You may not need a US company
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Stripe already supports Swiss businesses, and a GmbH is what Swiss banks and tax offices understand.
From Switzerland · Europe
Start a US company from Switzerland
For Swiss founders who sell into the US as a US vendor or raise from US investors. A Swiss GmbH already gets you Stripe, and Mercury and Wise Business both serve founders here. A US company whose important decisions are taken in Switzerland is Swiss-resident, 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 Switzerland. Wise Business is the usual second account.
The banks, in detailYou can form a US company while living in Switzerland, 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 Swiss GmbH already gets you Stripe, so the reason is usually US customers or investors. The Swiss points: a company whose important decisions are taken in Switzerland is Swiss-resident, and your stake counts for wealth tax.
Watch
The first year from Switzerland, in 6 minutes
Thinking of a US LLC while living in Switzerland? Stripe already supports Swiss businesses, and a Swiss GmbH gets you it too, so the reason is usually US customers or investors.
Before you form
Start with whether you need a US company, and where its decisions will be taken.
BaseAcross's Wyoming LLC and Delaware C-Corp options for founders in Switzerland
Wyoming LLC
Owner-run business selling to US customers, after advice.
- State filing
- $102.40
- Yearly state charge
- From $60
Delaware C-Corp
Raising from US investors; plan where it's managed.
- 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 the company's important decisions will be taken, because Switzerland'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 return, with your stake in the company for wealth tax.
- A record of where and by whom the important decisions are taken.
- The operating agreement, for how the canton classifies the LLC.
You and your Treuhänder
For the cantonal tax office
You don't need a Swiss 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 Switzerland to a maintained US company.
The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In Switzerland, your Treuhänder handles the cantonal tax office; we don't file there.
You and your Treuhänder
Check the Swiss side first
Decide whether you need a US company at all, how your canton will classify it, and where its important decisions will be taken.
You leave this stage with: A structure and tax plan that fits Switzerland'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 Switzerland. 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 Treuhänder
Keep records and file in both countries
Keep the company's books, and minutes showing where decisions are taken. Put Form 5472 and your Swiss return 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 Switzerland
- 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 Switzerland 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 Switzerland
What a Wyoming LLC costs from Switzerland, 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 Switzerland, 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 responsibilitiesSwiss tax advice
Quote from your Treuhänder
How your canton classifies the LLC, where it's managed and how it pays you 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 Switzerland, check your card's exchange rate and fees.
Get started from Switzerland
Use the first-year cost calculator to compare plans and optional tools. Then add your Treuhänder'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: In force
The US–Switzerland income tax treaty is in force.
It exempts interest and royalties from US withholding, and caps dividends at 15%, or 5% for a qualifying company shareholder. Pay for work you do in Switzerland generally isn't US-source income, so the treaty matters less for a services business.
How Switzerland sees it
Decided from Switzerland, a US company is Swiss.
Residence comes from Switzerland's own note to the OECD; rates and wealth tax from PwC's summary. They run alongside the US steps below.
If its important decisions are taken here
The company, with your TreuhänderThe company, with your Treuhänder
Swiss-resident, even with a foreign manager who follows your instructions.
Once it's Swiss-resident
The companyThe company
8.5% federal tax, about 11.66% to 20.54% in all, depending on the canton.
Each year, on your return
YouYou
Your stake counts for cantonal wealth tax at fair market value.
Worked example
This is an illustration, not a quote. Each canton sets its own rate, and the classification is for your Treuhänder.
Your Wyoming LLC makes CHF 150,000 of profit, and you take its important decisions in Zurich.
Its place of effective management is in Switzerland, so it's Swiss-resident.
At the range PwC gives, 11.66% to 20.54% before tax, its tax is about CHF 17,490 to CHF 30,810, depending on the canton.
Your stake in it also counts for wealth tax, at its fair market value.
What Switzerland expects
Owning a US company doesn't take you out of Switzerland's tax system.
Switzerland treats a company whose important decisions are taken there as resident, taxes it at about 11.66% to 20.54% in all, and taxes your stake in it as wealth.
Where it is managed
A company formed abroad is Swiss-resident if its place of effective management, where its important decisions are taken, is in Switzerland. A manager abroad who only follows a Swiss shareholder's instructions doesn't change that.
The rates
Federal corporate tax is 8.5% of profit after tax. With cantonal and communal tax, the top rate on profit before tax runs from about 11.66% to 20.54%, depending on the canton.
Wealth tax
Every canton taxes a resident's net worldwide wealth at fair market value, shares included, so your stake in the US company counts.
Residence
You're resident if you live in Switzerland intending to stay, or stay 30 days while working, or 90 days without working.
On the record
We form US companies. We aren't Swiss 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 Switzerland 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, canton and ownership checks
Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In Switzerland, declare your stake for wealth tax and what the company pays you, and expect corporate returns if it's managed here.
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. |
| Swiss returns | You and your Treuhänder | 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 Treuhänder before you order.
Bring the owners, where each lives, the operating agreement, where the important decisions will be taken and the business activity. Each question is also in German.
Download the checklist for your Treuhänder (.txt)- 01EN
How will my canton classify my US LLC: as a company, or as transparent to me?
DEWie qualifiziert mein Kanton meine US-LLC: als Kapitalgesellschaft oder als transparent?
- 02EN
Would its place of effective management be in Switzerland, making it Swiss-resident?
DELäge der Ort der tatsächlichen Verwaltung in der Schweiz, sodass die Gesellschaft hier steuerpflichtig wäre?
- 03EN
How are payments from the company to me taxed, and does partial taxation of dividends apply?
DEWie werden Zahlungen der Gesellschaft an mich besteuert, und gilt die Teilbesteuerung von Dividenden?
- 04EN
At what value does my stake count for wealth tax?
DEMit welchem Wert ist meine Beteiligung für die Vermögenssteuer zu deklarieren?
- 05EN
Do I owe AHV contributions on this income?
DESchulde ich auf diesem Einkommen AHV-Beiträge?
- 06EN
Would a Swiss GmbH serve me better than a US company?
DEWäre eine Schweizer GmbH für mich besser geeignet als eine US-Gesellschaft?
- 07EN
How should I keep records for the US return and my Swiss return?
DEWie sollte ich die Unterlagen für die US-Steuererklärung und meine Schweizer Steuererklärung führen?
Questions
Questions from Switzerland.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
Can a Swiss 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 Swiss questions are where its important decisions are taken and how your canton classifies it.
Can Switzerland tax my US company as Swiss?
It can. A company formed abroad is Swiss-resident if its place of effective management, where its important decisions are taken, is in Switzerland. A manager abroad who only follows a Swiss shareholder's instructions doesn't change that.
What would a Swiss-resident company pay?
Federal corporate tax of 8.5% of profit after tax, plus cantonal and communal tax. The top rate on profit before tax runs from about 11.66% to 20.54%, depending on the canton.
Does my stake count for wealth tax?
Yes. Every canton taxes a resident's net worldwide wealth at fair market value, and shares are included, so your stake in the US company counts.
Who do I report to in Switzerland?
Your canton. Individuals file one return with their cantonal tax office, which assesses federal, cantonal and communal tax together, not with the Federal Tax Administration as some guides say.
How much does a US company from Switzerland 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 Treuhänder's fees, US return preparation and Swiss 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 Switzerland?
A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business selling to US customers, once you know how your canton will treat 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 Switzerland?
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 Switzerland?
Usually you can apply. Switzerland 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. Switzerland is on Wise's list of places where people can hold money, so a US company run from Switzerland can get USD account details. Wise reviews each business.
Do I need a US company for Stripe in Switzerland?
No. Stripe supports businesses in Switzerland, and a GmbH 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 Switzerland?
Generally not. Pay for work you do in Switzerland 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–Switzerland tax treaty?
Yes, it's in force. It exempts interest and royalties from US withholding, and caps dividends at 15%, or 5% for a qualifying company shareholder.
Does BaseAcross file the US and Swiss 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 Swiss returns are for you and your Treuhänder.
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.
Switzerland
United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)
Banks and payments
Residence is read from Switzerland's own note to the OECD on tax residence. Rates and wealth tax come from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Confirm the current position with your Treuhänder 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
Zurich
Switzerland
To
Wyoming
LLC · Cheyenne, WY
- Plan
- Launch
- First year
- $351.40
- To order
- 10 steps
Launch · $249 + $102.40 Wyoming · Same day