Yes, residents of Brazil can form a Wyoming LLC entirely online without ever setting foot in the United States. The all-in cost through WyomingLLC is $397, which already includes the Wyoming state filing fee, a full year of registered agent service, and your EIN. Formation completes in about 24 hours, and most Brazilian founders are fully operational, with a US bank account, within three to four weeks.
Why a Wyoming LLC for Brazil founders
Brazil is one of the largest sources of non-US LLC owners in the world, and for good reason. A Wyoming LLC gives a Brazilian entrepreneur a clean, dollar-denominated US legal entity that Stripe, PayPal, Amazon, Shopify, and US wholesale suppliers treat as a normal American business, without the cost, FX friction, and bureaucracy of operating through a Brazilian CNPJ for international sales.
The first reason is pass-through taxation at the US federal level. A single-member Wyoming LLC owned by a non-resident is, by default, a disregarded entity for US tax purposes. If the LLC has no income that is "effectively connected" to a US trade or business and no US-source FDAP income, there is generally no US federal income tax due at the entity level. The LLC is a conduit, not a taxpayer. (Brazil's own tax treatment is a separate matter covered below, and it is the part most Brazilian founders underestimate.)
The second reason is no US physical presence requirement. You never need a US visa, US Social Security Number, US residency, or a US address you personally rent. Wyoming requires a registered agent with a physical Wyoming address, and that service is bundled into the $397 price. Your passport is the only identity document needed to form.
Third is privacy. Wyoming does not publish member or manager names in its public formation records, per the Wyoming Secretary of State business division. Only the registered agent and organizer appear. For Brazilian founders who prefer to keep ownership of an international structure out of casual public view, this is meaningfully stronger than Delaware or most other states.
Fourth is asset protection. Wyoming pioneered the LLC in the US and offers the strongest charging-order protection in the country, meaning a creditor of a member generally cannot seize the LLC's assets or force a sale, only attach distributions if and when they are made. For a single-member LLC, Wyoming statute extends charging-order protection that many other states do not.
Fifth, and very practically, is banking and payments compatibility. Mercury, Relay, and Wise all work with Brazil-based founders (with the realities described below), and a US LLC plus EIN is the standard key that unlocks Stripe US, a US dollar account, and US payment rails. Brazilian founders selling globally avoid routing every dollar through Brazil's IOF tax and the spread on BRL conversion until they actually want to repatriate.
Cost from Brazil
The headline number is simple: $397, all-inclusive, with no surprise add-ons for formation. The Wyoming state fee is already inside that price, which is the part many competitors quote separately. Here is the breakdown and what year two looks like.
| Item | Year 1 (at signup) | Year 2 onward |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming state filing fee | Included in $397 | n/a |
| Registered agent (1 year) | Included in $397 | ~$100 |
| EIN (IRS Form SS-4 filing) | Included in $397 | n/a |
| Operating agreement | Included in $397 | n/a |
| Wyoming annual report / license tax | n/a | ~$60 (min.) |
| Total | $397 | ~$160 |
Year two costs roughly $160: the Wyoming annual report and annual license tax (a $60 minimum for most small LLCs with under $300,000 of Wyoming-situated assets, per the Wyoming Secretary of State) plus the renewal of your registered agent. There is no Wyoming state income tax, no franchise tax in the Delaware sense, and no separate Wyoming filing tied to your global revenue.
The optional add-on most Brazilian founders ask about is an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), which is a separate $297. You do not need an ITIN to form the LLC, to get the EIN, or to open Mercury/Relay/Wise. You typically only need one if you must personally file a US tax return, claim a refund of over-withheld US tax, or satisfy a platform that specifically requests it. Most single-member e-commerce and SaaS founders never need it.
Banking after formation from Brazil
This is the section to read carefully, because banking reality shifted in 2025. Mercury and Relay both tightened non-resident approvals through 2025 and into 2026, and they no longer reflexively accept newly formed entities with zero revenue history or a registered-agent address used as the operating address. Approval is case-by-case, not guaranteed. Wise Business remains the most broadly accepting option for Brazilian founders and is the standard fallback because it has the broadest country coverage.
What these providers actually check when a Brazilian founder applies:
- A valid EIN confirmation (the IRS CP-575 or 147C letter) — this is non-negotiable, so the LLC must have its EIN first.
- The formation documents (Articles of Organization and often the operating agreement showing you as the member).
- Your passport and proof of your Brazilian residential address (a utility bill or bank statement, usually).
- A coherent business description: what the LLC does, who its customers are, expected monthly volume. Vague or contradictory answers are the single biggest cause of rejection.
- For Mercury and Relay specifically, increasingly they want to see that the business is real — a website, an existing customer base, or a clear plan — rather than a shell.
The recommended fallback order for Brazil: apply to Mercury first (best product, strong API, Stripe-friendly). If declined, apply to Relay — note that both now apply similar tightened verification, so a Mercury rejection does not guarantee a Relay rejection but the two are no longer truly independent. If both decline, open Wise Business, which is the most reliable approval for Brazilian residents and also gives you strong BRL conversion rates and local receiving details in multiple currencies. Many experienced Brazilian founders simply run Mercury (or Relay) plus Wise together from day one for redundancy and cheaper FX when moving money toward Brazil.
A note on Brazilian-specific friction: Brazilian phone numbers and addresses are accepted, but use consistent information across every field, give a real reachable email and phone, and describe your business honestly. Do not list the Wyoming registered-agent address as your operating address — that pattern is now flagged. Expect roughly 8–10 business days from EIN to a funded account.
Tax: US and Brazil
US treaty status — verified. There is no income tax treaty in force between the United States and Brazil. Brazil is one of the only major economies (and the only G20 member alongside Argentina) without one, confirmed against the official IRS "United States income tax treaties — A to Z" list, which does not include Brazil. The two countries share a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (2007), a Social Security totalization agreement, and a FATCA IGA, but none of these is an income tax treaty and none reduces US withholding.
What that means in practice: there is no treaty relief from the default 30% US withholding on US-source FDAP income (fixed, determinable, annual, or periodical income such as certain US-source royalties, interest, and dividends). If your LLC earns that type of US-source passive income, it is generally withheld at the full statutory 30% rate. For the typical Brazilian-owned LLC doing e-commerce, SaaS, or services with non-US or business customers, income is usually not US-source FDAP and usually not effectively connected income (ECI), so this 30% rate often does not bite — but you cannot assume treaty relief that does not exist.
The mandatory US filing. A foreign-owned single-member US LLC (a disregarded entity) must file IRS Form 5472 together with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year it has a reportable transaction, even with zero US tax due. The penalty for failing to file, or filing late or incomplete, is $25,000 per the IRS Form 5472 instructions. This is the single most expensive mistake a Brazilian founder can make, and it is purely informational — the form itself usually triggers no tax. ECI vs no-ECI is the dividing line for actual US tax: if your activity rises to a US trade or business (US employees, US office, US dependent agent), profits become ECI and are taxed on a US return; if not, the disregarded entity generally owes no US income tax.
Brazil-side obligations — the part founders miss. Brazil enacted Law 14.754/2023, effective 1 January 2024, which overhauled how Brazilian tax residents are taxed on offshore entities. Under this regime, a Brazilian resident who controls a foreign entity (broadly, more than 50%) can be subject to automatic annual taxation at 15% on the entity's net profits each December 31 — whether or not any profit is distributed — where the entity is in a low-tax/"privileged regime" jurisdiction or earns predominantly passive income (less than ~60% active income). This is real and it catches single-member US LLCs used as holding/passive vehicles. Separately, the Banco Central's DCBE (Declaração de Capitais Brasileiros no Exterior) must be filed when your foreign assets exceed roughly USD 100,000, and the controlled entity must be reported in your annual DIRPF return. Penalties for non-disclosure can reach R$250,000. None of this is US advice — confirm your position with a Brazilian contador familiar with Lei 14.754/2023 before assuming your LLC's profits are tax-deferred in Brazil.
Popular use cases for Brazil founders
Brazilian entrepreneurs use Wyoming LLCs for a fairly consistent set of dollar-earning, internationally facing businesses. The most common:
- E-commerce and Amazon FBA. Selling to US and global customers through a US entity, with a US bank account and US Stripe/PayPal, removes the FX and trust friction of selling as a Brazilian CNPJ. Amazon, in particular, is far smoother to operate with a US LLC and EIN.
- SaaS and digital products. A US LLC plus Stripe US is the cleanest way for a Brazilian developer or indie founder to bill global customers in dollars and look like a US software company to enterprise buyers who are wary of foreign vendors.
- Dropshipping. Brazilian dropshippers use the LLC to hold the store, the supplier relationships, and the payment processor in one US-domiciled package that platforms readily accept.
- Stripe-based businesses. Many Brazilian founders form the LLC specifically because Stripe Brazil is restrictive or because they want USD settlement; a US LLC unlocks Stripe US with standard payout terms.
- Affiliate and ad-network marketing. US affiliate networks and ad platforms (which often pay in USD and prefer US payees) are simpler with a US entity and US bank account.
A common thread: each of these earns from non-US-source or business-customer revenue, which is exactly the profile where the US disregarded-entity treatment is most favorable and where the no-treaty 30% FDAP withholding usually does not apply. The Brazil-side CFC question (above) is the one to plan around, not the US one.
Two further patterns are worth noting. First, consulting and agency services — design, marketing, development, and other professional services sold to US and international clients — are extremely common, because a US LLC lets a Brazilian freelancer invoice in dollars, get paid into a US or Wise account, and present a US business identity that wins contracts a foreign sole proprietor would not. As long as the work is performed from Brazil and not through a US office or US dependent agent, that income is generally not effectively connected income. Second, a growing number of Brazilian founders use the LLC as a holding entity for SaaS subscriptions, app-store payouts, and creator revenue (YouTube, course platforms, sponsorships) where the payer requires a US payee or settles more cheaply in USD. For these holding-style uses in particular, revisit the Lei 14.754/2023 passive-income test with a Brazilian accountant, since a vehicle that is mostly passive is the exact profile the CFC regime targets for the annual 15% charge.
Step-by-step: forming from Brazil
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Choose and clear your LLC name. Pick a name ending in "LLC" or "L.L.C." and check availability in the Wyoming Secretary of State business name database. Avoid restricted words (bank, insurance, etc.). We confirm availability before filing.
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Appoint a Wyoming registered agent. Wyoming requires a registered agent with a physical in-state address to receive legal and state mail. This is included in your $397 — you do not arrange it separately.
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File the Articles of Organization. This is the formation document filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State. We prepare and submit it; approval is typically within about 24 hours. Member names are not published.
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Obtain the EIN via IRS Form SS-4. The EIN is your LLC's US federal tax ID and the key to banking, Stripe, and tax filing. As a non-resident with no SSN, the SS-4 is filed with the IRS (fax/mail handling on your behalf). Expect roughly 8–10 business days for the EIN confirmation. No SSN or ITIN is required to obtain it.
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Execute the operating agreement. This internal document establishes you as the member, defines management, and is required by most banks. It is prepared and included; you sign it electronically.
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Open the US bank account. With your EIN letter, Articles, operating agreement, and passport in hand, apply to Mercury first, then Relay, then Wise Business as the reliable fallback. Funding and activation take roughly 8–10 business days after the EIN.
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Stay compliant going forward. File the Wyoming annual report each year (~$60 minimum), file Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 annually in the US, and handle your Brazilian DCBE/DIRPF and any Lei 14.754/2023 CFC obligations with a Brazilian accountant.
End to end, most Brazilian founders go from order to a fully operational, bankable US company in about three to four weeks.
Common mistakes Brazil founders make
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Assuming treaty relief exists. It does not — there is no US-Brazil income tax treaty, so do not plan around a reduced withholding rate that the IRS treaty list does not provide. Default US-source FDAP withholding is 30%.
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Skipping Form 5472. The most expensive error by far. The $25,000 penalty applies even when the LLC owes no US tax and even if you simply forgot. File it every year you have a reportable transaction, per the IRS.
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Ignoring Brazil's Law 14.754/2023. Many founders believe a US LLC's profits are untaxed in Brazil until distributed. Under the post-2024 CFC regime, controlled offshore entities can be taxed annually at 15% regardless of distribution, and undisclosed foreign assets over ~USD 100,000 (DCBE) carry steep penalties. Talk to a Brazilian contador.
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Using the registered-agent address as the operating address on bank applications. Mercury and Relay now flag this pattern; describe your real business and address instead.
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Forgetting the FinCEN position. Per FinCEN's March 26, 2025 Interim Final Rule, domestic US entities such as US-formed Wyoming LLCs are exempt from Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting — so do not pay a third party to "file your BOI." Just keep your Wyoming annual report and US tax filings current.