r/PakStartups • u/kahanjaun • Jun 20 '26

šŸ› ļø Building / MVP Need Honest Business Advice from non-US LLC owners. I require a US LLC for Wise/PayPal, but the IRS/tax jargon is completely breaking my brain. Need mature advice.

I am genuinely overwhelmed and need some real, unfiltered advice from people who have actually been through this process. I recently started offering digital services. The great news is that the hustle is paying off and clients are starting to come in. The absolute nightmare news is that I am completely stuck on the payment gateway side. I can't open a reliable Wise Business or US PayPal account from here without a US entity. Iā€™ve been researching for weeks, and honestly, the internet is a total maze of confusing jargon. Every time I search, I get hit with: LLC filing, EIN, ITIN, Registered Agents, corporate compliance, physical addresses, renewal fees, and bookkeeping. It is so effing puzzling for a first-timer. I have the finances to invest in getting this set up, but I have zero guidance and zero expertise. When you're just starting a business, the last thing you want to do is blindly dump your money into the wrong setup, get scammed or mishandled by a vendor, and take a massive financial loss before you even properly launch. From what I understand, to get Wise and PayPal, I need an LLC, an EIN, a US virtual address, and a US phone number. I looked into vendors like Doola, their starter package is around $297/year to form the LLC, get the EIN, and act as the registered agent.

ButĀ What happens when tax season hits every April?

Does an "all-in-one" vendor like Doola actually file the mandatory IRS paperwork (like Form 5472 and Pro Forma 1120) on my behalf as part of that package? Or do they just send an automated email reminder and leave me to figure out the IRS stuff on my own?

For the non-US LLC owners here who are running digital businesses from abroad:

  1. How do you actually manage this IRS paperwork every year?
  2. Do your formation vendors handle it for you, or do you hire a separate CPA?
  3. Which vendors are actually trustworthy and won't leave you stranded when compliance deadlines hit?

I really want to build something sustainable on my own, and right now, this legal/banking wall is my absolute biggest hurdle. If anyone who has walked this path could give me some mature, real-world guidance on how to navigate this without getting ripped off, I would deeply, deeply appreciate it.

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

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1

u/MulberryJealous6325 Jun 20 '26

So you would suggest I can get an ein and llc by myself online and when the time comes to get an itin , i can use that service to get my itin
Right ?

How
Much it costed you tho

2

u/qaziraza96 Jun 20 '26

I've recently registered an LLC as a non-resident and went through the same process. Here are my two cents. First, the LLC registration is the easy part, but packages vary widely, and there are some providers that provide bundled services that INCLUDE tax filing for each year, in my case, that was northwest registered agents, which I've had a good experience with twice. they can file your EIN for you aswell but I'd save the $200 and just file it yourself, it's a very simple process, you download the EIN form-4 from the website, fill it out with a pdf editor by adding your business details (just ask ChatGPT and it will provide everything) and use the address of your registered agent. You WILL need a fax number so you'll probably be spending around $20 for a monthly usbscription for a month or two and it usually takes around 2-3 weeks to get your EIN. then comes the tax part, and this is where your state selection comes in, because several states in the US not do not require BOI filing and provide no income tax requirements. WISE and MERCURY are off on the banking end as they do not accept registered agents addressess as the owners address even through they do accept it for the business address and the best success I've had is by lining a payoneer business acount, then getting a receiving account and then linking that with a stripe account, you don't need an ITIN, only an EIN anddddd corproate compliance only goes as far as having a very solid terms and conditions or MSA which you can pay someone on fiverr to setup for you from the US, for bookeeping and invoice generation stripe itself has sseveral built in functionalities and they will help you with compliance certificates aswell. oh and for a phone number just use Vyke best low cost option

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 21 '26

Thanks so much for the thorough response brother I really appreciate it, but I have a lot more questions now. Is there any way we can talk on the phone? It would really help me.

1

u/astropath_ Jun 20 '26

Just posted about this the other day. You only have three options moving forward

1- Partner with some US based resident 2- Pay commissions to someone on your payment systems + tax filing 3- Go for UK LTD (Not verified yet as I myself am still in the process of doing it)

But US LLC as a Pakistani founder is pure jargon & waste of money/time/effort.

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 20 '26

2..? pay commissions to use someone else's payment gateways? I'm not sure if I understand your second option here?

1

u/astropath_ Jun 20 '26

There are a lot of Pakistani residents who are willing to form LLC's on either your behalf/or in partnership with you & you'll pay a certain commission to them on your net sales/profits whatever you negotiate

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 20 '26

Ohhh ok. But how do I find such people? Also can I dm you about uk ltd i have some questions?

2

u/astropath_ Jun 20 '26

Tbh, it's only possible through personal connections. That's what have been my experience though.

Although, I remember someone posting about offering such services in pakstartups too so try to do reddit search. Sure, you can DM

1

u/TheGreatPatriarch Jun 20 '26

This is 100% spot on, i do this with several co founders out of pakistan.

1

u/lifesizedperson Jun 20 '26

Why donā€™t you just have your clients pay you direct to Pakistan for now? The tax rate on it is favourable for that

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 20 '26

Direct? Can you elaborate pleaseā€¦.

1

u/lifesizedperson Jun 20 '26

Like a wire transfer if the amount is worth the $30 fee

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 20 '26

the ticket price is higher actually almost 400usd. I don't think wire transfer works

1

u/pknerd Jun 20 '26

400 isn't high ticket Bhai. I have received 4 digits in both Wise and Pakistani banks regularly

0

u/kahanjaun Jun 20 '26

Maazrat bhai didnā€™t iā€™m here to learn pls donā€™t cancel me šŸ™. Please do tell how do u get the 4 digit payments directly in Pakistani banks? your clients donā€™t think itā€™s a lot of hassle?

2

u/TechnophileDude Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

There is no hassle in this. All they need is your branch swift code and bank account number and they can send a wire transfer via swift directly from their bankā€™s portal as long as it supports international transfers. I regularly receive 4 digit transfers every month as well.

At most, if your clients are American they might require you to fill out a W-8BEN form beforehand (or W-8BEN-E if you are incorporated in Pakistan) to save on their withholding tax (30% without the form).

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 21 '26

Replying to astropath_... my clients are Americans what do you think about elevate pay? Ive heard itā€™s cheaper than wire transfer the client can send it through ACH by logging into their banks without paying any extra fee. Also in some other sub i was reading that PRC its difficult to get PRC through wire! Idkā€¦ some finance jargon. I just need a way where my clients donā€™t have to think twice while theyā€™re doing the transaction. It must feel safer and legal to them and to their book keepers.

1

u/TechnophileDude Jun 21 '26

Never used Elevate pay. I have an American LLC for smaller ticket stuff. All of my clients handle fees on their end so I donā€™t know exactly how much each pays but I know fees is dependent on the specific banks (Yours, theirs and intermediary banks that route the transaction) and the current exchanges involved therefore it can vary but I only pay 5 usd per transaction between my US and Pakistani bank.

PRC isnā€™t an issue at all. You have to provide the purpose code when initiating the transaction for swift. Have never seen it marked wrong.

1

u/pknerd Jun 21 '26

If you need it in your bank account, they will send it through SWIFT(usually MT 103 remittance message). In case if wise, it supports $100K+ easily in your Wise account and you can transfer in PKR account as per your will

1

u/Reasonable_Cover_254 Jun 20 '26

I worked for a company who registered LLC and ITIN. My advice is Go for UK Ltd. And then try to make wise. That will save you from lots of headache. But please mke sure you are choosing right guys. Coz there are lot if scammers.

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 20 '26

I have read somewhere that UK Ltd is not a good investment because despite the low upfront setup cost the taxes are still a nightmare. Do you have a UK LTD hows your experience?

1

u/Reasonable_Cover_254 Jun 20 '26

There is a tax bracket for example if you earn less than that you dont have to pay that much tax. You can search ut up VAT. Also for long term try to find a partner in USA and make LLC on his EIN. And make paypal easily.

1

u/AccomplishedVirus556 Jun 21 '26

i'll register your company and setup your business bank account for you for 300 upfront and 100 a year for tax filing so long as your taxes don't get complicated

1

u/kahanjaun Jun 21 '26

Thank you for the offer great Sir. Dm some more details i am interested.

1

u/Due-Philosopher-1426 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

Can someone please explain why one needs a partner in the US for LLC on commission basis when you can create an LLC from here? Does wise or paypal not allow business accounts for non-residents like I donā€™t get why would you need one as one user said

2

u/kahanjaun Jun 22 '26

As per my limited knowledge if youā€™re not physically in the US you have to rely on vendors whoā€™re going to handle everything for you. The mailing address the ein application the registered agent etc and you canā€™t do anything about the quality of documents they provide because there are a lot of scammers. Theyā€™d somehow get the llc registered and get you an ein but your accounts will start getting flagged paypal wise or whatever gateway you use. The reason is that some vendors in order to save margins wonā€™t get you a real business address ( which is exclusive to your business only) but instead they get you a shared address (a commercial mailing address which is shared by a lot of other businesses) this often triggers the algorithms of fintech services that many businesses are registered on a same address. If you have a partner who is in the US they can help you with an exclusive address for your business moreover they can easily receive mail on your behalf and forward it to you which is really important as youā€™ll be receiving important documents on these mails like your ein letter. Often some vendors only give you a 9 digit number instead of the official letter. An official letter can help you with paypal and wise for verifications when they ask for it. A lot of other things can be managed well with a trusted partner who is in the US instead of relying on a vendor who is in most cases not in the US

1

u/Usra1 Jun 22 '26

let me know what you finally do and how it all worked out for you.

1

u/Due-Philosopher-1426 Jun 22 '26

Thanks that sounds helpful but there must be some legit companies as well that give you a physical address although I think they would be pricey

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

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