Video · From Saudi Arabia
Can Saudi Arabia Tax Your US Company? Income Tax or Zakat (2026)
Saudi Arabia doesn't tax salaries, and PwC's summary of its rules finds no restrictions on moving money out of the Kingdom. So can a founder in Riyadh run a US company untouched? 4:41 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Saudi resident own a US LLC?
It's evening in Riyadh, and Noura is getting ready to sell her software to buyers in America. Saudi Arabia doesn't tax salaries, so she wonders whether a US company would be left alone too. That's the one thing to check. Saudi Arabia can treat a company run from the Kingdom as Saudi. We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you. The American part is simple.
No social security number, no trip to the US, and nothing that needs you awake in American hours.
0:32Do you need a US company for Stripe in Saudi Arabia?
First, does Noura need one at all? For some founders here, the reason is card payments. The big card processor doesn't serve the Kingdom, but a US company with a US bank account can apply to it. It reviews you, and it can decline. For others, it's US buyers or app stores that want a US party to sign with. That's Noura's reason. Raising from American investors usually means a Delaware C-Corp instead.
Whichever it is, plan where the decisions will be made, because that's what Saudi Arabia looks at.
1:04Can Saudi Arabia treat your US company as resident?
So what does Saudi Arabia look at? Not the money. PwC's summary says there are no restrictions on moving profits, fees, capital, salaries or other money out of the Kingdom. Your bank will still ask what each transfer is for. The rule that matters is about the company. It's resident in Saudi Arabia if it's formed under Saudi law, or if its central management is in the Kingdom. That can hold even though it was formed in the US.
If one founder runs a US company entirely from Riyadh, an adviser should look at this early.
1:38Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
Forming it is the quick part. A Wyoming LLC suits a business you run yourself, selling to US customers. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors. Either way, where it's managed decides Saudi residence. You don't need a Saudi company or a commercial registration to form one. It 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 or an ITIN, the application goes on a separate IRS form instead of the online tool.
You'll pay in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:16Can you open Mercury or Wise from Saudi Arabia?
Where can the dollars land? Here, this is the easier part. Founders living in Saudi Arabia can apply to a US fintech bank, because the Kingdom isn't on its list of countries it doesn't serve. It decides each application. A multi-currency account can give a US company run from the Kingdom US account details too. Another bank doesn't bar Saudi Arabia, but it asks every owner for a physical US address.
Each provider decides for itself, and can decline. Use the same names, addresses and business description everywhere.
2:49Income tax or Zakat: which applies to your company?
Now the Saudi side. There's no tax on Noura's salary. But if her US company is resident, its profit can owe tax, and who owns it decides which kind. The share owned by non-Saudis owes income tax on net adjusted profit. The share owned by Saudi and GCC citizens generally owes Zakat instead, on the business's Zakat base, its net worth as calculated for Zakat. Noura is Saudi, so Zakat is her question.
And a resident non-Saudi who carries on activities in the Kingdom is taxed too. Whether your company falls in is for your adviser.
3:23Will Saudi clients withhold tax, and is there a treaty?
There's no US income tax treaty with Saudi Arabia, so the non-treaty rates apply. A client in Riyadh paying Noura's US company for a service withholds part of it and pays it to ZATCA. In the guide's illustration, on a ten thousand dollar invoice, the client keeps back between five hundred and two thousand dollars, depending on the service. It's not a quote, so agree the rate before you invoice. In America, work you do in Saudi Arabia generally isn't US income, so a single-owner LLC with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it.
It still files a report with the IRS when it has reportable transactions with you, and missing it is expensive.
4:05What to do first, in order
So here's the order. See your adviser first, about where the company will be managed, and whether income tax or Zakat would apply, given each owner's nationality. Then form the company, get the EIN, and apply for the bank account before the card processor. Record every payment between you and the company, where decisions were made and any Saudi tax withheld, and put the IRS report and any ZATCA filing on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser, is linked below.
And Noura? She checked the one thing first.
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 Saudi Arabia, with sources.
Read the guide for Saudi ArabiaWatch on YouTube