A US company, after authorisation
Card payments from customers worldwide
Stripe doesn't take Senegalese businesses, and Mercury serves founders here. Investing in the company needs the Minister of Finance's authorisation first.
From Senegal · Africa
Start a US company from Senegal
For Senegalese founders who need Stripe, dollar payments, US clients or US investors. Stripe doesn't take Senegalese businesses, and Mercury serves founders living here. But the West African monetary union's 2024 rules make investing abroad and holding an account abroad subject to the Minister of Finance's authorisation, so read that section first.
Launch + Wyoming filing; the tax return is separate.Checked by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
At a glance
Mercury takes applications from founders living in Senegal. Wise gives no USD account details there.
The banks, in detailYou can form a US company while living in Senegal, without an SSN or a US visit, and founders here can apply to Mercury, which decides each application. Wise gives no USD account details to them. Launch starts at $351.40 in Wyoming, including our plan and state filing fee. Stripe doesn't take Senegalese businesses, so a US company is a common route to it. The Senegalese points: investing abroad needs the Minister of Finance's authorisation, with 75% financed from abroad, and businesses operating here pay 30%.
Before you form
Start with whether you need a US company, and how you'll fund it.
BaseAcross's Wyoming LLC and Delaware C-Corp options for founders in Senegal
Wyoming LLC
Owner-run business paid in dollars, after authorisation.
- State filing
- $102.40
- Yearly state charge
- From $60
Delaware C-Corp
Raising from US investors.
- State filing
- $110
- Yearly state charge
- $450 for the model shown
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.
- How the company will be funded and where the work will be done, because investing abroad needs authorisation and work here can be taxed here.
- 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
- The Minister of Finance's authorisation for the investment.
- Proof of the 75% financed from abroad.
- A record of where the work is done.
You and your adviser
For the Ministry of Finance and the tax office
You don't need an Senegalese 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 Senegal to a maintained US company.
The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In Senegal, your adviser handles the authorisation and the tax office; we don't file there.
You and your adviser
Check the Senegalese side first
Decide whether you need a US company at all, and how you'll get authorisation and meet the 75% rule before you fund it.
You leave this stage with: A structure and funding plan that fits the union's rules.
01 / 07
You choose; BaseAcross checks
Choose the name and registered agent
We check the proposed name and provide the registered agent in the formation state. The registered office is for legal papers, not your operating address.
You leave this stage with: Confirmed filing details and a registered agent.
02 / 07
BaseAcross files; the state approves
File the company with the state
We submit the formation filing and send you the state's documents once it's approved. The company exists from that approval.
You leave this stage with: State-approved formation documents.
03 / 07
BaseAcross
Prepare the operating documents
We draft the LLC Operating Agreement or corporate bylaws. Check every name and share against your passport before you sign.
You leave this stage with: Operating documents for your records, your bank and US providers.
04 / 07
BaseAcross prepares; the IRS issues
Apply for the EIN
The EIN is a separate application after formation. Without an SSN or ITIN, it goes on Form SS-4 rather than the IRS's online tool.
You leave this stage with: The IRS's EIN confirmation once it's issued.
05 / 07
You apply; the providers review
Apply for banking and payments
Start with Mercury, which serves founders living in Senegal. Wise gives no USD account details there. Use the same names, addresses and business description everywhere.
You leave this stage with: An approved account, if a provider accepts the application.
06 / 07
You, your US preparer and your adviser
Keep records and file in both countries
Keep the company's books, the authorisation, and a record of every transfer. Put Form 5472 and your Senegalese filings on one calendar.
You leave this stage with: A yearly calendar with someone responsible for each filing.
07 / 07
Plan the wait
Formation, the EIN and banking have separate timelines.
Published service estimates and prerequisites for a Wyoming company from Senegal
- Wyoming formationSame day
- Ordinary EINsix to eight weeks
- Expedited EINtwo to three weeks
- Bank and payment accountsProvider review
- US Stripe accountStripe's review
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 Senegal 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.
The full cost from Senegal
What a Wyoming LLC costs from Senegal, line by line, and what to budget for outside our plans.
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
The registered agent renews with the plan. Operate adds its published business tools and bookkeeping. Neither plan files your tax returns in either country.
What a Wyoming LLC costs from Senegal, on each plan
Launch
To start, before optional extras
$351.40
- Our feeFor the first year; the plan renews each year
- $249
- Wyoming filing feePaid to the state, passed through at cost
- $102.40
- Recurring subtotal, fromPlan renewal + minimum state charge, before extras
- $309
OperateBilled yearly
To start, before optional extras
$2,490.40
- Our feeFor the first year; the plan renews each year
- $2,388
- Wyoming filing feePaid to the state, passed through at cost
- $102.40
- Recurring subtotal, fromPlan renewal + minimum state charge, before extras
- $2,448
Optional extras are priced before you order, such as filing ahead of our next batch for $39. See full pricing.
Budget for the work outside that subtotal
Managed annual state compliance
$149 service fee / year
Optional on both plans. The state's charge is separate, and a reminder alone doesn't file the report.
State filing serviceUS federal return preparation
Arrange separately
You or your accountant handle Form 5472 and any other US returns on Launch and Operate. Ask the preparer for their scope and fee.
Federal filing responsibilitiesSenegalese advice
Quote from your adviser
The authorisation, the 75% rule and how you're taxed depend on your circumstances.
Optional tools after free periods
Published in full pricing
Check domain renewals and when Launch's email, phone and site trials end. Operate includes its stated tools while subscribed.
Plans, trials and add-onsWhat the totals assume
The $309 Launch renewal example is the $249 plan renewal plus Wyoming's $60 minimum license tax. Wyoming charges the greater of that minimum or 0.0002 of the company's assets located and employed in the state, and paying online can add a processor fee. The Operate example uses the same minimum.
Prices are in US dollars. Paying from Senegal, check whether your card can pay abroad, and its fees.
Get started from Senegal
Use the first-year cost calculator to compare plans and optional tools. Then add your adviser's fees and US return preparation to that budget.
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: None
There's no US–Senegal income tax treaty.
US-source dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld at 30% unless a US exemption applies. Pay for work you do in Senegal generally isn't US-source income, so nothing is withheld on it.
How Senegal sees it
Investing abroad from here needs authorisation first.
The investment and account rules come from the union's 2024 regulation, as the BCEAO publishes it; the rates from PwC's summary. They run alongside the US steps below.
When you fund the company
YouYou
The Minister of Finance's authorisation, and 75% financed from abroad.
When it pays you a dividend
YouYou
Sold to the BCEAO through an approved bank; taxed as worldwide income.
If it operates here
The companyThe company
30% on profits; a permanent establishment can be deemed.
Worked example
This is an illustration, not a quote. Whether and how you can obtain the authorisation is for your adviser.
You want to put XOF 8,000,000 into a new Wyoming LLC.
That's an investment outside the union, so it needs the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation.
At least 75% of it, XOF 6,000,000, must be financed by a loan or other resources raised abroad.
The amounts are an illustration; how the rule applies to a small company is for your adviser.
What Senegal expects
Owning a US company doesn't take you out of Senegal's tax system.
Senegal taxes residents on worldwide income and businesses operating here at 30%, and the union's 2024 rules make investing abroad subject to authorisation.
Investing abroad
Any investment by a resident outside the West African monetary union needs the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation, and at least 75% of it must be financed from abroad.
Accounts abroad
A resident needs the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation, on the BCEAO's assent, to open an account abroad.
Dividends coming home
Foreign-currency income from investments abroad, dividends in particular, is sold to the BCEAO through an approved bank, like export proceeds.
Company tax
Businesses operating in Senegal pay 30% on their profits. A foreign company that isn't registered here can still be deemed to have a permanent establishment for its local activity.
Your income and residence
Residents are taxed on worldwide income, at up to 43%. You're resident with a permanent home here, a professional activity here, or your centre of economic interests here. Senegal has no CFC provisions.
On the record
We form US companies. We aren't Senegalese 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 Senegal 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 1120State and Senegalese checks
Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In Senegal, keep the authorisation and proof of the 75% financing, and declare what the company pays 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.
| Task | Who handles it | Where the responsibility ends |
|---|---|---|
| Formation and EIN application | BaseAcross prepares and submits | The state approves formation; the IRS issues the EIN. |
| Bank and payment applications | You, with our guidance | The provider verifies the information and decides. |
| Senegalese authorisation and filings | You and your adviser | We provide the US company records they need. |
| Annual state filing | You, or our optional filing service | Reminders are included; managed filing and the state charge are separate. |
| US federal returns | You and your US tax preparer | Launch and Operate remind you; they don't file the return. |
Prepare the conversation
Take these questions to your adviser before you order.
Bring the owners, where each lives, the operating agreement, how you'll fund the company, where the work will be done and the business activity. Each question is also in French.
Download the checklist for your adviser (.txt)- 01EN
Does my investment in a US LLC need the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation under article 12 of Regulation 06/2024?
FRMon investissement dans une LLC américaine nécessite-t-il l'autorisation préalable du Ministre chargé des Finances au titre de l'article 12 du Règlement n° 06/2024/CM/UEMOA ?
- 02EN
How can I meet the rule that at least 75% is financed from abroad?
FRComment respecter l'obligation de financer au moins 75 % de l'opération par des ressources mobilisées à l'étranger ?
- 03EN
Do I need authorisation for the company's US bank account, or only for an account in my own name?
FRFaut-il une autorisation pour le compte bancaire américain de la société, ou seulement pour un compte à mon nom à l'étranger ?
- 04EN
Does working from here give my US LLC a permanent establishment, taxed at 30%?
FRMon travail depuis ici crée-t-il un établissement stable pour ma LLC américaine, imposé à 30 % ?
- 05EN
Must dividends from the US company come home and be sold to the BCEAO?
FRLes dividendes de la société américaine doivent-ils être rapatriés et cédés à la BCEAO ?
- 06EN
How are the company's payments to me taxed here?
FRComment les paiements de la société à mon profit sont-ils imposés ici ?
- 07EN
How should I keep records for the US return and my returns here?
FRComment tenir mes registres pour la déclaration américaine et mes déclarations ici ?
Questions
Questions from Senegal.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
Can a resident of Senegal own a US LLC?
US law allows it, and formation and the EIN happen remotely, without an SSN. The union's 2024 rules come first: investing abroad needs the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation, and at least 75% of it must be financed from abroad.
Can I fund a US company from Senegal?
Only with authorisation. Any investment by a resident outside the West African monetary union needs the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation, and at least 75% of it must be financed by a loan or other resources raised abroad.
Can I hold a bank account abroad?
Only with authorisation. A resident needs the Minister of Finance's prior authorisation, on the BCEAO's assent, to open an account abroad. Ask your adviser how that applies to an account in the company's name.
What happens to dividends from the US company?
Foreign-currency income from investments abroad, dividends in particular, is sold to the BCEAO through an approved bank, like export proceeds. Residents are also taxed on worldwide income, at up to 43%.
Does Senegal tax my US company?
It can. Businesses operating in Senegal pay 30% on their profits, and a foreign company that isn't registered here can be deemed to have a permanent establishment for its local activity. Senegal has no CFC provisions.
How much does a US company from Senegal 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 adviser's fees, US return preparation and Senegalese 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 Senegal?
A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business paid by clients abroad, once the authorisation is settled. 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 Senegal?
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. The Minister of Finance's authorisation, banks and Stripe each set their own timing. These are estimates, not promises.
Can I open a Mercury account from Senegal?
Usually you can apply. Senegal 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?
Not for USD account details. Senegal isn't on Wise's list of places where people can hold money, so Wise gives none to founders living here. Mercury is the one to check first.
Do I need a US company for Stripe in Senegal?
For Stripe itself, usually yes. Stripe doesn't list Senegal among the countries it supports. A US LLC with an EIN and a US bank account can apply for a US Stripe account, and Stripe can decline.
Do I pay US tax on work I do from Senegal?
Generally not. Pay for work you do in Senegal 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–Senegal tax treaty?
No. There's no US–Senegal income tax treaty in force. US-source dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld at 30% unless a US exemption applies.
Does BaseAcross file the US and Senegalese 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. Your Senegalese filings and the authorisation are for you and your adviser.
Does my new US LLC need a BOI report?
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.
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.
Senegal
- BCEAO · Regulation 06/2024/CM/UEMOA on external financial relations
- BCEAO · annexes to Regulation 06/2024/CM/UEMOA
- PwC · Senegal, corporate residence
- PwC · Senegal, taxes on corporate income
- PwC · Senegal, taxes on personal income
- PwC · Senegal, group taxation (no CFC provisions)
- PwC · Senegal, individual residence
United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)
Banks and payments
The investment, account and dividend rules come from the union's Regulation 06/2024/CM/UEMOA, as the BCEAO publishes it; the rates from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Confirm the current position with your adviser before acting.
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.
Compare the plansYour company's route
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Dakar
Senegal
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Wyoming
LLC · Cheyenne, WY
- Plan
- Launch
- First year
- $351.40
- To order
- 10 steps
Launch · $249 + $102.40 Wyoming · Same day