What I tell you before, not after
This is the real sticking point. Your access to a bank depends on your nationality and your residence, not on the quality of the file. I look at it on the first call. If it won’t work anywhere, I tell you and I don’t take on the file: a company without an account can’t get paid.
It’s the shortcut the whole market takes, and it’s wrong. An LLC accepts one member or several. An LLP requires two, but a partner holding 1% or another company meets the requirement. What actually decides: the currency you get paid in, the address you can declare, the confidentiality you want.
No annual state fees: that’s the whole market’s selling point. What they forget to tell you is that Form 5472 is still due every year, even with no activity at all, and that forgetting it costs USD 25,000.
LLC or LLP?
01
This is the question that weighs the most: it determines the bank and the payment processor.
02
Banks recognise registered addresses resold in bulk and reject the application. That is where most projects stop.
03
Only one of the two jurisdictions protects your name. The trade-off with the LLP is the transparency of the British register.
The comparison
| Criterion | LLC · New Mexico | LLP · United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Partners | 1 or more, no constraint. | 2 members at registration. A relative with a token share, or a company you own, meets the requirement. |
| Timing | 3 to 7 working days, then several weeks for the EIN. Observed timeframes, not guaranteed. | 24 to 48 hours at Companies House. Observed timeframe, not guaranteed. |
| Currency | Dollar, Stripe-compatible and Amazon US. | Euro and pound, for European clients. |
| Annual obligations | Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 every year, even with no activity. No annual state fee in New Mexico. | Annual accounts and confirmation statement (about £34/year) at Companies House, SA800 return with HMRC. |
| Confidentiality | Partners not public on the state register. | Partners public, searchable on the Companies House register. |
The proof
I set up my own structures: a US LLC and an English LLP. I use them to invoice my own clients and get paid. The bank, the register, the annual obligations: everything I describe to you, I did for myself before offering it to you.
The scope
Administrative assistance, best-efforts obligation. I prepare your documents and send them to the relevant registers and providers. I am not a lawyer, a notary, an accountant or a tax adviser. The outcome of the process depends on third parties over whom I have no control: neither a registration timeline nor the opening of any account is guaranteed.
Pricing
Stripe- and Amazon US-compatible, partners not public, no annual state fees. One member or several.
$860
Registration usually in 24 to 48 hours (observed timeframe, not guaranteed), registered address provided, European image. The second partner can be a relative with a token share.
$1,250
Same structure: only the registered addresses, billed per member, push the cost up.
$1,480
Company + website
$1,140
$1,530
$1,760
Questions
That is exactly why I look beforehand. Your access to a bank depends mainly on your nationality, your residence and your business: I examine these three points on the first call. If your profile won’t pass anywhere, I tell you and I don’t take on the file — you haven’t spent anything. If a refusal still happens after registration, I present the file to the other institutions on the list. Opening an account remains the bank’s decision: it cannot be guaranteed.
An LLP is registered by Companies House in 24 to 48 hours. A New Mexico LLC usually takes 3 to 7 working days, but the longest step comes afterwards: the EIN takes several weeks at the IRS, and an ITIN, if one is needed, 7 to 11 weeks. These are observed timeframes, not commitments — they depend on the registers and the US administration, not on me. No registration timeline is guaranteed.
That depends on your tax residence: that is what decides, not the country where the company is registered. I don’t answer on the substance, and you should be wary of anyone who does in three lines. I provide administrative assistance: I am not a lawyer, an accountant or a tax adviser. Put the question to an accountant in your country of residence, before setting up the structure rather than after.
It is the annual return due to the IRS for an LLC owned by a non-resident, filed with a pro forma 1120. It is due every year, even if the company has no activity, and forgetting it exposes you to a USD 25,000 penalty. Many providers sell the New Mexico LLC on its lack of annual state fees without mentioning this obligation. You will find it written in the sheet delivered with your kit, with the dates.
No. An LLP requires two members at registration, but nothing requires two entrepreneurs: the second partner can be a relative with a token share, or a company you already own. If the currency you get paid in or the address you have points to the United Kingdom, being on your own doesn’t stop you. The other way round, an LLC is perfectly happy with several members.
No. Everything is done remotely, with your passport and a proof of address. For an LLP, the registered address in the United Kingdom is included in the price and provided to you. For a single-member LLC, your own proof of address is what is used for the bank application.
Next step
I look at your nationality, your residence and your business. We decide together between an LLC and an LLP, and you leave with the exact price. If your profile doesn’t pass, you haven’t spent anything.