Wall 01Seller Central
A dollar bank account, an EIN and formation papers
For a US company, Seller Central asks for a bank account that takes US dollar deposits, the EIN and the company's formation documents.
Built for · Amazon FBA
A US LLC for Amazon sellers outside the United States
Amazon will open a seller account for someone living abroad without a US company. Sellers form one anyway, because a US company with a US bank account is what Seller Central, suppliers and anyone who might buy your brand expect to deal with.
- Usually
- Structure
- Wyoming LLC
- Plan
- Premium
- On the day
- $1,299
- Every year
- $1,059
01Why a US company
What it does for Amazon sellers.
Amazon.com accepts individual sellers from most countries, so the reasons to form a US LLC are practical. A US company gets a US bank account, which speeds up payouts and skips a currency conversion. Suppliers in China and the US invoice a company more readily than a person. Brand Registry and the trademark behind it sit more cleanly with a company, and if you ever sell the brand, the buyer is buying a company rather than your name.
The company also keeps the business apart from you. If a product listing leads to a lawsuit, the LLC is the one being sued, not your household. That only holds if the company's money and yours stay separate, which is why the business bank account comes before the first sale.
02What stands in the way
Three things in the way, and one way through.
Wall 02The tax interview
A W-8, not a W-9
Amazon's tax interview looks through a single-member LLC to its owner, so a foreign owner fills in a W-8 rather than a W-9.
Wall 03Suppliers
A company to invoice
More suppliers and freight forwarders want a company name, an EIN and an address on the invoice, not a person.
The door
A US LLC, with its EIN and a US bank account.
One set of documents that Seller Central, the tax interview and your suppliers all accept.
03The honest part
What to know before you order.
01
Ask about stock in US warehouses first
A foreign-owned LLC selling services from abroad usually owes no US income tax, because the work happens outside the country. FBA is different, because your stock sits in Amazon's US warehouses and sells from there. Whether that makes the company a US trade or business is something the IRS hasn't settled for marketplace sellers, and accountants disagree. Some treat Amazon as an independent agent, and others file a return to be safe. Ask before your first tax year ends.
02
Amazon collects most of the sales tax
Every state with a sales tax has a marketplace facilitator law, which makes Amazon collect and pay sales tax on your Amazon sales. That removes most of the work FBA sellers used to face. A few states may still expect a seller with stock in their warehouses to register, and sales from your own website are yours to handle.
03
The form every foreign-owned LLC files
A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even a year with no income. It reports what moved between you and the company, and missing it carries a $25,000 penalty. It's on the tax filing page and on every plan's calendar.
The plan that fits
Premium, usually.
FBA sellers start trading in the first month. Premium prepares Form 5472 and Form 1120 with a CPA's review, files the Wyoming annual report, and registers you for sales tax in one state, which covers the paperwork Amazon sellers most often miss.
PremiumFits Amazon FBA
For founders who want the whole first year of paperwork done for them.
To start
$1,299 once
Wyoming fee included · then $1,059 a year
04Questions
Questions from Amazon sellers.
If yours is not here, email us at [email protected] before you order.
No. Amazon accepts individual sellers from most countries. Sellers form a US LLC for the US bank account, supplier invoices, Brand Registry and to keep the business apart from them, not because Amazon requires it.
Yes. Seller Central checks the company against its formation documents, its EIN and a bank account that takes US dollar deposits, and you can give a business address outside the United States. The registered agent's address is what Wyoming needs, not what Amazon needs.
On Amazon sales, yes. Every state with a sales tax has a marketplace facilitator law that makes Amazon collect and pay it. A few states may still expect a seller with stock in their warehouses to register, and sales from your own website are yours to handle.
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 plansCompany name
LLC · WYName checked first · Same business day
Start a companyPremium$1,299 + Wyoming fee includedSame day