How to open a company and get a bank account in USA?

EMPIRETECANDY

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Hey Guys

We may open a company somewhere in USA, as a foreigner i am not very sure how to open one there, any guys who know this? Because we are planing to make a distribution and support center there soon.

Andy
 

Q™

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Hire a lawyer to create a corporation for you. Once your company is incorporated take your corporate certificate and corporate legal papers to the bank to open a bank account. The bank will probably want your company to have a legitimate physical address. Your lawyer will help you sort this out. Good luck Andy.
 

Mike A.

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Although it might be beneficial for a variety of reasons, you don't really need a lawyer just to set up a company. You can do a simple LLC yourself without much involved. That will be done at the state level and most states will require either a physical presence (i.e., someone residing in the state) or a third-party agent which provides that same presence for a fee. What the state is most interested in is tax money so you'll also need a tax ID. It's really not that difficult/expensive just to set up the company itself, tax IDs, and accounts. You can do most all of that online. From there actually running things can get a LOT more difficult. ; )

Overall, it probably would be easier to get started by working with someone who's already set up. Then you can learn what you need to do as you grow and see how it goes vs dumping a bunch of money out up front.
 

mat200

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Hey Guys

We may open a company somewhere in USA, as a foreigner i am not very sure how to open one there, any guys who know this? Because we are planing to make a distribution and support center there soon.

Andy
Hi Andy,

There are several different types of companies you can make.

Examples:
LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, LLP, ...

Of course each is different and has different tax issues, so it is something you probably want to take some time to look closer at.

Also, each STATE is different and has different laws.

So many variables to consider

Small Business Administration

IRS info, available in Chinese also:
Business Structures | Internal Revenue Service

Note - most I know do one of the following
LLC, C-corp, S-corp
 
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Sean Nelson

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Start off with getting a good CPA, Taxes are not something you want to mess with in the USA. The best ones can also give you advice and help you with what business entity type you should proceed with.
 

Mike A.

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lol, seems all US no taxfree area? HONGKONG is freetax area as i know.
Not as far as business taxes. They all want some blood one way or another. Some are better or worse.

State Business Tax Climate Index - Tax Foundation

But there's a lot more to the equation as you know running a business now. Property/rent costs, labor costs, transportation costs, shipping time and costs to/from there to the bulk of your customers, regulatory requirements, etc., etc. Taxes are down the list a ways.

US is kind of a mess because we have so many different jurisdictions. Federal, state, county, city, etc., all with different requirements. One of the things that really sucks in my area is that while the state tax isn't all that bad, we have to pay local business property taxes on business assets and inventory. Which means that even if you lose money and have no profit, you can still can owe a bunch of tax on your business.

Edit to add...

Now that I think about it, there are some "tax free" (at least in some ways for a time) Foreign-Trade Zones that might have some advantage in your case since you're importing goods. Basically you can rent space there and move goods in and they're not considered to have landed (and aren't taxed, etc.) until you move them out. Judging the benefit of such things is where a good attorney or someone else who knows this stuff well will be to your advantage.

About Foreign-Trade Zones and Contact Info | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
 
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EMPIRETECANDY

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Not as far as business taxes. They all want some blood one way or another. Some are better or worse.

State Business Tax Climate Index - Tax Foundation

But there's a lot more to the equation as you know running a business now. Property/rent costs, labor costs, transportation costs, shipping time and costs to/from there to the bulk of your customers, regulatory requirements, etc., etc. Taxes are down the list a ways.

US is kind of a mess because we have so many different jurisdictions. Federal, state, county, city, etc., all with different requirements. One of the things that really sucks in my area is that while the state tax isn't all that bad, we have to pay local business property taxes on business assets and inventory. Which means that even if you lose money and have no profit, you can still can owe a bunch of tax on your business.
that is crazy, in China if not earning money, there is no tax, lol. I know warehouse and office those surely have costs. We have to do it, because It's a way which can get dahua local support.
 

mat200

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lol, seems all US no taxfree area? HONGKONG is freetax area as i know.
HI Andy,

Hong Kong is VERY special - the British ensured that it was and that it would be a major commerce center.
( one of the big reasons why the Chinese government was very happy to get it from the British )

There really is not the same in the USA - some small sections have warehouses to hold goods off loaded from ships until they are "imported" - but nothing close to Hong Kong.

And, YES the tax situation can get complex - with numerous states and even counties and cities getting involved in rules and taxes.

The big bonus for you - will probably be being able to keep US funds in an account and not bringing those funds back into China.
( iirc it gets challenging to bring funds out of China ).
 

mat200

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Calif sales tax is 7.25 and some parts of calif its actually over 8%
FYI - Close to 10% in some places in CA.... iirc Puerto Rico is 11.5% ( crazy! considering the costs of goods and income levels )..

This is why I really hope congress gets involved and helps pass a simplified tax for online vendors now that SCOTUS has approved of States going after online vendors to collect taxes.
 

noice

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lol, seems all US no taxfree area? HONGKONG is freetax area as i know.
That's why people including me, love shopping in HK! The price you see is the price you pay. But here, many companies have warehouses/businesses in Tax free states like Delaware, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and a few others. Of course consider rent costs and shipping.
 
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