The non-US founder's first 90 days with a US company

Forming a US company from abroad takes a few days. Everything that has to happen after it takes longer: the EIN, a bank account, a way to get paid, cards, bookkeeping and a calendar of filings that start the first year. None of it is hard, but the order matters, because almost every step depends on the one before.

This is the order I'd follow, from the week you decide to form a company to the end of your third month. Each item links to the guide on this site that covers it in full, with the figures and sources. I'm writing from India, so a few notes apply to Indian founders in particular, and I've marked them.

Before you form anything

If you live in India, read the rules on investing abroad first. A resident Indian who puts money into a foreign company is making an overseas investment under FEMA. That brings reporting through your bank, and it can limit what the company may own. Money you send under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme counts toward a limit of $250,000 a financial year.^⁠[7] Ask a CA who handles FEMA work how the rules apply to you before you send the first dollar. Founders elsewhere should check their own country's rules the same way.

Choose the entity. An LLC is simpler and cheaper for most founders who won't raise venture money. A Delaware C corporation suits a company that will. An S corporation is off the table, because S corporations can't have nonresident alien shareholders.^⁠[3] Our guide to LLC, S corp or C corp explains the trade-offs.

Choose the state. Most founders abroad pick Delaware or Wyoming. Our comparison of the best state to form an LLC covers the costs and the cases where your own state is the right answer.

Choose a name and a domain together. It's easier to find a name that's free as a company, a domain and a handle at the same time than one at a time. Our guide to choosing a name and domain walks through the checks.

The first two weeks: the company and the EIN

Form the company. You can file with the state yourself or use a formation service. Stripe Atlas, for example, forms a Delaware company for $500.^⁠[8] Our comparison of doola, Firstbase and Stripe Atlas covers what each includes for founders abroad, and our guide to starting a US company from abroad covers the whole process.

Appoint a registered agent. Every state requires one with a physical address in the state. If you use a formation service, it's usually included for the first year. Our guide to registered agents explains what they do.

Get the EIN. Without an SSN or ITIN, you can't apply online. Fax Form SS-4 and the IRS generally replies within 4 business days, or mail it and wait about 4 weeks. If the company has no US office and you have no US residence, you can also call the IRS at 267-941-1099, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time.^⁠[1] Our guide to getting an EIN covers each route.

Sign an operating agreement. Even a single-member LLC should have one. Banks sometimes ask for it, and it records who owns what. Our guide to LLC operating agreements covers what goes in it.

Skip the BOI report. A company formed in the US no longer files a beneficial ownership report with FinCEN.^⁠[2] If a service offers to file one for a fee, you don't need it. Our BOI guide has the details.

Weeks three and four: banking

Open a US business bank account. You'll need the EIN letter, your formation documents and your passport. Mercury, for example, accepts companies whose founders live abroad, as long as the company is formed in the US and has existing or planned US operations.^⁠[4] Our guide to US bank accounts for non-residents compares the options and explains why applications get refused.

Add a way to move money between currencies. A Wise Business Business account costs a one-time 31 USD in the US and converts between currencies from 0.23%.^⁠[10] Use it to pay costs in your home currency and to move money between your US company and home.

Get a card. Your bank's debit card works from day one. Our guide to corporate cards for non-US founders covers which credit cards a foreign-owned company can get, and when.

The second month: getting paid and keeping books

Set up a way to get paid by card. With a US company and a US bank account, you can apply for Stripe in the US. If you sell software or digital products, a merchant of record that handles sales tax abroad is the other route. Our guide to Stripe for non-US founders compares the three routes and their fees.

Invoice clients from the company. Once the company is set up, contracts and invoices should be in its name and paid to its account. If you were freelancing from India before, our guide to getting paid by US clients in India covers how that works without a US company, which may still suit some of your work.

Start bookkeeping from the first transaction. Every payment between you and the company matters, because a foreign-owned company reports them to the IRS each year. Pick accounting software, connect the bank account and categorize as you go. Our guide to small business bookkeeping covers the basics, and our comparison of online bookkeeping services covers the services that handle it for you.

Check licenses and sales tax. Forming the company doesn't license the business. Depending on what you sell and where the company is based, you may need a local business license, and selling taxable goods usually means a sales tax permit. Our guides to business licenses and sales tax cover when each applies.

Set up email on your domain. A business address on your own domain helps with banks, payment providers and customers. Our guide to business email on your own domain compares the options.

The third month: the calendar, and people

Put the filings in your calendar. A US LLC owned by one foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, by April 15 for a calendar year company. The penalty for not filing is $25,000.^⁠[5] State deadlines come on top. A Delaware LLC pays a $400 annual tax by June 1, and a Delaware corporation files its annual report by March 1.^⁠[6] Our guide to Form 5472 and the other filings has the full calendar, and our guide to LLC annual reports and fees covers other states.

Find an accountant before the year ends. The first Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 are easier with someone who prepares them every year for foreign-owned companies, and it's better to find them in your third month than in your twelfth. Ask what they need from your books, so the year's records arrive in the shape they want. Some formation services and bookkeeping firms include the filing in a yearly package.

Decide whether you need an ITIN. Most founders abroad don't need one in the first year. Some do, for a personal US tax return or a tax treaty claim. Our guide to ITINs for non-US founders covers who needs one.

Hire, if you're ready. A contractor abroad needs a contract, a Form W-8BEN and a low-cost way to pay. Our guide to paying international contractors covers the paperwork. For someone working full time for you, read employer of record or contractor. If the team is in India and growing, our guide to an EOR or your own Indian subsidiary works out when each makes sense.

Review the card limit. Corporate cards that lend on your cash raise the limit as the balance grows. Mercury's IO card, for example, opens higher limits and monthly repayment once you hold $15,000 at Mercury.^⁠[9]

What can wait

A few things come up in the first 90 days that can safely wait.

An S corp election. Not available to a company with nonresident alien shareholders.^⁠[3]

A second company abroad. If your team is in your home country, a local company may make sense later. Not in the first three months.

A US office. Your registered agent's address covers the state's requirement. A real office, or a virtual address for mail, can wait until customers, a bank or a card issuer asks for one. If a card issuer wants a physical US address, our guide to corporate cards explains which ones do.

Paid tools you don't use yet. Our guide to the startup tech stack covers what a new company needs and what it can add later.

The short list

If you only remember four things from this, make it these.

• Get the EIN before anything else that asks for it, which is almost everything.
• Keep every transaction between you and the company on record from day one. The Form 5472 depends on it.
• Put Form 5472 and your state's annual deadline in a calendar the week you form the company.
• If you live in India, read the overseas investment rules before sending money.