What is the best way for a foreign individual to incorporate in US to use payment services?

My business model is subscription based therefore I need to use a payment service that is practical for this purpose. Unfortunately, as far as I researched, such services are only available to US individuals or companies, however I am outside US. (Merchant providers, BrainTree, Stripe etc.)

[Q] What is the best way to incorporate in US for only this purpose?

Lets assume total monthly income is 100K$ and monthly cost is 20K$

It would be great to get a solid answer with numbers, I have been researching for a long time with no luck. The best I could come up with is to form a LLC, but in this case its not clear how I will be taxed since I'm not in US.

Incorporation Foreign Tax

asked May 6 '12 at 16:49

Kaan Soral
66 points

1 Answer

Having helped more than 30 foreign clients launch businesses in the U.S., I can tell you that the only effective way to incorporate will be to use the services of both a lawyer and an accountant / tax advisor who have substantial experience working with foreign clients.

Even then, while incorporating and obtaining a bank account should be reasonably straightforward, signing up with a payment service will be a challenge - but potentially feasible, given the level of revenue that you anticipate.

Disclaimer: This information does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

answered May 7 '12 at 11:13

Dana Shultz
6,015 points

As far as I researched, It's currently nearly-impossible to use US payment systems or merchant accounts If you don't have a US presence (someone with an SSN can be considered a min, requirement, however, a real physical address is also required) – Kaan Soral 12 years ago