Wall 01Stripe
The country list
Stripe's country list is why most indie hackers abroad end up looking at a US company.
Built for · Indie hackers
A US LLC for indie hackers and solo software founders abroad
The honest first question is whether you need a company yet. Many solo founders don't, and the ones who do usually find out because a processor, a customer or a co-founder told them.
- Usually
- Structure
- Wyoming LLC
- Plan
- Starter
- On the day
- $391.40
- Every year
- $179
01Why a US company
What it does for indie hackers.
A merchant of record, such as Paddle or Lemon Squeezy, sells your software as the seller, collects the tax and pays you, and it doesn't need a US company. For a founder earning a few hundred dollars a month, that's usually the right answer. A US LLC becomes worth it when you want your own Stripe account and its lower fees, when a customer wants to sign with a company, when a co-founder joins and ownership needs recording, or when the product is worth shielding from your personal liabilities.
When that day comes, a Wyoming LLC costs $60 a year to the state, plus a registered agent and a yearly federal form you can put on a calendar.
02What stands in the way
Three things in the way, and one way through.
Wall 02Customers
An invoice from a company
Customers, especially companies, want an invoice from a business and a W-9.
Wall 03A co-founder
A handshake isn't an agreement
Once a co-founder joins, who owns what needs writing down in an operating agreement.
The door
A US LLC, with its EIN and a US bank account.
One company, one EIN and one bank account, which is what everything above asks for.
03The honest part
What to know before you order.
01
Foreign-source income, filed anyway
Software built and run from outside the United States by a company with no US office is foreign-source income, and most such LLCs owe no US income tax. 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.
02
Your own country
Where you live, the LLC's profit is either your income or the company's, and a company run from your desk may be resident where the desk is. Ask a local accountant once, before the first payout.
The plan that fits
Starter, usually.
Starter is the whole company at the lowest running cost. Add the expedited EIN if Stripe is waiting on the number.
StarterFits indie hackers
For your first company, when it needs to exist and nothing more yet.
To start
$391.40 once
Includes the $102.40 Wyoming fee · then $179 a year
04Questions
Questions from indie hackers.
If yours is not here, email us at [email protected] before you order.
Not necessarily. A merchant of record can sell for you without one. You need the company when you want your own Stripe account, when customers want a business to pay, or when a co-founder joins.
$60 a year to the state, $119 a year for the registered agent on Starter, and Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 each year, even with no income.
Read next
Related.
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 companyStarter$289 + $102.40 WyomingSame day