Who is resident in India
182 days or more in the tax year, or 60 days with 365 over the four years before (section 6, Income-tax Act, 2025). FEMA uses its own test.
Start a US Company
from India
You can form a US LLC from India without an SSN, a US visa or a trip. This page covers what is specific to India: RBI rules for sending money, what payment providers publish, and Indian tax.
Not legal or tax advice: confirm your case with a chartered accountant before you send money or file.
LRS ceiling, per financial year
USD250,000
1 April to 31 March
Funding it from India
- PANEvery remittance
- Your PAN
- Form FCBefore the first investment
- AD bank
- TCSAbove ₹10 lakh a year
- 20%
Documents and steps from India
The same for every founder abroad, explained in full on formation for non-residents and EIN without an SSN.
What Registate asks for
- Company type, state and nameAnswers in onboarding. No passport upload to form
- Responsible party for the EINYour name and address. An address in India is accepted
- PassportYour photo ID, when you add a business address or mailbox
- Formation document and EIN letterReused for the business address lease
A virtual mailbox also needs USPS Form 1583 and a second ID. Full document list
- 1
Pick a structure and a state
Your Indian address doesn't limit the choice. LLC vs C-Corp
- 2
We file with the state
With your registered agent on the filing. The state sets the processing time.
- 3
The EIN, without an SSN
Form SS-4 by fax or mail, with “Foreign” on line 7b. EIN support
- 4
Address, then accounts
Add a US business address or mailbox if you need one, then apply to your provider. Proof of address
Funding it from India: the LRS limit and RBI rules
Forming the company is a US matter. Sending your own money into it is an Indian one, under FEMA and the RBI's 2022 overseas investment rules.
- ODI
Equity in your own US company is ODI
Unlisted equity of a foreign entity is Overseas Direct Investment. A resident individual may make it in an operating entity outside financial services with no subsidiary under their control.
OI Rules, 2022, Schedule III - USD 250,000
The LRS limit, and TCS
Up to USD 250,000 per financial year (1 April to 31 March), with ODI inside that ceiling and a PAN for every remittance. Above ₹10 lakh a year, your bank collects 20% TCS on the excess.
RBI LRS FAQ, Q1 and Q7 · TCS rates · 2025-26 Budget - AD bank
Form FC, then a UIN
Report it on Form FC, with Form A2, to an Authorised Dealer bank on or before the first investment; a new customer may be asked for last year's bank statement. The bank remits once the RBI allots a UIN, a record and not an approval. Evidence of investment follows within 6 months.
OI Directions, 2022, para 16 - By 31 December
Every year: the APR
An Annual Performance Report for each foreign entity, certified by a chartered accountant and filed through your AD bank by 31 December. Filing late costs ₹7,500.
OI Regulations, 2022, reg. 10
Since 1 April 2026 TCS sits in section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. How these rules apply to a company you fund with little or no capital is a question for your chartered accountant and AD bank. Sources, checked Oct 2026: OI Rules, 2022 · RBI LRS FAQ · TCS rates · 2025-26 Budget speech · OI Directions, 2022 · OI Regulations, 2022
Getting paid: Stripe, PayPal and Mercury from India
Each provider has one set of rules for an account opened in India and another for a US company. Here is what each publishes; none of it promises approval.
ProviderAn account opened in IndiaAn account for your US company
- In India
“Stripe services are invite-only in India.” A business in India can't sign up on the website and has to request an invite.
For a US company“Registered businesses must be registered in the US, even if you operate in another country.” A representative without an SSN or ITIN is asked for a local tax ID.
- In India
PayPal's India agreement offers Export Payment Services: receiving payments from buyers outside India, credited to your bank account.
For a US companyThe US agreement says a business must be “organized in, operating in, or a resident of” the United States. It doesn't say where the owners must live.
- In India
Mercury only opens accounts for companies formed in the United States, so there is no India account to compare.
For a US companyIt supports US companies “with founders from around the world” and publishes a list of countries of residence it can't serve. India wasn't on that list when we checked.
- In India
For a business registered in India, Wise converts each payment to INR and sends it to your Indian bank account. The details “can't be used to send money or hold in Balances”.
For a US companyIndia isn't on Wise's list of countries it can't serve. A US-registered business is verified under Wise's US rules, and Wise checks the owners itself.
Payoneer
Payoneer requirementsIn IndiaFor businesses in India, eligible payments “are automatically withdrawn within 24 hours of receipt, in accordance with Indian regulations”.
For a US companyPayoneer doesn't publish a separate rule for a US company whose owner lives in India. As a Payoneer Affiliate Partner we can guide the application; Payoneer decides.
Every provider verifies the owners as well as the company, and can decline: why US banks say no. Sources, checked Oct 2026: Stripe: invite-only in India · Stripe: US account requirements · PayPal India user agreement · PayPal US user agreement · Mercury: eligibility · Mercury: prohibited countries · Wise: Indian businesses · Wise: where you can use it · Payoneer: India · Payoneer: country guides
US LLC registration from India: the cost
US fees go to the state. The India-side lines only apply if you remit money under the LRS.
On the US side
- Delaware LLC, state filing feeOnce. Then a $400 LLC tax every June 1$110
- Wyoming LLC, state filing feeOnce. Then an annual report, $60 minimum, in your formation month$100
- EIN from the IRSThe IRS doesn't charge. Our EIN help is paid preparation support$0
- Registate packageA registered agent is part of every formation planSee pricing
On the India side
- TCS on LRS remittancesOn the part above ₹10 lakh in a financial year20%
- Late Annual Performance ReportThe RBI's late submission fee₹7,500
- Bank charges and exchange rateSet by the AD bank that sends the moneyVaries
- Chartered accountantFor example, certifying the APR each yearVaries
State fees checked Sept 2026; India-side figures Oct 2026. Sources: Delaware · Wyoming · TCS rates · RBI late submission fee
Tax at home: Indian tax residency and your US LLC
A US company doesn't move your tax home. If you live in India, Indian rules decide what you report and what is taxed there.
Why a US LLC can be taxed in India
A resident's return covers foreign income too, and a company formed abroad is resident in India if its place of effective management is there (section 6). If you make the key decisions from India, ask how it applies.
Foreign assets go in your return
Residents list foreign entities and accounts in Schedule FA, by calendar year, and foreign income in Schedule FSI. ITR-1 and ITR-4 don't include Schedule FA.
The US side
A single-member LLC with a foreign owner files Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year. We don't prepare tax filings.
India and the US have an income tax treaty; relief for tax paid abroad is claimed in Schedule TR with Form 67. Confirm your case with a chartered accountant. Sources, checked Oct 2026: Income Tax Department: residency · Schedule FA guide · IRS: India tax treaty documents · IRS: Form 5472
US company from India FAQs
Registering from India, the LRS limit, Stripe and US bank accounts, and tax at home.
Yes. US states don't require owners to live in the US, hold a US visa or be US citizens. They require a registered agent with an address in the state, which every Registate formation plan includes. Indian rules apply separately to any money you send from India to fund the company.
Choose a state, then the formation document is filed with that state with a registered agent on it. After that the company applies for an EIN with Form SS-4 by fax or mail, writing “Foreign” where the form asks for an SSN. A US business address and a bank or payment account come last.
The state filing fee is $110 in Delaware and $100 in Wyoming. Each year after, Delaware charges a $400 LLC tax and Wyoming an annual report fee of at least $60. The IRS doesn't charge for an EIN. Our package price is on the pricing page. If you remit money from India, your bank collects TCS of 20% on the part of your LRS remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year.
Under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme a resident individual can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year (1 April to 31 March) for permitted current and capital account transactions combined. The Overseas Investment Rules, 2022 place a resident individual's overseas direct investment inside that ceiling.
The Overseas Investment Rules, 2022 let a resident individual invest in the equity of an operating foreign entity under the conditions in Schedule III. The investment is reported on Form FC through an Authorised Dealer bank before money is sent, and the RBI allots a Unique Identification Number, which it describes as a record and not an approval. Whether your plan fits those conditions is a question for your chartered accountant and your AD bank.
Stripe says its services are invite-only for businesses in India. For a US account it says the business must be registered in the US, even if you operate from another country, and it verifies the people behind the company. Stripe reviews each application and can decline, so we can't promise an account.
No one can promise that. Mercury says it supports US companies with founders from around the world and publishes a list of countries of residence it can't serve; India wasn't on that list when we checked in Oct 2026. Every bank and payment provider checks the owners as well as the company and makes its own decision.
It can be. If you are resident in India your return covers income from outside India, and foreign assets go in Schedule FA. A company formed abroad is also treated as resident in India if its place of effective management is in India. How this applies to your LLC depends on your facts, so confirm it with a chartered accountant.
US companies from India: the longer answers
Last reviewed
Do I need to report my US LLC in Schedule FA?
Yes, if you are resident and ordinarily resident in India. The Income Tax Department says residents must disclose every foreign asset or account they own, benefit from or can sign on, and an interest in a company outside India goes in Table B of Schedule FA. Taxpayers who are not ordinarily resident, or non-resident, don't fill it in.
Two details catch people out. Schedule FA follows the calendar year ending 31 December, not India's April-to-March financial year. And ITR-1 and ITR-4 don't contain Schedule FA, so a resident who owns a US company files a return form that does, such as ITR-2 or ITR-3. A US account of the LLC that you can sign on is listed too. Confirm the entries with your chartered accountant. What the LLC itself files in the US.
Is TCS charged when I send money to my US company?
Yes, once your remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme pass ₹10 lakh in a financial year. Your bank then collects TCS of 20% on the amount above that threshold for purposes such as investing in your own company; education and medical remittances have their own rates. The threshold counts all your LRS remittances in the year together, not each transfer.
TCS isn't a fee you lose. It is collected against your income tax, appears in Form 26AS, and you claim it when you file your return, so it reduces the tax you owe or comes back as a refund. It does tie up cash until then, which matters if you fund the company in one large transfer. Rates and thresholds can change with each Budget, so check the current figures with your bank before you send money. The full cost of a US LLC.
Can I get paid through Payoneer in India with a US LLC?
Possibly, but Payoneer decides, and an account for your US company is a different case from one for an Indian business. For businesses in India, Payoneer says eligible payments are automatically withdrawn to the local bank account within 24 hours of receipt, in line with Indian regulations, and that it issues digital FIRCs for eligible payments.
For a US company, Payoneer verifies the company's own documents, such as its formation certificate and an IRS document showing the EIN, and it checks the owners too. It doesn't publish a separate rule for a US company whose owner lives in India, so check Payoneer's current requirements before you rely on it. Money that later moves from the LLC to you in India still falls under Indian tax and foreign exchange rules. Payoneer for a US company.