Federal, state and the foreign-owner filings most firms miss.
LLCs, S-corps and C-corps, owned from the US or from abroad. Federal returns, state returns wherever you have nexus, sales tax across the states you sell into, payroll in the states your people live in, and Form 5472 for every foreign-owned LLC, every year.
| Tax | Rate | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Federal corporate tax | 21% | Flat rate for C-corporations. Pass-through entities are taxed at owner level with the 20 percent qualified business income deduction, made permanent in 2025. |
| Federal individual tax | 10% to 37% | Seven brackets. Applies to the owners of LLCs, partnerships and S-corps on their share of profit, whether or not distributed. |
| State income and franchise tax | 0% to 13%+ | Varies by state. Wyoming, Texas, Florida and others have no personal income tax; California tops out above 13 percent. Many states levy a franchise tax on entities regardless of profit. |
| Sales tax | 0% to 10%+ | State plus local rates. Owed wherever you have economic nexus, commonly $100,000 of annual sales into the state. Marketplaces collect on marketplace sales. |
| Payroll taxes | 7.65% + 7.65% | Social Security and Medicare, split between employer and employee, plus federal and state unemployment insurance. |
What you can form, and what each one owes.
LLC
Formed at state level, taxed by default as a disregarded entity or partnership. Flexible, simple, and the usual choice for ecommerce and services. A foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 annually.
C-corporation
Separate taxpayer at 21 percent federal. The structure investors expect, usually in Delaware. Dividends are taxed again in the shareholder's hands.
S-corporation
A corporation or LLC electing pass-through treatment. Owners must be US persons. Saves payroll tax for profitable owner-operators.
Foreign company registered in a state
A UK or UAE company registering to do business in a US state without forming a US entity. Files state returns, may file federal returns on effectively connected income, and reports beneficial ownership to FinCEN.
The calendar we run for you.
Every filing, its due date and who it goes to. We track all of them twelve months ahead and remind at 90, 30 and 7 days.
| Filing | Due | To |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1120 (C-corp) | 15 April for calendar year | IRS |
| Form 1120-S and 1065 | 15 March for calendar year | IRS |
| Form 5472 with pro-forma 1120 | 15 April | IRS |
| Form 1040 and Schedule C | 15 April | IRS |
| Estimated tax | 15 April, 15 June, 15 September, 15 January | IRS and states |
| Form 941 | Quarterly, end of month after quarter | IRS |
| W-2 and 1099-NEC | 31 January | IRS / SSA |
| State sales tax | Monthly, quarterly or annually by state | State revenue departments |
| Delaware franchise tax | 1 March for corporations, 1 June for LLCs | Delaware |
| FBAR | 15 April, automatic extension to 15 October | FinCEN |
Federal law after 2025.
The 2025 tax legislation made the 2017 individual rates permanent, made the 20 percent qualified business income deduction permanent, restored 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after 19 January 2025, raised the Section 179 limit to $2.5 million and reinstated immediate expensing of domestic research costs. The corporate rate stays at 21 percent.
Foreign owners.
A UK or UAE resident can own a US LLC or corporation without visiting. What they cannot skip is the reporting: Form 5472 for a foreign-owned single-member LLC, Form 5471 where a US person owns a foreign company, W-8BEN-E for treaty benefits on payments, and an EIN obtained by fax without an SSN. Non-resident owners cannot hold S-corp shares. Since March 2025, US-formed companies are exempt from FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting, but foreign companies registered in a state are not.
Sales tax since Wayfair.
Physical presence has not been required for sales tax since 2018. Every state with a sales tax now has an economic nexus threshold, most at $100,000 of sales, and a marketplace facilitator law that puts the collection burden on Amazon, Walmart and eBay for marketplace sales. Direct sales through your own site remain yours in every state where you pass the threshold, and FBA inventory still creates physical nexus.
What we do here.
Delivered end to end by our own team.
US Business Tax
Federal and state returns for LLCs, S-corps and C-corps, including foreign-owned entities and Form 5472.
US Sales Tax & Nexus
Nexus analysis, registrations and returns across the states where you actually owe tax.
Bookkeeping
Reconciled monthly on Xero or QuickBooks, so the numbers are real before you look at them.
Payroll
UK PAYE, UAE WPS and US federal and state payroll, run to the day with every filing that goes with it.
Company Formation
UK Ltd, UAE mainland or free zone, US LLC or C-corp: formed correctly, with tax registrations and bank account support.
Ecommerce Accounting
Amazon, Shopify, TikTok Shop and Walmart settlements reconciled to true margin, in every market you sell in.
Startup & SaaS Accounting
Revenue recognition, deferred revenue, SAFE notes, R&D credits and investor reporting for venture-backed companies.
IR35 & Contractor Compliance
Status determinations, contractor onboarding and the 1099 and off-payroll rules that decide who is really an employee.
International Tax & Transfer Pricing
Structuring across the UK, UAE and US, transfer pricing documentation, permanent establishment and double tax relief.
I own a Wyoming LLC from Dubai and it made $0. Do I file?
Yes. Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 is due every year for a foreign-owned single-member LLC, reporting any transaction with the owner, including the money you put in to form it. The penalty for not filing is $25,000.
Delaware or Wyoming?
Delaware if you will raise from US venture investors, who expect it. Wyoming for a holding company or an ecommerce entity with no investors: no state income tax, low annual fees, strong privacy. Neither avoids tax in the state where you actually operate.
Do I need a US bank account?
For most purposes, yes. Mercury, Relay and similar fintechs open accounts for foreign-owned US entities remotely with an EIN and formation documents. Traditional banks usually want an in-person visit.
Which states do I owe sales tax in?
The ones where you have nexus: physical presence, including FBA inventory, or sales above the state's economic threshold. A nexus study is the first step and is included in our sales tax service.
Talk to a USA accountant. Free.
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. Tell us the entities and the countries, and we will tell you honestly what applies and what it costs.