Virtual office US LLC

[Cazorla]

Hi,

I would like to know, is virtual office required for a foreign owned US LLC ? What are the benefits of having a virtual office when the work is done online ? If your business doesn't need to pay taxes in the US, can that virtual office change that and get you engaged in US trade or business (can it be counted as PE ?) ? Also, can I put registered agent's address on my website like an address for my business?

Thank you.

 

[Sols]

You are required to have a registered address in‍ the state where you incorporate. You are not required to have a virtual office.

Pretty much none.

In theory, yes.

Assuming that your LLC is treated as a pass-through entity,⁢ the LLC itself would not be taxable but profits from the LLC distributed to you︀ can under some circumstances be considered US income. Advice from tax advisers on this vary︁ and even the IRS isn't very clear. Generally speaking, a US LLC owned and operated︂ outside of the US which does no or very little business within the US is︃ not on the IRS' radar. If you trade within the US, that portion of your︄ income may be taxable.

Having a virtual office could conceivably be considered as more of︅ a PE in the US than not having one, but the PE tests look at︆ more than just that. It also considers for example where the products/services are manufactured, provided,︇ stored, and processed, and where the company's operations are.

Yes, that's perfectly normal. But if you expect letters to be sent to that address,︊ you might need to discuss that with your agent first.

 

[Cazorla]

Got it, thanks.

 

[Fothermucker]

You don't need a virtual office.

But you need to ask your registered agent if‌ they will provide you with an address you can use as an official business address‍ for your website/ docs/invoices etc. It's usually their own address but each company gets assigned⁠ a unique unit number.

Furthermore, inquire how they handle your business mail, will they forward⁤ it to your country and what the costs are.
Sure most of it can be⁣ scanned but not stuff like bank/credit cards. 😉

Some of the smaller RA companies only scan/forward⁢ offical mail from the state or IRS. Every RA in the US is required to︀ do that by law.

 

[Cazorla]

Looks like Northwest would be fine︁ for all of that. I spoke with ZenBusiness but they do not even provide mail︂ forwarding services and I cannot use their address on my website.
Do you have any︃ recommendation, what do you think about Northwest ?

 

[JohnLocke]

If all fails you could look into
https://www.regus.com/en-us
Not cheap but they can most often‌ provide such service for any place in the world.

 

[Fothermucker]

I saw Northwest being mentioned on this forum but can't say⁤ anything about them.
Haven't looked into them because I thought (judging by their name) they⁣ only offer WY but now I see do offer incorporations in all the states.
On Trustpilot Northwest has only ONE rating....which is positive.
So I guess they are OK.

For WY see Wyoming Registered Agent | $49 | Buffalo Registered Agents

I had Buffalo bookmarked⁢ in my browser before I decided I want to incorporate in NM.

In NM there︀ are NO state annual filing requirements or cost, apart from RA fee.

NEW MEXICO REGISTERED︁ AGENT | $35 A YEAR
https://cindysnewmexicollcs.com/
High Desert Filings doesn't offer a business address/business mail︂ service, only forward official mail but are possibily the cheapest RA you will find.

Cindy's has everything including virtual office set up and I find the cost to be reasonable.︃
I sent them an email and the owner Cindy replied that Virtual Office is a︄ requirement for opening a US Amazon Sellers account.
Apparently Amazon wants a real address and︅ not a unit number.
For everything else a business address/mail forwarding service will suffice.

 

[Fulton Abraham Sanchez]

C, hi.
Is not necessary to have a virtual office, you need to register a︀ local address and have a resident agent. If you open a US LLC, profits are︁ taxable when income comes from US clients.

 

[sampomkjiu]

The Internet is considered a reliable archive for storing data, but we must understand that‌ this is a virtual network, which has its drawbacks.

 

[sampomkjiu]

If there is a problem with the server, there is a risk that you will‌ lose important data and will not be able to restore it. I think it's better‍ to have an offline office. I have been working at the serviced office singapore price⁠ for more than a year and I can say that it is much more convenient.⁤ Some data is stored in virtual space , and the most important ones are transferred⁣ to paper and sent to the archive.

 

[joffreylol]

Pretty much what sols and fothermucker have said already. When I was considering opening US‌ LLC northwest came to my mind. If I were to go to a real US‍ bank for a business account and the bank asks for office lease (northwest gives you⁠ an office lease).