4 ms·

> EDIT: And if you're outside of the US, set up a local LLC so that US-based companies can treat you like an independent contracting business. By local, do you

> EDIT: And if you're outside of the US, set up a local LLC so that US-based companies can treat you like an independent contracting business. By local, do you mean a US-based company (eg delaware), or local to where you are?

mongol 5y ago
Good and relevant question! Hope to see an answer to it
nh2 5y ago
Local to where you are is enough for companies to treat you like an independent contracting business. The key thing is that you _are_ an independent contracting business.
hirako2000 5y ago
I'm also wondering. but I would guess some companies only or more easily treat with locally based LLC than foreign entities. And those dealing with foreign entities probably favor those located in juridiction they feel comply with their rules. E.G only a few will deal with an entity based in Iran or China. Some industries are not even allowed to trade with a list of countries.
- jdmichal 5y ago
  > Some industries are not even allowed to trade with a list of countries. To be clear, in the US, that would also limit dealing with any LLC who's beneficial ownership is sanctioned.
z3t4 5y ago
The local government will most likely have an issue with you working for an foreign company that you own yourself, and it will likely be more complicated when you deal with taxes and banks. It will be easier if you are like most other companies in your country, easier to find information about government laws and tax rules, and easier to find people for advice.
Brajeshwar 5y ago
I believe he do mean a US LLC, most defaults to Delaware or Nevada. It has become much easier for NON-US residents to form such entities these days. Doola (formerly StartPack, a YC Company) is a good option. Not affiliated with Doola but the founder is a nice guy. https://www.doola.com https://www.doola.com
- arjawn 5y ago
  Hey Brajeshwar, Arjun from doola here, thank you so much for sharing us
- jacknews 5y ago
  Looks like a good service. Often the problem with setting up a business in a foreign country is not registering the company, but opening a bank account for the business, so you can get paid easily by customers in that country - which is really the whole point of the exercise.
  - arjawn 5y ago
    Thanks Jack You are 100% correct, people don't really want an LLC, they want a way to transact globally in the US dollar and to do that they need a US bank account + US payments. We work with many different banking and payment partners (https://www.doola.com/rewards https://www.doola.com/rewards) and not only help folks go from 0 -> bank account but also keep the LLC compliant in the background (annual compliance, IRS tax filings, and more!)
- biztos 5y ago
  IANAL but I was looking into starting a US consulting company recently, and one of the tricky things is you have to "foreign-qualify" (IIRC) your Delaware/Nevada LLC in California if you are going to do any business there, which for a tech consultancy is quite likely. Then your tax situation suddenly becomes complex and (relatively) expensive, in case that is related to your interest in Delaware or especially Nevada. Now, whether you can get around this by being fully remote and effectively saying "no, CaliCorp came to Nevada to do business with me, not the other way around" -- that's an interesting question.
thelastknowngod 5y ago
Local to wherever your customers and/or employer are. They can use their normal process for expenditure or payroll or whatever in their accounting software to pay him.
- newaccount74 5y ago
  In my experience US companies had no problem paying my Austrian invoices. Setting up an LLC in the US sounds like an expensive and unnecessary bureaucratic nightmare when all you want to do is a bit of contract work. I've also talked to a bunch of people who have done contract work for US companies, and they all just have a business registered in their home country. Noone wants to be subject to US taxation voluntarily.
Brajeshwar 5y ago
The other option is to use Stripe Atlas[1] to start an LLC and get a Bank account from Mercury[2]. Most other banks will need you to be physically present stateside unless you are part of an institute that takes care of that (YC, On Deck, etc.) 1. https://stripe.com/atlas https://stripe.com/atlas 2. https://mercury.com https://mercury.com
Ekami 5y ago
If you're not a US person the best setup would be a single-member LLC in a state like Wyoming (Delaware is more for corporations). I currently have an LLC and if you structure it well you could even get all the perks of being incorporated in the US while paying 0 taxes (pass-through taxation). Check out firstbase.io, they can handle all the bureaucracy for you.

mongol 5y ago

Good and relevant question! Hope to see an answer to it

nh2 5y ago

Local to where you are is enough for companies to treat you like an independent contracting business. The key thing is that you _are_ an independent contracting business.

hirako2000 5y ago

I'm also wondering. but I would guess some companies only or more easily treat with locally based LLC than foreign entities. And those dealing with foreign entities probably favor those located in juridiction they feel comply with their rules. E.G only a few will deal with an entity based in Iran or China. Some industries are not even allowed to trade with a list of countries.

jdmichal 5y ago
> Some industries are not even allowed to trade with a list of countries. To be clear, in the US, that would also limit dealing with any LLC who's beneficial ownership is sanctioned.

z3t4 5y ago

The local government will most likely have an issue with you working for an foreign company that you own yourself, and it will likely be more complicated when you deal with taxes and banks. It will be easier if you are like most other companies in your country, easier to find information about government laws and tax rules, and easier to find people for advice.

Brajeshwar 5y ago

I believe he do mean a US LLC, most defaults to Delaware or Nevada. It has become much easier for NON-US residents to form such entities these days. Doola (formerly StartPack, a YC Company) is a good option. Not affiliated with Doola but the founder is a nice guy. https://www.doola.com https://www.doola.com

arjawn 5y ago
Hey Brajeshwar, Arjun from doola here, thank you so much for sharing us
jacknews 5y ago
Looks like a good service. Often the problem with setting up a business in a foreign country is not registering the company, but opening a bank account for the business, so you can get paid easily by customers in that country - which is really the whole point of the exercise.
- arjawn 5y ago
  Thanks Jack You are 100% correct, people don't really want an LLC, they want a way to transact globally in the US dollar and to do that they need a US bank account + US payments. We work with many different banking and payment partners (https://www.doola.com/rewards https://www.doola.com/rewards) and not only help folks go from 0 -> bank account but also keep the LLC compliant in the background (annual compliance, IRS tax filings, and more!)
biztos 5y ago
IANAL but I was looking into starting a US consulting company recently, and one of the tricky things is you have to "foreign-qualify" (IIRC) your Delaware/Nevada LLC in California if you are going to do any business there, which for a tech consultancy is quite likely. Then your tax situation suddenly becomes complex and (relatively) expensive, in case that is related to your interest in Delaware or especially Nevada. Now, whether you can get around this by being fully remote and effectively saying "no, CaliCorp came to Nevada to do business with me, not the other way around" -- that's an interesting question.

thelastknowngod 5y ago

Local to wherever your customers and/or employer are. They can use their normal process for expenditure or payroll or whatever in their accounting software to pay him.

newaccount74 5y ago
In my experience US companies had no problem paying my Austrian invoices. Setting up an LLC in the US sounds like an expensive and unnecessary bureaucratic nightmare when all you want to do is a bit of contract work. I've also talked to a bunch of people who have done contract work for US companies, and they all just have a business registered in their home country. Noone wants to be subject to US taxation voluntarily.

Brajeshwar 5y ago

The other option is to use Stripe Atlas[1] to start an LLC and get a Bank account from Mercury[2]. Most other banks will need you to be physically present stateside unless you are part of an institute that takes care of that (YC, On Deck, etc.) 1. https://stripe.com/atlas https://stripe.com/atlas 2. https://mercury.com https://mercury.com

Ekami 5y ago

If you're not a US person the best setup would be a single-member LLC in a state like Wyoming (Delaware is more for corporations). I currently have an LLC and if you structure it well you could even get all the perks of being incorporated in the US while paying 0 taxes (pass-through taxation). Check out firstbase.io, they can handle all the bureaucracy for you.