How to Start a Business in the U.S. as a Foreigner

Starting a U.S.-based business as a foreigner can be a long road, but the country makes it easy to register your company and open your business. Learning English is a basic requirement if you plan on doing business with Americans, but other aspects such as filing for your Employer Identification Number, and choosing which type of company you want to be, can make matters more confusing.

Most foreign nationals, says Schwartz International tax advisor and lawyer Richard Hartnig, choose to establish a C corporation, which can expand by offering unlimited stock and is typically more attractive to outside investors, even though its profits are taxed twice, first at the corporate level, and then as dividends to shareholders.

For corporate shareholders, the advantages are usually clear: Corporate shareholders typically qualify for a lower dividend rate. And so long as the U.S. company doesn’t primarily hold real estate, the corporate parent won’t pay capital gains when it sells the U.S. affiliate. Even individual foreign owners are probably best off with a C corporation, says Hartnig, since the structure will shield them from direct I.R.S. scrutiny. “Foreign individuals are very, very hesitant to put their names on the U.S. tax rolls,” he says. 

Of course, C corporation owners pay more for that shield as a result of the double tax. But in many cases, tax planners can use salaries, pension costs, and other expenses to reduce corporate income and eliminate much of the double taxation.

All that said, in some cases–usually depending on the particulars of one’s native tax laws–a limited partnership may be the best business structure. In a limited partnership, partners without management control have limited liability, and profits are passed through to the members, who pay income tax on their individual tax return.

The company’s business should determine where it locates. If one state dominates its market, it’s best off incorporating there–there’s no way to avoid obligations of doing business in, say, California, a famously high-cost jurisdiction, by registering in Nevada or Delaware, two famously low-burden states. On the other hand, if the business will not be concentrated in any particular state, most advisors will probably recommend Delaware incorporation, followed by Nevada.

This is in part because of Delaware’s “flexible” corporate law that offers generous protections to shareholders and directors, and also due to its outsider-friendly rules. (Besides not requiring either a local physical address or bank account, Delaware makes its corporate law website available in 10 languages.) It’s also, at least in part, a matter of inertia: Tax advisors are so familiar with Delaware’s welcoming ways that many haven’t bothered to learn the requirements of more far-flung states.

The forms and other requirements for forming a business entity vary somewhat by state. Here’s how incorporation works in Delaware, which serves as a simplified model for many states:

• The company principals choose a unique name.
• They select a registered agent that is able to receive legal documents for the company. (A company with a physical address in the state can serve as its own agent, but this is not true in other states, like California.)
• The company fills out a one-page certificate of incorporation that identifies the corporate name; the name and address of its registered agent; the total amount and par value of the shares the corporation is authorized to issue and the name and mailing address of the incorporator. Fees start at $89 and increase principally based on the amount of stock issued or capital raised.

Once the business is incorporated, it must file a report ($50) and pay franchise tax (from $175) annually. Though many online services exist to help with entity formation for a separate fee that can reach several hundred dollars, the paperwork is generally fairly straightforward, and states (usually through their secretary of state) normally provide guidance online to help individuals file the proper paperwork.

An Employer Identification Number is necessary not just to hire workers, but to open a bank account, pay taxes or often to get a business license. Apply for the EIN for free directly with the IRS, and avoid the many online services with government-sounding internet addresses that charge for this service. But unless the U.S. company’s principal officer (who the IRS calls the “responsible party”) has already obtained a separate Taxpayer Identification Number from the agency, it can’t apply for an EIN online–it must apply by mail or FAX, and where the form asks for the Taxpayer Identification Number, enter “foreign/none.”

In most cases, foreigners with business or investments in the United States should set up a domestic corporation. Consult with experts on tax law in both your home country and the U.S. before taking the plunge, as the rules for foreign nationals can be more complex than if you were a citizen.