As someone living in Taiwan, can I set up an LLC and get all the benefits of it?
I now have a Singapore entity that helps me out for getting a Stripe account mainly.
> <i>"An LLC will help you force a separation of personal and work finances"</i><p>No it won't.<p>> <i>"it’ll help you accept payments"</i><p>No it won't.<p>> <i>"or sign up for a bank account"</i><p>No it won't.<p>An LLC doesn't make those things any easier than they already are (very easy) as a sole proprietor.<p>An LLC only does the liability thing. And that's fine. Just don't make other things up. You don't need to.
An LLC does help with getting a proper EIN and DUNS number which helps greatly in establishing trust in a relationship with a new client.. Yes it absolutely helps with accepting payments.. having an EIN is necessary in many cases..
> "An LLC does help with getting a proper EIN"<p>No it doesn't. Sole proprietors get EINs just fine, and it only takes minutes. <a href="https://sa.www4.irs.gov/applyein/" rel="nofollow">https://sa.www4.irs.gov/applyein/</a><p>> "and DUNS number"<p>No it doesn't. Sole proprietors can get DUNS numbers just fine. It's literally one of the options when you tell them how your business is structured right after telling them your name and email address.<p>> <i>"Yes it absolutely helps with accepting payments"</i><p>A billion people accepting payments in every possible form without being incorporated say that you're talking completely out of your ass. Literally no method of payment processing, from credit cards to memecoins, cares whether you're incorporated.
It doesn't force you to do anything, same as a sole proprietor.<p>What it does do is that since it provides a rigid structure, it compels law abiding citizens to do those actions, not forcing still.<p>You would have a hard time proving liability if you didn't have separated finances.
LLCs are great, but you should be aware that single-member LLCs may offer less liability protection than you expect, and in some circumstances it can be easier to pierce the corporate veil.
A question is: where do you register one? Should it be Caymans or Panama or South Dakota or Texas or Delaware or your home state?<p>Also, what type of LLC should it be?
Depends on what's your goal. Privacy and the least amount of paperwork? Probably a place like Wyoming. But if an LLC will usually need to be domiciled in the state it's doing business in, so if it's a pain-in-the-butt state like California, might as well register it here, because you're not escaping paperwork.<p>Delaware is for big companies.
>Cost-wise it’s maybe $500 a year, all in (unless you have the pleasure of living in California, in which case you have to add their inane $800 on top). But that’s pretty reasonable considering the optionality it gives you to just… build shit these days.<p>You don't need an LLC to build things and sell things. And you also get the downsides of needing to stay at an office to be able to be served or having to have your active home address be publicly viewable.
That's specifically the $100 of the $500/year fee; you pay for a registered agent to handle all that for you (and shield your address).
additionally many RAs offer mail forwarding/virtual offices (that can even accept deliveries) for pretty affordable , eg northwest registered agent offering seemingly millions of sheridan wy suites
Well if nothing else I feel a bit better having an llc sitting around doing nothing.
whats the uk equiv?
Why does everything need to make money so bad, this is terrible advice