Using Delaware/Wyoming LLC for Consulting Comp + App Store / SaaS Revenue (No US Tax, No 1120-F?)

[bdt]

Hey Everyone!

A few months back, someone on this forum suggested a novel structure using a Delaware LLC with no US presence, and I’ve been digging deeper into making it work for both some consulting work I do back in in the UK, as well as app / SaaS income as I've recently wanted to get into that too. Would love to sense-check the plan now that it’s evolved.


I'm a British citizen but recently obtained Caribbean citizenship by investment and won’t be UK tax-resident much longer moving forward. I’m setting up a system that can handle:

1. Consulting stuff (mainly for property companies)
2. App store income (Apple + Google)
3. SaaS income via website (subscriptions, tools, etc.)

The core of the plan is a Delaware LLC, operated by a non-resident, with no US clients, no agents, and no physical presence. It would receive income and pay out to a US business account (since some App Store payouts require this), and I’d move funds from there to either my US personal account or (still to be opened) my Caribbean personal account.

Here’s how each part would work:

App Stores (Apple/Google):

• The LLC will sign up as the developer and submit a W-8BEN-E
• Apple/Google act as merchant of record
• Revenue passed to LLC is royalty-style and not US-source
• No 1120-F filing required

SaaS:

• I plan to use LemonSqueezy or Paddle as the merchant of record
• They handle global payments and compliance
• I get paid from a UK or EU reseller
• Again, no US-source income, no need to file

Consulting:

• If this goes through the same LLC, all services would be delivered from outside the US
• No clients or contracts in the US, mainly services for UK clients

To stay compliant, I’m avoiding any US-based advertising, staff, or support presence beyond a registered agent for the company setup. Website hosting will be offshore too. The goal is to keep this LLC fully outside US tax scope while still collecting app and SaaS revenue at (hopefully) scale.

Structure questions:

1. Can I confidently avoid triggering 1120-F or ECI with this setup?
2. Is there any problem running both app store and SaaS income through one Delaware LLC?
3. Am I missing anything obvious from a compliance or structuring perspective?
4. My wife is a green card holder working for now in US but not involved in this business: I'm obviously going to spend some time with her in the US as a tourist - could that be an issue in terms of this setup?

Recommendation Questions:

A. A lot of people are saying Wyoming is better as it's cheaper to set up, no disclosure, but still has access to banks?
B. Any recommendations for best Caribbean banks - someone recommended CIBC but the online form seems to only be if you have a registered address in the country which is a bit annoying?
C. Any recommendations for the best US business bank account for a Delaware LLC owned by a non-US person? Heard Mercury and Relay were good.


Thanks in advance for any advice as I'm looking to get this set up pretty soon!

Cheers!

 

[bdt]

Shout out to @JustAnotherNomad who gave me this idea initially! He discusses it more here:

J

Post in thread 'Wyoming LLC vs UK LLP'

Mar 3, 2025

A transparent single-member US LLC pays tax in the US as if it was the member that had provided the service/sold the goods.
So if you or your Montenegran company owns the US LLC, the US will "look through" the US LLC and decide if you/the Montenegran company should pay tax in the US.
If you sold to a US client under your own name from Montenegro, or your company did, would there be tax in the US? No. Therefore, there would be no tax with a US LLC either.
But if anything was happening physically in the US (employees, freelancers, an office or warehouse, ...), the situation could be...

• JustAnotherNomad

•