Video · From Türkiye
Can You Run a US Company from Türkiye? Two Rules First (2026)
Can you form and run a US company while living in Türkiye? The rules that need care are Turkish. Within three months of first sending capital, you send the capital export form to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Trade. 4:38 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can you form a US company from Türkiye?
It's evening on the ferry across the bay in Izmir, and Elif is looking at a payment page she can't sign up to. The big card processor doesn't list Türkiye. A US company is the usual way in, and she can form one from here. No social security number, and no trip to the US. We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you. The surprise is on the Turkish side.
Once she sends money to the company, two ministries expect to hear about it.
0:30Do you need one, and which: Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp?
Does Elif need one at all? The guide's first step is to decide that with your adviser, along with where the company will be run, and whether a rule on passive income could reach it. Elif sells a subscription app to customers abroad. App stores and US buyers often want a US company, so for her the guide suggests a Wyoming LLC, run with care. If she were raising from US investors, it would usually be a Delaware C-Corp.
Either way, where the company's headquarters sits decides how Türkiye sees it.
1:02Do you have to tell the Turkish government?
Türkiye has two rules to know before anything else. The first is a form. A resident who sets up a company abroad sends the capital export form to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Trade, within three months of first sending cash or other capital to it. If she closes or sells the company later, she tells them again, within three months. The second is about where it's run. A company is resident in Türkiye if its legal or its business headquarters is here.
So a US company that Elif runs day to day from Izmir can be resident, and resident companies pay Turkish corporate tax.
1:40Forming it, and an EIN without an SSN
The American side is the quick part. We check the name and provide a registered agent, an address in the state for legal papers, not where you work. Once the state approves the company, we draft the operating agreement. Check every name against your passport before you sign. Then the EIN, the company's US tax number. Without a social security number or an ITIN, the application goes on a separate IRS form instead of the online tool, and the IRS issues the number.
You'll pay in US dollars, so check your card's exchange rate and fees.
2:15Which US bank accounts work from Türkiye?
Now, where the dollars land. Founders living in Türkiye can apply to a US fintech bank, which decides each application. Its list of countries goes by where you live, and it can decline. A multi-currency account provider says it can't give US dollar account details to people living here. Another US bank doesn't bar Türkiye, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself.
With the company and a US account, Elif can apply to the card processor. It reviews her, and it can say no.
2:48Will Türkiye tax the company before you take money out?
At home, Türkiye taxes residents on income from anywhere. Profit from a business can be taxed here even if the trade is carried on abroad. Then there's the controlled foreign company rule. It can tax your share of profit the company hasn't paid out, when three tests are met: who controls it, how much of its revenue is passive, and how little tax it pays at home. In the guide's illustration, interest and royalties are thirty percent of revenue, above the twenty-five percent line. With only subscription revenue, that test fails.
That's an illustration, not advice, and how Türkiye treats a one-owner LLC is for your adviser.
3:28Do you pay US tax, and is there a US–Türkiye treaty?
Then the treaty, and America. The US and Türkiye have an income tax treaty in force, but pay for work you do in Türkiye generally isn't US-source income, so for a services business it matters less. Foreign tax can be credited in Türkiye, with proof from the foreign tax authority, up to the Turkish tax on that income. A one-owner LLC still files a report with the IRS when it has reportable transactions with you, and money you put in or take out can count. Missing it is expensive.
It's usually due in the spring, and there's a form to ask for more time, filed before the deadline.
4:04What to do first, in order
So the order runs like this. See your adviser first, about where the company will be run and whether the passive income rule could reach it. Then form it, get the EIN and apply to the bank. When you first send capital, send the form to both ministries within three months. Put the IRS report and your Turkish return on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist in English and Turkish for your adviser, is linked below. And Elif?
She's on the evening ferry again, with the Turkish side planned 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 Türkiye, with sources.
Read the guide for TürkiyeWatch on YouTube