A friend of mine recently completed his Stripe Atlas US company registration and Mercury Bank account registration. He’s currently waiting for the IRS to provide his EIN , and any potentially problematic steps should be completed by now. While he still remembers the details, he wrote down a process record. The registration fee using Stripe Atlas is normally $500 USD. Using an invitation code cuts it to $250 USD, but there’s a $100 USD registration agent fee and a $300 USD Delaware state franchise fee, totaling $650 USD. Hearing this, I immediately felt it was too much. I remember recommending another company before, which only cost around $300 USD overall, and they even helped open a Mercury Bank account. Their service was excellent, including a 30-minute CPA tax consultation. You can click to compare. Isn’t Wyoming LLC overpaying by choosing Stripe Atlas? My friend has already registered, so I won’t add to his worries.
There are also additional maintenance costs!
Stripe Atlas charges a $100 annual registered agent service fee. Additionally, because the company is registered in Delaware, there’s an annual franchise tax of $300 per year. Registering in Wyoming would eliminate this, wouldn’t it? They must be rich! Here’s a comparison article about which state is best for registration; best state to form an LLC
Furthermore, he only learned after registering that if a company is registered at the end of the year, the annual tax fee will not be reduced proportionally, and he will still have to pay the full year’s tax. Therefore, it is recommended to wait until January 1st to register , which can save a whole year’s tax.
I’m not very familiar with income-related tax filing. From what I understand, federal tax filing is mandatory, requiring the submission of Form 5472 and Form 1120, along with basic company information. It’s possible to apply for an “Effectively Connected Income (ECI)” exemption, but since the company has customers in the US, I’m unsure if we qualify for the exemption and need to investigate further.
Company Registration
Registration schedule and progress
He submitted his application at 10 p.m. on
November 20th and received an email at 11 p.m. on the 21st saying that the company had been established. He is now waiting for the EIN .
Creating a Stripe business payment account requires an EIN. If you can’t wait, you can call the IRS to ask for your EIN number.
Company registration process
After logging into your Stripe account using the link above, you’ll be prompted to create a new account and begin the company registration process. This is different from what I expected. It should have started by understanding your business, with a CPA providing tax guidance and planning to help you avoid pitfalls. The company I registered with before did it this way; they were very helpful and selected a suitable state based on my business while trying to save me money. The experience was excellent, and subconsciously, I wanted a similar process. Check out this US LLC company registration guide that includes a 30-minute CPA consultation.
To avoid his English proficiency affecting his understanding of the form, he screenshotted most of the questions and options and asked the AI for clarification. This really caused him unnecessary trouble. I remember that company offered support in over 10 languages, including Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, and German, and their customer service was also in Chinese. This is far inferior. wyoming LLC is also cheaper.
Company Structure
After evaluating several options, I chose LLC because my business model is simple and I don’t need to consider financing .
Company name and description
Just write it according to the actual situation. I filled in the domain name of an AI tool website that is already running.
Founder、Ownership和Roles
Please write according to your actual situation. My home address is my actual domestic address in English. I did not fill in the co-founder information.
Company Tax ID (EIN) Application
For the company address, I used the home address I filled in earlier, and for the phone number, I used a domestic mobile phone number.
Company Tax ID (EIN) Application
For the company address, I used the home address I filled in earlier, and for the phone number, I used a domestic mobile phone number.
Confirmation, Signing and Payment
Simply follow the on-screen instructions.
Mercury Bank Registration
While waiting for the EIN , you can register a Mercury Bank business account. Remember to click “Apply” at the bottom of the Stripe to go to Mercury Bank. This is entirely self-service; there’s no assistance. When applying for a bank account, there are many forms similar to the one below; fill them out according to your actual situation. If you’re unsure, take a screenshot and ask the AI. When he said this, I felt this experience was really something else. The other bank I used had customer service assistance; they explained any questions beforehand, and I filled them out perfectly on the first try. This is a step-by-step guide I saw someone write about getting an account in 3 hours: 3 hours Mercury bank account.
He submitted his Mercury Bank application form at 6 PM on November 30th, received an email a few minutes later asking him to provide proof of address, and his account was approved at 5 AM on December 1st.
Account registration, company name, and basic business information
Fill in the information according to your actual situation.
When applying for a bank account, there are many forms similar to the one below. Fill them out according to your actual situation. Since no one will support you anyway, if you’re unsure, just take a screenshot and ask the AI.
When a company has income and needs to file taxes, it still needs to obtain an ITIN (Independent Information Number). This is because LLCs are reported along with individual income taxes. Does the ITIN application necessarily require a US address and phone number?
I’m not very familiar with this specific area, so I asked AI, and here’s some information for reference:
Regarding LLC tax treatment,
LLCs are by default “pass-through” entities, meaning that the company’s income and expenses will “penetrate” to the owner’s individual tax return.
As a non-US resident, you need to pay US federal taxes on your LLC’s income. The necessity of an ITIN:
An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a tax identification number used by foreigners without an SSN.
Since your LLC’s income needs to be reported on your individual tax return, and you don’t have an SSN, you do need to apply for an ITIN.
ITINs are primarily used for tax filing purposes. ITIN application requirements:
Applying for an ITIN does require a US address and phone number
, but this can be done using virtual addresses and phone services.
Many registration agency service providers offer these services.
The tutorial I’ve included can no longer be updated, so here’s a supplementary update.
Exactly one month after the application, the company received the EIN from the IRS. With the EIN, you can then supplement the required bank information and apply for a Stripe payment account.
Mercury Bank requires a proof of the EIN, which can be downloaded from the Atlas backend. Just submit it normally.
The Stripe business account registration process requires a US mobile phone number as the business phone number, so it’s recommended to prepare one in advance.
In the Stripe process, the business address should be a US address, the personal address should be the home address used during the initial application, the personal identification document should be your ID card number, and the personal contact information should be a domestic mobile phone number. There’s nothing else particularly special about it.
Because the country of account (United States) and the individual’s country of residence are different, only a passport can be used as personal identification. https://llcclass.com/foreigners/
Obtaining an EIN Number and Confirmation Letter from Atlas
Obtaining an EIN
An EIN number is equivalent to a US company’s identification number. It’s required for applying for various business accounts (Mercury Bank, due to its partnership with Atlas, allows accounts to be opened in advance, with the EIN added later).
After submitting the application according to the above process, Atlas will submit the EIN application to the IRS. Just wait. If the EIN hasn’t been issued within a week, you can try contacting the IRS to expedite the process, referring to https://llcclass.com/start-llc-non-resident/ . If the EIN is ready, consider contacting the IRS to have them fax the confirmation letter (mentioned below).
After receiving the EIN, don’t forget to go to Mercury Bank to supplement the account application information. I sent the SS-4 application form to Mercury Bank. I’ve heard some people have encountered situations where an EIN confirmation letter is required; if needed, follow the process below to obtain one.
Obtaining an EIN Confirmation Letter (Required for verifying company information)
One month after registering my company, Atlas notified me that my EIN had been issued and gave me the EIN number. However, it’s important to note that the EIN file provided by Atlas at this stage is on the EIN application form SS-4, not a formal confirmation letter. Stripe and Mercury Bank may not accept the SS-4 application form when submitting documents for business verification. The formal confirmation letter accepted by Stripe is the one provided in the later link. When verifying a business with Stripe, the SS-4 application form cannot be used; a formal confirmation letter is required.
Normally, this confirmation letter will be sent by regular mail to the address you provided (I used a domestic address earlier), but international mail is slow (several weeks) and may be lost, so physical copies are not reliable. Stripe offers a method to obtain this letter: call the IRS and have them fax a copy to your designated number (I’ve heard you can use a fax number provided by Atlas as an agent, but I haven’t tried it).
If you are having trouble locating your copy of the CP575/147c letter, you can call the IRS to request a copy. You can contact the IRS Business and Specialty Tax line at (+1) 800-829-4933. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, taxpayer local time (Pacific Time).
I found someone on Fiverr to help me contact the IRS to get this letter and then send me the PDF. It cost $15 and took a day.
Activating your Stripe account to start receiving payments :
You can directly activate the Stripe account you used to apply for Atlas to receive payments, or you can create a new account.
If you used the Stripe account used to apply for Atlas, the business verification will be automatically completed. However!!! Make sure to check the Business structure and Legal Name in Settings-Business-Tax Details, as the pre-filled information may be incorrect!!
A common mistake is that the Legal Name on the confirmation letter is missing a comma, while pre-filled forms will have one. The Legal Name on the confirmation letter should include the name on the second line followed by SOLE MBR (if you are a sole proprietorship LLC), which is not included in pre-filled forms. Correcting this and resubmitting the verification will resolve the issue; otherwise, incorrect tax names can cause problems when filing taxes.
A few points to note during the new Stripe activation process:
After entering your EIN, you need to upload a PDF confirmation letter for verification. Note that the company’s Legal Name at this point should be the company name (without a comma), LLC name, SOLE MBR, and
your passport for personal identification.
A US phone number is required as the company number (sometimes it’s not needed; I don’t know why there’s a difference).
Fill in the other information truthfully.
During my registration process, I repeatedly encountered errors indicating a mismatch between the Legal Name and the uploaded file; I eventually resolved this by contacting customer service.
It seems like you’ve all overcharged me. I registered in 2024, and the registration plus agent cost me $179. My EIN (Electronic Income Number) through Fiverr cost $40, and the annual report was $163 a few days ago, plus $70 for tax filing (it feels expensive). https://llcclass.com/start-llc-non-resident/
My complete process for registering a US company (company registration + EIN application + BOI filing), with screenshots for each step, took three days and cost $354, with an annual renewal fee of $185. https://llcclass.com/foreigners/
When a company has income and needs to file taxes, it still needs to obtain an ITIN (Independent Information Number). This is because LLCs are reported along with individual income taxes. Does the ITIN application necessarily require a US address and phone number?
I’m not very familiar with this specific area, so I asked AI, and here’s some information for reference:
Regarding LLC tax treatment,
LLCs are by default “pass-through” entities, meaning that the company’s income and expenses will “penetrate” to the owner’s individual tax return.
As a non-US resident, you need to pay US federal taxes on your LLC’s income. The necessity of an ITIN:
An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a tax identification number used by foreigners without an SSN.
Since your LLC’s income needs to be reported on your individual tax return, and you don’t have an SSN, you do need to apply for an ITIN.
ITINs are primarily used for tax filing purposes. ITIN application requirements:
Applying for an ITIN does require a US address and phone number
, but this can be done using virtual addresses and phone services.
Many registration agency service providers offer these services.
Hi, have you finished depositing funds into your Mercury Bank account? I’ve opened the account, but haven’t deposited any funds yet.
hasn’t deposited any money yet; once Stripe connects, the money will be deposited.
The tutorial I’ve included can no longer be updated, so here’s a supplementary update.
Exactly one month after the application, the company received the EIN from the IRS. With the EIN, you can then supplement the required bank information and apply for a Stripe payment account.
Mercury Bank requires a proof of the EIN, which can be downloaded from the Atlas backend. Just submit it normally.
The Stripe business account registration process requires a US mobile phone number as the business phone number, so it’s recommended to prepare one in advance.
In the Stripe process, the business address should be a US address, the personal address should be the home address used during the initial application, the personal identification document should be your ID card number, and the personal contact information should be a domestic mobile phone number. There’s nothing else particularly special about it.
Because the country of account (United States) and the individual’s country of residence are different, only a passport can be used as personal identification. https://llcclass.com/foreigners/
As a US company, what taxes should I pay (Delaware and federal taxes)?
https://llcclass.com/how-much/
Obtaining an EIN Number and Confirmation Letter from Atlas
Obtaining an EIN
An EIN number is equivalent to a US company’s identification number. It’s required for applying for various business accounts (Mercury Bank, due to its partnership with Atlas, allows accounts to be opened in advance, with the EIN added later).
After submitting the application according to the above process, Atlas will submit the EIN application to the IRS. Just wait. If the EIN hasn’t been issued within a week, you can try contacting the IRS to expedite the process, referring to https://llcclass.com/start-llc-non-resident/ . If the EIN is ready, consider contacting the IRS to have them fax the confirmation letter (mentioned below).
After receiving the EIN, don’t forget to go to Mercury Bank to supplement the account application information. I sent the SS-4 application form to Mercury Bank. I’ve heard some people have encountered situations where an EIN confirmation letter is required; if needed, follow the process below to obtain one.
Obtaining an EIN Confirmation Letter (Required for verifying company information)
One month after registering my company, Atlas notified me that my EIN had been issued and gave me the EIN number. However, it’s important to note that the EIN file provided by Atlas at this stage is on the EIN application form SS-4, not a formal confirmation letter. Stripe and Mercury Bank may not accept the SS-4 application form when submitting documents for business verification. The formal confirmation letter accepted by Stripe is the one provided in the later link. When verifying a business with Stripe, the SS-4 application form cannot be used; a formal confirmation letter is required.
Normally, this confirmation letter will be sent by regular mail to the address you provided (I used a domestic address earlier), but international mail is slow (several weeks) and may be lost, so physical copies are not reliable. Stripe offers a method to obtain this letter: call the IRS and have them fax a copy to your designated number (I’ve heard you can use a fax number provided by Atlas as an agent, but I haven’t tried it).
If you are having trouble locating your copy of the CP575/147c letter, you can call the IRS to request a copy. You can contact the IRS Business and Specialty Tax line at (+1) 800-829-4933. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, taxpayer local time (Pacific Time).
I found someone on Fiverr to help me contact the IRS to get this letter and then send me the PDF. It cost $15 and took a day.
Activating your Stripe account to start receiving payments :
You can directly activate the Stripe account you used to apply for Atlas to receive payments, or you can create a new account.
If you used the Stripe account used to apply for Atlas, the business verification will be automatically completed. However!!! Make sure to check the Business structure and Legal Name in Settings-Business-Tax Details, as the pre-filled information may be incorrect!!
A common mistake is that the Legal Name on the confirmation letter is missing a comma, while pre-filled forms will have one. The Legal Name on the confirmation letter should include the name on the second line followed by SOLE MBR (if you are a sole proprietorship LLC), which is not included in pre-filled forms. Correcting this and resubmitting the verification will resolve the issue; otherwise, incorrect tax names can cause problems when filing taxes.
A few points to note during the new Stripe activation process:
After entering your EIN, you need to upload a PDF confirmation letter for verification. Note that the company’s Legal Name at this point should be the company name (without a comma), LLC name, SOLE MBR, and
your passport for personal identification.
A US phone number is required as the company number (sometimes it’s not needed; I don’t know why there’s a difference).
Fill in the other information truthfully.
During my registration process, I repeatedly encountered errors indicating a mismatch between the Legal Name and the uploaded file; I eventually resolved this by contacting customer service.
Bro, how did you file your taxes? I need to file my taxes this year, but I don’t know how. I’m looking for a free method.
I found someone on Fiverr to fill out and submit the form for me for free, but I don’t know how it works.
It seems like you’ve all overcharged me. I registered in 2024, and the registration plus agent cost me $179. My EIN (Electronic Income Number) through Fiverr cost $40, and the annual report was $163 a few days ago, plus $70 for tax filing (it feels expensive). https://llcclass.com/start-llc-non-resident/
Thanks, this is the cheapest option available right now.
My complete process for registering a US company (company registration + EIN application + BOI filing), with screenshots for each step, took three days and cost $354, with an annual renewal fee of $185. https://llcclass.com/foreigners/
How do I set up this corporate account?
Stripe Atlas flagged me for risk control; my Visa card won’t let me make payments.