You may not need a US company
Freelance or agency work for clients abroad
Your income is taxed by SARS either way, and Paystack takes local payments. A US company adds US filings and the controlled foreign company rule, so it needs a reason.
From South Africa · Africa
Start a US company from South Africa
For South African founders who need full US Stripe, a US contracting party or dollar invoicing. Formation and the EIN happen remotely, without an SSN, and Mercury and Wise Business both serve founders living here. The SARB allowances and SARS's controlled foreign company rule are set out below in order.
Launch + Wyoming filing; the tax return is separate.Checked by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
At a glance
Mercury takes applications from founders living in South Africa. Wise Business is the usual second account.
The banks, in detailYou can form a US LLC while living in South Africa, without an SSN or a US visit, and Mercury and Wise Business both serve founders here. Launch starts at $351.40 in Wyoming, including our plan and state filing fee. Fund it within your SARB allowances: R2 million a year discretionary, plus R10 million a year if you're tax compliant. SARS taxes worldwide income and can impute a controlled foreign company's income to you.
Before you form
Start with whether you need a US company at all.
BaseAcross's Wyoming LLC and Delaware C-Corp options for founders in South Africa
Wyoming LLC
Owner-run business that needs full US Stripe or a US contracting party.
- State filing
- $102.40
- Yearly state charge
- From $60
Delaware C-Corp
Raising from US investors who want shares.
- 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.
- Where key decisions will be made, because SARS's residence test asks.
- 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
- Your tax compliance status from SARS, if you use the foreign capital allowance.
- Your bank's records of what you sent under each allowance this year.
- Your return, with the company's imputed income if the controlled foreign company rule applies.
You and your bank
For your bank and SARS
You don't need a South African company to form a US LLC. The EIN is the US company's tax ID, and it doesn't replace your SARS tax number. Send identity documents through a secure request, and only the ones asked for.
How it works
Seven steps from South Africa to a maintained US company.
The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In South Africa, your bank applies the SARB's allowances and your tax adviser handles SARS; we don't file either.
You and your tax adviser
Check the South African side first
Decide whether you need a US company at all, which allowance will fund it, where it will be effectively managed and how the controlled foreign company rule treats it.
You leave this stage with: A funding and tax plan that fits South Africa'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 or Wise Business, which both serve founders living in South Africa. 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 tax adviser
Keep records and file in both countries
Record every payment between you and the company, what it was for and which allowance it used. Put Form 5472 and your SARS returns 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 South Africa
- 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 South Africa 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 South Africa
What a Wyoming LLC costs from South Africa, 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 South Africa, 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 responsibilitiesSARS returns and adviser fees
Quote from your tax adviser
The controlled foreign company rule, where the company is resident and the foreign tax credit 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 South Africa uses your SARB allowance, so check the rand amount, the exchange rate and your bank's fees.
Get started from South Africa
Use the first-year cost calculator to compare plans and optional tools. Then add your tax adviser's fees, US return preparation and bank charges 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: In force
The United States and South Africa have an income tax treaty in force.
It brings US withholding on interest and royalties paid to you to 0%, and on dividends to 15%, or 5% for a qualifying company shareholder. Pay for work you do in South Africa is generally not US-source income in the first place.
Allowances and tax
Your SARB allowances fund the company, and SARS can tax its income each year.
These come from the SARB's exchange control circulars and PwC's summaries of South Africa's tax rules, and they run alongside the US steps below.
Before you send money
You and your bankYou and your bank
Residents aged 18 and over have a single discretionary allowance of R2 million a year, since 8 April 2026. Tax-compliant residents can also invest up to R10 million a year under the foreign capital allowance.
Each year, for the company's income
You and your tax adviserYou and your tax adviser
A foreign company more than 50% held by South African residents is a controlled foreign company, and its income is imputed to them, unless an exclusion such as a foreign business establishment applies.
When you decide who runs it
You and your tax adviserYou and your tax adviser
A company is resident if its place of effective management is in South Africa, where key management and commercial decisions are in substance made.
Every tax year
You and your tax adviserYou and your tax adviser
Residents are taxed on worldwide income, with a credit for foreign tax on foreign income, capped by the share of your income that's foreign.
Worked example
Allowances run per calendar year and per person. Your bank tracks what you've used and asks for SARS's tax compliance status where it's needed.
You send R300,000 to fund the US company in March, under your single discretionary allowance.
That leaves R1.7 million of the R2 million allowance for the rest of the calendar year.
If you're tax compliant, the R10 million foreign capital allowance is there as well, for larger amounts.
The company records the R300,000, in dollars, as a contribution from its owner on its Form 5472.
What South Africa expects
Owning a US company doesn't take you out of South Africa's tax system.
South Africa taxes residents on worldwide income, and its controlled foreign company rule can impute a US company's income to you each year. Money you send to fund the company comes out of your SARB allowances.
SARB · Sending money abroad
Since 8 April 2026, residents aged 18 and over have a single discretionary allowance of R2 million a year. Tax-compliant residents can also invest up to R10 million a year under the foreign capital allowance.
SARS · Worldwide income
South African residents are taxed on worldwide income, with a credit for foreign tax on foreign income. You're resident if you're ordinarily resident, or meet the physical presence test over six years.
Controlled foreign company
A foreign company in which South African residents hold more than 50% is a controlled foreign company, and its income is imputed to them each year. High-taxed companies and income from a foreign business establishment are the main exclusions.
Where it is run
A company is resident in South Africa if its place of effective management is there, meaning where key management and commercial decisions are in substance made. A US company one founder runs from South Africa should have a tax adviser look at this early.
On the record
We form US companies. We aren't South African 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 South Africa 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, South Africa and ownership checks
Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In South Africa, your SARS return covers worldwide income and any income imputed from a controlled foreign company.
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. |
| Allowances and money sent abroad | You and your bank | Your bank applies the SARB's rules; we don't file with it. |
| SARS returns and South African tax | You and your tax 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 tax adviser before you order.
Bring the owners, where each lives for tax, the business activity, which allowance will fund the company and how money will move between you. Agree who prepares each filing in South Africa and in the US.
Download the checklist for your tax adviser (.txt)- 01
Should I fund the company from my single discretionary allowance or my foreign capital allowance, and what does each need?
- 02
Is the US company a controlled foreign company, and does an exclusion such as a foreign business establishment apply?
- 03
Could the company's place of effective management be in South Africa, making it resident here?
- 04
How is what the company pays me taxed, and do I need to register for provisional tax?
- 05
How do I claim credit for any US tax against my South African tax?
- 06
How do I show the company in my SARS return?
- 07
How should I keep records for both the US return and my SARS returns?
Questions
Questions from South Africa.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
Can a South African resident own a US LLC?
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 South African side, the SARB's exchange control allowances and SARS's rules apply. Owning a US company doesn't give you a US visa.
How much can I send abroad to fund the company?
Since 8 April 2026, residents aged 18 and over have a single discretionary allowance of R2 million a year. Tax-compliant residents can also invest up to R10 million a year under the foreign capital allowance. Your bank applies the limits.
Will SARS tax the US company's income before I take it out?
It can. A foreign company in which South African residents hold more than 50% is a controlled foreign company, and its income is imputed to them each year. High-taxed companies and income from a foreign business establishment are the main exclusions, so ask your adviser which applies.
Can SARS treat my US company as South African?
It can, if its place of effective management is in South Africa, meaning where key management and commercial decisions are in substance made. A single founder running the company from South Africa should have a tax adviser look at this early.
How much does a US company from South Africa 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 tax adviser's fees, US return preparation and bank charges in South Africa 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 South Africa?
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.
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. Your SARS tax number isn't part of it.
How long does it take from South Africa?
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 South Africa?
Usually you can apply. South Africa 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?
Yes, Wise Business can give a US company run from South Africa USD account details. Relay doesn't bar South Africa, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider reviews the company and can decline.
Do I need a US LLC for Stripe in South Africa?
Not for local payments. In South Africa, Stripe works through Paystack, which it owns. For a full US Stripe account in dollars, a US LLC with an EIN and a US bank account can apply, and approval isn't guaranteed.
Do I pay US tax on work I do from South Africa?
Generally not. Pay for work you do in South Africa 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.
Is there a US–South Africa tax treaty?
Yes, it's in force. It brings US withholding on interest and royalties to 0%, and on dividends to 15%, or 5% for a qualifying company shareholder. South Africa credits foreign tax on foreign income, within a ratio cap.
Does BaseAcross file the US and South African 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 SARS returns, including any imputed income, are for you and your tax adviser.
How do I bring the company's money to South Africa?
Through a bank or provider that supports your company and pays out in South Africa. Record whether each payment is pay for work or profit, because SARS taxes them differently.
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.
South Africa
United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)
Banks and payments
The SARB circulars are the official texts. SARS's rules are read from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries, a professional summary of the Income Tax Act, not the Act itself. 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
Nothing charged yetFrom
Johannesburg
South Africa
To
Wyoming
LLC · Cheyenne, WY
- Plan
- Launch
- First year
- $351.40
- To order
- 10 steps
Launch · $249 + $102.40 Wyoming · Same day