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From Portugal · Europe

Start a US company from Portugal

For founders in Portugal who sell into the US as a US vendor or raise from US investors. A Portuguese company already gets you Stripe, and Mercury and Wise Business both serve founders here. A low-taxed LLC with passive income can be taxed to you, so read that section first.

Start from Portugal From $351.40 in the first year

Launch + Wyoming filing; the tax return is separate.Checked by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.

At a glance

Mercury takes applications from founders living in Portugal. Wise Business is the usual second account.

The banks, in detail
US tax treaty
In force
Local Stripe
Yes
Mercury
Yes
Currency
EUR
Our fee
from $249
Wyoming's fee
$102.40
Until we file
Refunded in full

You can form a US company while living in Portugal, without an SSN or a US visit, and Mercury and Wise Business both open for founders here. Launch starts at $351.40 in Wyoming, including our plan and state filing fee. A Portuguese company already gets you Stripe, so the reason is usually US customers or investors. The Portuguese points: every US account you can operate goes in Annex J, and a low-taxed LLC with passive income can be taxed to you.

Before you form

Start with whether you need a US company, and what income it will earn.

  • You may not need a US company

    Card payments from customers worldwide

    Stripe already supports Portuguese businesses, and a Portuguese company is what banks and the tax office here understand.

    Getting access to Stripe
  • A Wyoming LLC or a C-Corp, after advice

    Selling into the US as a US vendor

    Some US buyers and platforms want a US contracting party. Run from Portugal, either can be Portuguese-resident.

    US companies for SaaS
  • A Delaware C-Corp

    Raising from US investors

    US investors usually want a Delaware C-Corp. Where its effective management sits decides Portuguese residence.

    Raising from US investors
  • Check the 25% passive line first

    Licensing software, content or a brand

    Royalties are passive. Above 25% of income, a low-taxed LLC's profit is taxed to you.

    US holding companies

BaseAcross's Wyoming LLC and Delaware C-Corp options for founders in Portugal

Wyoming LLC

Owner-run business selling to US customers, after advice.

State filing
$102.40
Yearly state charge
From $60
Wyoming LLC formation

Delaware C-Corp

Raising from US investors; plan where it's managed.

State filing
$110
Yearly state charge
$450 for the model shown
Delaware C-Corp formation

Both charges are the state's, before our plan, optional services and your advisers' fees. Wyoming sets a minimum yearly charge, and Delaware's franchise tax depends on how it's calculated. Staff, stock or premises in another state can bring obligations there. An S-corporation isn't an option, because nonresident aliens can't hold its shares.

Prepare the information

Different documents are needed at different stages.

You provide

Before state filing

  • Your proposed company name, business activity and chosen structure.
  • Owners' names exactly as on their passports, ownership shares, managers and home addresses.
  • Where effective management will sit, and what share of income will be royalties or other passive income.
  • The approved company name and formation details.
  • The responsible party. Without an SSN or ITIN, the application goes on Form SS-4.
  • Accurate mailing and principal business addresses, and your signed authorization where required.
You confirm; we prepare

After formation, for the EIN

  • A passport for each owner the provider asks about.
  • Formation documents, the EIN confirmation and the operating agreement.
  • A real business address, your website, a description of the business and the source of funds, as each provider asks.
The provider verifies

For bank and payment applications

  • Annex J, table 11: the IBAN and BIC of every account abroad you can operate.
  • The company's income by type, for the 25% passive line.
  • A record of where the company is managed.
You and your contabilista certificado

For the Autoridade Tributária

You don't need a Portuguese company to form a US company. The EIN is the US company's tax ID. Send identity documents through a secure request, and only the ones asked for.

How it works

Seven steps from Portugal to a maintained US company.

The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In Portugal, your contabilista handles the Autoridade Tributária; we don't file there.

You and your contabilista certificado

Check the Portuguese side first

Decide whether you need a US company at all, how much of its income will be passive, and where it will be managed.

You leave this stage with: A structure and tax plan that fits Portugal's rules.

01 / 07

Plan the wait

Formation, the EIN and banking have separate timelines.

Published service estimates and prerequisites for a Wyoming company from Portugal

  1. Wyoming formationSame day
  2. Ordinary EINsix to eight weeks
  3. Expedited EINtwo to three weeks
  4. Bank and payment accountsProvider review
  5. US Stripe accountStripe's review

  1. Wyoming formation

    Same day

    The clock starts
    Complete filing accepted by the state
    What can change it
    Our order checks and filing batch come first. Expedited filing changes our queue; it doesn't speed up the EIN.

  2. Ordinary EIN

    six to eight weeks

    The clock starts
    EIN application after formation
    What can change it
    Included in the plan. This is our published estimate; the IRS queue can change.

  3. Expedited EIN

    two to three weeks

    The clock starts
    EIN application after formation
    What can change it
    Optional $199 service. An estimate, with issuance controlled by the IRS.

  4. Bank and payment accounts

    Provider review

    The clock starts
    Company and owner information ready
    What can change it
    Mercury, Wise and any other provider set their own timing, may ask for more documents and can decline an application.

  5. US Stripe account

    Stripe's review

    The clock starts
    US bank account and website ready
    What can change it
    Stripe reviews the business and the person behind it, and can decline.

These are service estimates, not promised completion dates. The IRS and each provider set their own processing times. Names or addresses that differ between documents slow every stage.

What it costs

The same price from Portugal as from anywhere.

Charged in US dollars, with the Wyoming state fee passed on at cost. Where you live changes which bank we introduce you to, not the price.

LLC cost calculator

Launch

To start

$351.40

$249 our fee + $102.40 Wyoming fee

Renews from $309 a year

OperateBilled yearly

To start

$2,490.40

$2,388 our fee + $102.40 Wyoming fee

Renews from $2,448 a year

Included in both plans

  • State formation filing
  • Registered agent and registered office
  • EIN application without an SSN
  • LLC Operating Agreement or corporate bylaws
  • Bank and payment application guidance
  • Filing calendar and reminders

What changes because you live here

The filing is the same from anywhere. Four things aren't.

Treaty status, payment availability, bank eligibility and time zones. Sources checked 14 October 2026; account approval remains with the provider.

1 of 4: The tax treaty

The tax treaty

The tax treaty: In force

The US–Portugal income tax treaty is in force.

It caps US withholding on interest at 10%, on dividends at 15%, or 5% for a qualifying company shareholder, and on royalties at 10%. Pay for work you do in Portugal generally isn't US-source income, so the treaty matters less for a services business.

How Portugal sees it

Every account you can sign for goes in Annex J, and low-taxed profits can be yours.

The rules come from the codes and FAQs on the Portal das Finanças, in Portuguese; company residence from PwC's summary. They run alongside the US steps below.

  1. Each year, with your return

    You

    Annex J, table 11: every account abroad you hold or are authorised to operate, earning or not.

  2. If it pays under half Portugal's tax

    You, with 25% or more

    Its profits are taxed to you, unless passive income is 25% or less of its income.

  3. If it's managed from Portugal

    The company, with your contabilista

    Portuguese-resident: corporate tax at 17%, or 15% on a small company's first EUR 50,000.

Worked example

An LLC with royalty income, worked through

This is an illustration, not a quote. How Portugal classifies your LLC, and where it's managed, can change the answer.

  1. Your Wyoming LLC makes EUR 80,000 of profit: EUR 50,000 from consulting and EUR 30,000 in royalties. You own all of it.

  2. It pays no US tax, under half of the EUR 13,600 Portugal's 17% would charge.

  3. Royalties are 37.5% of its income, above the 25% line, so the exclusion doesn't apply.

  4. The whole EUR 80,000 is taxed to you as business income, paid out or not.

What Portugal expects

Owning a US company doesn't take you out of Portugal's tax system.

Portugal wants every account abroad you can operate in Annex J, taxes a low-taxed foreign company's profits to a 25% holder, and taxes a company run from Portugal as resident.

Every account abroad

A resident lists every deposit or securities account abroad they hold, benefit from or are authorised to operate in table 11 of Annex J to their return, even if it earned nothing. Signing for your company's US account counts.

Sources

Low-taxed foreign companies

A resident holding 25% or more of a foreign entity is taxed on its profits when it pays less than half the tax Portugal would charge. The rule doesn't apply if passive income, such as royalties and dividends, is 25% or less of the entity's income.

Sources

Where it is run

A company whose head office or effective management is in Portugal is Portuguese-resident. Corporate tax is 17%, or 15% on a small company's first EUR 50,000.

Sources

Residence

You're resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12 months starting or ending in the year, or keep a home there you intend to live in.

Sources

On the record

We form US companies. We aren't Portuguese tax advisers. These are the rules as they're generally published, they change, and how they apply to you depends on details this page can't know. Take this list to a tax adviser in Portugal before you order, and we'll tell you what the US forms need.

After formation

Someone has to own each filing, in each country.

US information reporting

A US LLC with one foreign owner is usually a disregarded entity that files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 when it has reportable transactions with you. Money you put in, take out or are paid for your work can count even in a year without sales. The IRS penalty for not filing starts at $25,000.

For a calendar-year company, the return is usually due 15 April, and Form 7004 requests an extension before then. A C-Corp, or an LLC with more than one owner, files different returns.

Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120

State, Autoridade Tributária and ownership checks

Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In Portugal, list every account abroad you can operate in Annex J, and report any profits taxed to you.

US-created companies are exempt from BOI reporting under FinCEN's current rule, effective 14 August 2026. Banks and payment providers still verify who owns the company.

Who handles each formation, banking and filing responsibility
TaskWho handles itWhere the responsibility ends
Formation and EIN applicationBaseAcross prepares and submitsThe state approves formation; the IRS issues the EIN.
Bank and payment applicationsYou, with our guidanceThe provider verifies the information and decides.
Annex J and Portuguese returnsYou and your contabilistaWe provide the US company records they need.
Annual state filingYou, or our optional filing serviceReminders are included; managed filing and the state charge are separate.
US federal returnsYou and your US tax preparerLaunch and Operate remind you; they don't file the return.

Prepare the conversation

Take these questions to your contabilista before you order.

Bring the owners, where each lives, the operating agreement, where the company will be managed and its income by type. Each question is also in Portuguese.

Download the checklist for your contabilista (.txt)
  1. 01
    EN

    How will the Autoridade Tributária classify my US LLC: as a company, or as transparent?

    PT

    Como vai a Autoridade Tributária qualificar a minha LLC americana: como sociedade ou como entidade transparente?

  2. 02
    EN

    Could article 66 of the CIRC tax its profits to me, given its passive income and the tax it pays?

    PT

    O artigo 66.º do CIRC pode imputar-me os seus lucros, tendo em conta os rendimentos passivos e o imposto que paga?

  3. 03
    EN

    Would its effective management be in Portugal, making it resident here?

    PT

    A direção efetiva ficaria em Portugal, tornando-a residente cá?

  4. 04
    EN

    Which accounts go in Annex J, table 11, including the company's US account?

    PT

    Que contas devo indicar no quadro 11 do Anexo J, incluindo a conta americana da sociedade?

  5. 05
    EN

    Does the IFICI regime apply to me, and does it change any of this?

    PT

    O regime IFICI aplica-se a mim, e altera alguma destas questões?

  6. 06
    EN

    Would a Portuguese company serve me better than a US company?

    PT

    Uma sociedade portuguesa servir-me-ia melhor do que uma sociedade americana?

  7. 07
    EN

    How should I keep records for the US return and my Portuguese return?

    PT

    Como devo organizar os registos para a declaração americana e a minha declaração de IRS?

Questions

Questions from Portugal.

If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.

Can a Portuguese resident own a US LLC?

Yes. US law doesn't require an LLC's owners to be US citizens or residents, and formation, the EIN and the bank applications all happen remotely. The Portuguese questions are Annex J, low-taxed passive income and where it's managed.

Do I declare the company's US bank account in Portugal?

Yes, if you can operate it. A resident lists every deposit or securities account abroad they hold, benefit from or are authorised to operate in table 11 of Annex J, with its IBAN and BIC, even if it earned nothing.

Can Portugal tax my LLC's profits to me?

It can. A resident holding 25% or more of a foreign entity is taxed on its profits when it pays less than half the tax Portugal would charge. The rule doesn't apply if passive income, such as royalties and dividends, is 25% or less of its income.

Can Portugal tax my US company as Portuguese?

It can. A company whose head office or effective management is in Portugal is Portuguese-resident. Corporate tax is 17%, or 15% on a small company's first EUR 50,000.

Does NHR or IFICI protect my LLC's income?

Not automatically. NHR closed to most new applicants, and IFICI covers specific activities. Ask your contabilista whether either applies to you and to this income.

How much does a US company from Portugal cost?

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 contabilista's fees, US return preparation and Portuguese filings are separate. Wyoming's license tax can be more than its $60 minimum.

Should I form a Wyoming LLC or a Delaware C-Corp from Portugal?

A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business selling to US customers, once you know how Portugal will tax it. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors. Nonresident aliens can't hold shares in an S-corporation.

Can I get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN?

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.

How long does it take from Portugal?

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.

Can I open a Mercury account from Portugal?

Usually you can apply. Portugal 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.

Can I use Wise Business for the US company?

Usually, yes. Portugal is on Wise's list of places where people can hold money, so a US company run from Portugal can get USD account details. Wise reviews each business.

Do I need a US company for Stripe in Portugal?

No. Stripe supports businesses in Portugal, and a Portuguese company gets you Stripe too. A US company is for selling as a US vendor, US contracts, US investors or platforms that need one.

Do I pay US tax on work I do from Portugal?

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

Is there a US–Portugal tax treaty?

Yes, it's in force. It caps US withholding on interest at 10%, on dividends at 15%, or 5% for a qualifying company shareholder, and on royalties at 10%.

Does my LLC need a BOI report?

Not if it was formed in the US. US-created companies are exempt under FinCEN's current BOI rule, effective 14 August 2026, though some guides still say to file. Banks still collect ownership details for their own checks.

Does BaseAcross file the US and Portuguese returns for me?

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. Annex J and your Portuguese returns are for you and your contabilista.

Sources and editorial scope

Check the published rules behind the explanation.

Prepared by the BaseAcross team and reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer. Sources checked . This is general formation information, with source links for the tax and banking context. An individual tax or legal review remains with your qualified advisers.

Portugal

United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)

Banks and payments

States

The rules are read from the codes and FAQs on the Portal das Finanças, in Portuguese. Company residence comes from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Confirm the current position with your contabilista before acting.

Europe

Other countries in the region.

Every country

Ready when you are

Answer the questions. We do the filing.

It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, state fee included, before anything is charged.

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Wyoming

LLC · Cheyenne, WY

Plan
Launch
First year
$351.40
To order
10 steps
Start from Portugal

Launch · $249 + $102.40 Wyoming · Same day