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From Tunisia · Middle East and North Africa

Start a US company from Tunisia

For Tunisian founders who need Stripe, sell to clients abroad or raise from US investors. Stripe doesn't take Tunisian businesses, and Mercury serves founders here. Investing abroad needs the Central Bank's authorisation, so read that section first.

Start from Tunisia 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 Tunisia. Wise gives no USD account details there.

The banks, in detail
US tax treaty
In force
Local Stripe
No
Mercury
Yes
Currency
TND
Our fee
from $249
Wyoming's fee
$102.40
Until we file
Refunded in full

You can form a US company while living in Tunisia, without an SSN or a US visit, and founders here can apply to Mercury, which decides each application. Launch starts at $351.40 in Wyoming, including our plan and state filing fee. Stripe doesn't take Tunisian businesses, so a US company is often how founders here get it. The Tunisian points: investing in it needs the Central Bank's authorisation, and its dividends must come home in dinars.

Before you form

Start with the Central Bank's authorisation, then the structure.

  • A Wyoming LLC, after the Central Bank

    Card payments from customers worldwide

    Stripe doesn't take Tunisian businesses, but investing in a US company needs the Central Bank's authorisation first.

    Getting access to Stripe
  • Ask your bank and adviser first

    Selling software to clients abroad

    The authorisation, the dividend rule and where the company is managed all shape the setup.

    US companies for SaaS
  • A Delaware C-Corp

    Raising from US investors

    US investors usually want a Delaware C-Corp. Your stake in it is an investment abroad that needs authorisation.

    Raising from US investors
  • A US subsidiary

    A Tunisian company expanding to the US

    A Tunisian company can own a US company as its subsidiary, with the Central Bank's approval where needed.

    US holding companies

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

Wyoming LLC

Card payments and clients abroad, after authorisation.

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

Delaware C-Corp

Raising from US investors.

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.
  • How you'll fund the company and bring its profits home, because the Central Bank's rules apply to both.
  • 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 Central Bank's authorisation to invest abroad, or your PPR account details.
  • A record of dividends brought back and converted to dinars.
  • Your Tunisian return, with income from the company.
You, your bank and your tax adviser

For the Central Bank and the tax office

You don't need a Tunisian 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 Tunisia to a maintained US company.

The state approves the company, the IRS issues the EIN and each provider approves its own account. In Tunisia, your bank handles the Central Bank application and your tax adviser the returns; we don't file there.

You, your bank and your tax adviser

Check the Tunisian side first

Ask whether you need the Central Bank's authorisation to invest abroad, and how profits will come back to Tunisia.

You leave this stage with: An authorisation route and a tax plan that fit Tunisia'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 Tunisia

  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 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 Tunisia 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–Tunisia income tax treaty is in force.

It caps interest at 15%, dividends at 20%, or 14% for a qualifying company shareholder, and royalties at 15%, or 10% for equipment. Pay for work you do in Tunisia generally isn't US-source income, so the treaty matters less for a services business.

How Tunisia sees it

Investing abroad needs the Central Bank's authorisation.

The exchange rules come from the Central Bank of Tunisia's own answers; residence and the rates from PwC's summary. They run alongside the US steps below.

  1. Before you invest

    You, through your bank

    The Central Bank's prior authorisation, unless you hold a PPR account.

  2. When it pays you a dividend

    You

    Bring it back to Tunisia in full and convert it to dinars.

  3. If it's effectively managed here

    The company

    Tunisian-resident, with corporate tax at 20%.

Worked example

A one-person LLC run from Tunis, worked through

This is an illustration, not a quote. The authorisation, and how Tunisia classes the LLC, are for your bank and your tax adviser.

  1. You get the Central Bank's authorisation and form a Wyoming LLC that makes TND 100,000 of profit.

  2. You manage it from Tunis, so it's effectively managed in Tunisia and resident here.

  3. Corporate tax at 20% is then TND 20,000.

  4. Any dividend it pays you comes back to Tunisia in full and is converted to dinars.

What Tunisia expects

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

Tunisia requires the Central Bank's authorisation to invest abroad, wants dividends from abroad brought home in dinars, and treats a company effectively managed there as resident at 20%.

Investing abroad

A resident individual may invest abroad only after the Central Bank's prior authorisation, given after the Finance Ministry agrees. Holders of resident individuals' currency accounts (PPR) are the exception.

Sources

Accounts and dividends

Money in a PPR account may never feed an account opened abroad in your name. Dividends from a company abroad must be brought back to Tunisia in full and converted to dinars.

Sources

Where it is managed

A company is Tunisian-resident if it's registered or effectively managed in Tunisia. Corporate tax is 20% since the Finance Law 2025.

Sources

Residence and foreign income

You're resident if your domicile is in Tunisia or you stay 183 days in a calendar year. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, except foreign income already taxed abroad.

Sources

On the record

We form US companies. We aren't Tunisian 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 Tunisia 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, Central Bank and tax checks

Keep the registered agent active and track the state's yearly charge. In Tunisia, keep the Central Bank papers, bring dividends home in dinars, and expect corporate returns if the company is 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.

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.
Central Bank application and Tunisian returnsYou, your bank and your tax adviserWe 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 tax adviser before you order.

Bring the owners, where each lives, the operating agreement, how you'll fund the company, where it will be managed and the business activity. Each question is also in French.

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

    Do I need the Central Bank's prior authorisation to invest in my US LLC?

    FR

    Dois-je obtenir l'autorisation préalable de la Banque Centrale de Tunisie pour investir dans ma LLC américaine ?

  2. 02
    EN

    Does a PPR account let me invest without that authorisation, and within what limits?

    FR

    Un compte PPR me permet-il d'investir sans cette autorisation, et dans quelles limites ?

  3. 03
    EN

    Must the company's profits come back to Tunisia, and in what form?

    FR

    Les bénéfices de la société doivent-ils être rapatriés en Tunisie, et sous quelle forme ?

  4. 04
    EN

    Would its place of effective management be in Tunisia, making it resident and taxed at 20%?

    FR

    Son siège de direction effective serait-il en Tunisie, ce qui la rendrait résidente et imposable à 20 % ?

  5. 05
    EN

    Does the Startup Act label change any of this for me?

    FR

    Le label Startup Act change-t-il quelque chose pour moi ?

  6. 06
    EN

    How are payments from the company to me taxed?

    FR

    Comment sont imposés les paiements que la société me verse ?

  7. 07
    EN

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

    FR

    Comment dois-je tenir mes documents pour la déclaration américaine et ma déclaration tunisienne ?

Questions

Questions from Tunisia.

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

Can a Tunisian resident own a US LLC?

US law allows it: owners don't need to be US citizens or residents, and formation, the EIN and the bank applications happen remotely. On the Tunisian side, investing in it needs the Central Bank's authorisation unless you hold a PPR account.

Do I need the Central Bank's authorisation?

Usually, yes. A resident individual may invest abroad only after the Central Bank of Tunisia's prior authorisation, given after the Finance Ministry agrees. Holders of resident individuals' currency accounts (PPR) are the exception.

Can the company's profits stay abroad?

Not as dividends to you. Dividends from a company abroad must be brought back to Tunisia in full and converted to dinars. Money in a PPR account may never feed an account opened abroad in your name.

Can Tunisia tax my US company as Tunisian?

It can. A company is Tunisian-resident if it's registered or effectively managed in Tunisia. Corporate tax is 20% since the Finance Law 2025.

How much does a US company from Tunisia 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 Tunisian 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 Tunisia?

A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business taking card payments or selling abroad, once the Central Bank route is clear. 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 Tunisia?

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 Central Bank, payment providers and Stripe each set their own review times. These are estimates, not promises.

Can I open a Mercury account from Tunisia?

Usually you can apply. Tunisia 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. Wise gives no USD account details to founders living in Tunisia, which isn't on its list of places where people can hold money. Relay doesn't bar Tunisia, but it asks every owner for a physical US address.

Can I use Stripe from Tunisia?

Not with a Tunisian business: Stripe doesn't list Tunisia. A US LLC with an EIN and a US bank account can apply for a US Stripe account, and Stripe reviews the business and can decline.

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

Generally not. Pay for work you do in Tunisia 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–Tunisia tax treaty?

Yes, it's in force. It caps interest at 15%, dividends at 20%, or 14% for a qualifying company shareholder, and royalties at 15%, or 10% for equipment.

Does BaseAcross file the US and Tunisian 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 Tunisian returns and the Central Bank application are for you, your bank and your tax 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.

Tunisia

United States (IRS, Treasury and FinCEN)

Banks and payments

States

The exchange rules are read from the Central Bank of Tunisia's own answers. Residence and the rates come from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Confirm the current position with your bank and tax adviser before acting.

Middle East and North Africa

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

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