Our valued sponsor

Question US LLC or UK Ltd/LLP for small business

Skipper

New member
Sep 5, 2020
11
3
3
29
I currently work as a content writer and SEO adviser mainly for UK and US clients. Looking to start a company to be able to charge them through my own website with PP and Stripe since they're not available where I live (Macedonia).

Around 80% of my clients will be from the US, the rest from the UK. LTD seems decent but I want to avoid the 19% corporate tax, so UK LLP seems better (have a brother who's in the business with me, so we can form the company together).

Asked a tax consultant here, he says I only have to pay 10% annual income tax on all personal gains (no corporate tax). Should I go with an LLP as I intend (will I avoid paying UK tax?) or should I start a US LLC, but then I'd have to deal with the IRS and all kinds of state and local taxes. Not to mention having to prove I have no ECI since most of my clients will be from the US (even though I work from Macedonia).

One advantage of US LLC is that I can open Mercury. With a UK LLP my sole option is Transferwise.
 
I'm currently researching the same, to my knowledge that's not how it works. It depends on the state how they define the "economic nexus". For one state you have to physically stand in their state to create the nexus and otherwise are taxed as a foreigner providing services from outside the US for another a remote desktop connection can make you provide the services locally.

Also royalties, dividends and something other will be taxed by the US.

It could become quite tricky, I'm thinking if one would reduce the hassle if one would have two companies, an US LLC for the world and a different company for the US clients? What company would that be.

Which state to form the LLC can you recommend for software consulting/engineering?