Video · From Vietnam
US Company from Vietnam: Owning One Is Investing Abroad
About to pay for a US company from Vietnam? Under the Law on Investment 2025, individuals may invest abroad, not only companies, and owning a US company is exactly that, so the money goes through your bank. 5:00 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Vietnamese resident own a US LLC?
It's late in Da Nang, and Linh has her card out. She's about to pay for a US company. Here's what most guides skip. In Vietnam, that payment is an investment abroad, and it goes through your bank. As far as America goes, the company is the easy part. No social security number, and no trip to the US. It all happens online and in writing, so you never need to be awake in American hours.
We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you. Let's take it one lantern at a time.
0:36Do I need a US company to get paid as a freelancer in Vietnam?
Does Linh need one at all? Not every founder here does. If you freelance for clients abroad, you can be paid as an individual and declare the income in Vietnam. A US company would add US filings, and Vietnam's rules on investing abroad, so it needs a reason. Linh has one. She sells print-on-demand designs to buyers in America, and the big card processor doesn't list Vietnam. A US company with a US bank account can apply to it.
It reviews you, and it can decline.
1:10May an individual in Vietnam invest in a company abroad?
Under Vietnam's new Law on Investment, individuals may invest abroad, not only companies. And that's what owning a US company is. A small project, below the level the Government sets, doesn't need an outward investment registration certificate. But you still register the foreign exchange transaction, through your bank. The Government's rules also decide how the capital account is opened, how the money is sent, and how profits are used abroad and brought home.
Investors abroad have reports to file too, including yearly ones. The guide doesn't give that threshold, or a deadline for bringing profits home. Both wait on a decree, so ask your bank and a Vietnamese lawyer.
1:54Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
With that plan in hand, the company itself is quick. A Wyoming LLC usually suits a business you run yourself, selling abroad. A Delaware C-Corp suits investors who want shares. The company needs a registered agent, an address in that state for legal papers, not where you work. Then the EIN. Without a social security number, it's a paper form to the IRS, and your Vietnamese tax code isn't part of it.
Our fee and the state's are in US dollars. Paying them from Vietnam is part of your investment abroad, so ask your bank how to register and send it.
2:34Which account can a founder in Vietnam use?
Where will the dollars land? This is where Vietnam is harder than most. The US fintech bank most videos recommend won't open for founders who live here, and the usual multi-currency account won't give you US account details. The guide names a provider that does serve Vietnam, so ask whether it will open an account in your company's name. Another asks every owner for a physical US address.
Each provider decides for itself. Use the same name, address and description of the business everywhere.
3:08How does Vietnam tax me as a US company owner?
Now the money that comes back to you. Vietnam taxes its residents on income from inside and outside the country. You're resident after a set number of days there, or if you have a registered permanent residence or a rented home. A new personal income tax law took effect this year. It covers business income, including e-commerce and digital platforms, and dividends. Pay for your own work and profit from the company are taxed differently, so record what each payment is for.
How the tax office treats what the company pays you is a question for your adviser.
3:46Is there a US–Vietnam tax treaty?
On the American side, there's no tax treaty in force with Vietnam. So US dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld at the full rate, unless a US exemption applies. Pay for work you do in Vietnam generally isn't US income. A single-owner LLC with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. It still files a report with the IRS every year, even without sales, and 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.
4:24How do I send the money, and in what order?
Here's the sequence that works from Vietnam. Talk to your bank and a Vietnamese adviser first, about registering the investment and sending the money. Then form, then the EIN, then the accounts. Keep a record of every payment between you and the company. Put the IRS report, your Vietnamese return and any investment report on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your adviser, is linked below.
And Linh? She put her card away that night, and rang her bank in the morning.
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 Vietnam, with sources.
Read the guide for VietnamWatch on YouTube