.
Whether the profit is taxed as the company's or as yours, and at which rate, is for your tax adviser.
3:25Is there a US–Lebanon tax treaty?
On the American side, there's no US and Lebanon income tax treaty. Dividends, interest and royalties from the US paid to you are withheld, unless a US exemption applies. With no treaty, ask your adviser how you get credit for US tax withheld. But pay for work you do in Lebanon 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. Missing it is expensive, and it's usually due in the spring.
4:05What to do first, in order
Put together, the order runs like this. See your tax adviser first, about how Lebanon taxes work you do here and how it sees a US LLC. Then find the account you'll use, and only then form the company and get the EIN. Keep a record of where the work is done, and put the IRS report and your Lebanese filings on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser in English and Arabic, is linked below.
And Karim? He's booking his adviser before he orders anything.
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 Lebanon, with sources.
Read the guide for LebanonWatch on YouTube