Yes, residents of Chile can form a Wyoming LLC entirely online without visiting the United States. The all-inclusive cost through WyomingLLC is $397 (the Wyoming state filing fee is already included), formation completes in about 24 hours, and your EIN and US business bank account follow over the next few weeks. No US visa, US address, or Social Security Number is required.
Why a Wyoming LLC for Chile founders
Chilean entrepreneurs increasingly sell to the United States, Europe, and the rest of Latin America, and a US LLC is the cleanest legal wrapper for that work. A Wyoming LLC gives a founder in Santiago, Valparaíso, or Concepción a recognized US business identity, a US EIN, and access to US-grade financial infrastructure (Mercury, Relay, Wise, Stripe, PayPal) that is difficult to reach through a Chilean SpA or persona natural alone.
The structural reasons are concrete:
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Pass-through taxation. A single-member Wyoming LLC is a disregarded entity for US federal tax. The LLC itself pays no US income tax. As a non-US owner, you are only exposed to US federal income tax on income that is Effectively Connected to a US trade or business (ECI). For most Chilean founders running e-commerce, software, freelancing, or consulting from Chile — with no US office, no US employees, and no US dependent agent — there is no ECI and therefore no US federal income tax on the LLC's profit. (This is a US-side analysis only; your Chilean tax obligations are separate and discussed below.)
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No US physical presence required. Wyoming requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical Wyoming address. That agent is included in the $397, so you never need a US address of your own.
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Strong privacy. Wyoming does not publish member or manager names on the public formation record filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State. Your name stays off the public business registry — unusual among US states and valuable for founders who prefer discretion.
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Best-in-class asset protection. Wyoming's charging-order remedy is the exclusive remedy a creditor can use against a member's LLC interest, and Wyoming extends this protection even to single-member LLCs — protection many other states weaken. For a founder building a brand or holding intellectual property, this matters.
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Banking and payment access. A US LLC with an EIN unlocks Mercury, Relay, and Wise Business, plus Stripe and PayPal with true US account and routing numbers. This is the single biggest practical reason Chilean founders form in the US: it removes the friction of collecting USD and selling into US marketplaces.
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Low, predictable cost. Wyoming's annual maintenance is among the cheapest in the country, so the structure stays inexpensive to keep alive year after year.
Cost from Chile
The price is $397, all-inclusive, with the Wyoming state filing fee already built in. There are no surprise add-ons for the core formation. The only optional extra most Chilean founders consider is an ITIN, and only if they personally need one.
| Item | Year 1 | Year 2 onward |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming state filing fee | Included in $397 | — |
| Formation service | Included in $397 | — |
| Registered agent (Wyoming address) | Included in $397 | ~$100 |
| EIN (federal tax ID) | Included in $397 | — |
| Operating agreement | Included in $397 | — |
| Wyoming annual report + license tax | — | ~$60 (min.) |
| Total | $397 | ~$160 |
| ITIN (optional add-on) | +$297 | — |
Year-2 economics are simple: the Wyoming annual report carries a license tax of roughly $60 (minimum, for LLCs with little or no Wyoming-sited assets, per the Wyoming Secretary of State), and the registered agent renews at about $100. Budget roughly $160 per year to keep the LLC in good standing. There is no US franchise tax of the kind Delaware or California impose, which is a key reason Wyoming beats those states on running cost for a non-US founder.
The ITIN is a personal US taxpayer number. Most Chilean founders running a disregarded single-member LLC with no ECI do not need an ITIN to operate or to bank — the LLC's EIN does the work. You'd typically only add the $297 ITIN if you need to file a US personal return, claim treaty benefits on US-source income, or a platform specifically demands one.
Banking after formation from Chile
Chile is a strong banking jurisdiction for non-resident founders. It is an OECD member, not on any US sanctions or FATF blacklist, and its passports and tax documents are well understood by US fintechs. Founders from Chile generally have one of the smoother approval experiences in Latin America.
Mercury is the default recommendation. It is the most widely used platform among non-resident US LLC founders and has the deepest Stripe integration. Mercury explicitly serves companies founded by people living outside the US, and Chile is not on its restricted-country list (per Mercury's published eligibility page). At application Mercury checks: your EIN confirmation, the formation documents, the owner's passport, the LLC's purpose, and the expected source and nature of funds. Be specific and honest about your business model — vague answers are the leading cause of delays.
Relay is the strongest second option. It also onboards EIN-holding US LLCs owned by non-residents. Experiences are slightly less uniform than Mercury's — some founders sail through, others get a follow-up verification request — but Chilean founders are routinely approved. Relay is useful if you want multiple sub-accounts and team cards.
Wise Business is the most reliable fallback because its country coverage is the broadest of the three. Wise is a licensed Money Services Business (not a bank), but it gives you genuine US account and routing numbers accepted by Stripe, PayPal, Amazon, and every major processor, plus excellent multi-currency support — handy if you also collect CLP, EUR, or other currencies. Chilean founders are very rarely turned away from Wise.
Recommended fallback order: apply to Mercury first; if declined or stalled, go to Relay; if both stall, open Wise Business, which nearly always approves. Many founders run Mercury + Wise together from day one for redundancy and multi-currency flexibility.
Two practical notes. First, all three are online-only and need no US visit; you apply with your passport and the LLC's EIN letter. Second, apply only after the EIN arrives — every platform requires the EIN confirmation, so banking begins roughly 8–10 business days after the EIN is issued.
A useful detail for Chilean founders: because Chile keeps strict currency-control records on outbound transfers, having a US account and US payment processors lets you keep your USD revenue in the US until you choose to repatriate it, which simplifies your accounting and timing. Keep clean records of every transfer between your US account and Chile — your Chilean contador will need them, and a clean paper trail also smooths future bank verification reviews.
Tax: US and Chile
US-Chile treaty status — verified. A comprehensive US-Chile income tax treaty is in force. The US Treasury announced its entry into force, and it is effective from February 1, 2024 for withholding taxes and January 1, 2024 for other taxes (US Department of the Treasury; IRS treaty list). This is significant: it was the first new comprehensive US bilateral tax treaty to enter into force in over a decade. Under the treaty, US-source dividends are generally capped at 15% withholding (5% for a company owning at least 10% of the payer's voting stock); interest is capped at 15% for the first five years the treaty is effective, then 10%, with a 4% rate for qualifying banks and insurers; royalties are reduced as well (PwC/Treasury summaries). Without a treaty, the default US withholding on US-source FDAP income (passive income such as dividends, interest, and royalties paid from US payers) would be a flat 30%. The treaty matters mainly if your LLC earns US-source passive income; it does not create US tax where none exists, and most service/e-commerce LLCs without ECI have little or no US-source FDAP to begin with.
US filing obligations. A foreign-owned single-member US LLC, even with zero US tax due, must file IRS Form 5472 together with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year. This is an information return, not a tax bill — but the penalty for failing to file (or filing late/incomplete) is $25,000 per the IRS. This is the single most important compliance item for a Chilean owner: the LLC may owe no tax, yet still must file. If your LLC has US employees, a US office, or a US dependent agent, you may have ECI, which would require a US return (Form 1040-NR) and actual US tax; absent those, most Chilean founders have no ECI.
FinCEN BOI. Per FinCEN's March 26, 2025 Interim Final Rule, US-formed entities such as Wyoming LLCs are exempt from Beneficial Ownership Information reporting. We monitor this and will alert you if it changes.
Chile-side obligations — do not skip these. Chile taxes its residents on worldwide income, so the LLC's profit is generally taxable to you in Chile regardless of US treatment. Crucially, Chile has CFC rules under Article 41 G of the Income Tax Law (Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta), administered by the SII (Servicio de Impuestos Internos). If you control a foreign entity that earns "passive" income (rentas pasivas — dividends, interest, royalties, certain capital gains), that income can be taxed in Chile on an accrual basis even if it is not distributed to you. Controlled foreign investments are reported to the SII via Declaración Jurada 1929. There are exemptions (for example, where passive income is under 10% of total income, or below 2,400 UF), but a Chilean founder must assess this. Active business income (selling software, services, or products) is generally not "passive," but the determination is fact-specific. Engage a Chilean contador or tax advisor to handle your Chilean reporting and a US CPA for Form 5472 — this is not optional planning.
Popular use cases for Chile founders
A Wyoming LLC fits the work Chilean founders most commonly do across borders:
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E-commerce. Sellers shipping to US customers or running Amazon FBA, Shopify, or Etsy stores need a US entity to open Stripe, hold USD, and present as a US merchant. A Wyoming LLC plus Mercury or Wise is the standard setup, letting a Santiago-based store collect dollars without a Chilean bank intermediary eating the spread.
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SaaS and software products. Chilean developers and indie hackers selling subscriptions globally use the LLC to bill through Stripe, list on app stores, and receive recurring USD. The US entity also makes the product look established to US and European buyers and simplifies app-store and payment-processor onboarding.
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Freelancing and independent contracting. Designers, developers, writers, and marketers invoicing US and international clients use the LLC to issue clean US invoices, get paid into a US account, and avoid the friction many clients have wiring directly to a personal account in Chile. A US LLC often unlocks higher-paying contracts that require a US-based vendor.
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Consulting and agencies. Chilean consultants and small agencies serving US and global clients use the LLC as their contracting entity — signing US-style agreements, billing in USD, and projecting a professional US presence. Agencies with several contractors appreciate Relay's sub-accounts for separating client funds.
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Holding and IP. Some founders use the Wyoming LLC to hold intellectual property, domains, or digital assets, leveraging Wyoming's strong charging-order protection and privacy.
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Cross-border LatAm operations. Some Chilean founders use the US LLC as a neutral hub to contract with clients across Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, settling everything in USD through one US account rather than juggling multiple local banking relationships.
Across all of these, the common thread is the same: collect USD cleanly, present as a US business, and keep US running costs minimal while the actual work happens from Chile.
Step-by-step: forming from Chile
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Choose your LLC name. Pick a name ending in "LLC" and confirm it is available on the Wyoming Secretary of State business registry. Avoid restricted words (bank, insurance, etc.). We check availability before filing.
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Appoint a registered agent. Wyoming law requires a registered agent with a physical Wyoming address to receive legal and state mail. This is included in your $397 — you do not need a US address.
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File the Articles of Organization. We submit the Articles to the Wyoming Secretary of State. This is the act that legally creates the LLC, and Wyoming typically processes it within about 24 hours. Your name does not appear on the public filing.
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Obtain the EIN via Form SS-4. The EIN is your LLC's federal tax ID, required for banking, Stripe, and Form 5472. As a non-US founder with no SSN, the IRS will not issue the EIN through the online tool, so we file Form SS-4 directly with the IRS (by fax/mail). This is the step that takes the longest — typically 8–10 business days for Chilean founders, and occasionally longer depending on IRS processing.
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Sign the operating agreement. This internal document sets out ownership, management, and how the LLC runs. It is not filed with the state but is required by banks and is essential to preserve your liability and asset protection. A compliant agreement is included.
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Open the US bank account. With the EIN letter, formation documents, and your passport, apply to Mercury (first choice), then Relay, then Wise Business as the reliable fallback. Allow about 8–10 business days after the EIN. Be precise about your business model and source of funds to avoid delays.
End to end, expect roughly 3–4 weeks from order to a fully operational LLC with a funded US bank account — formation in ~24 hours, EIN in 8–10 business days, banking in another 8–10.
Common mistakes Chile founders make
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Ignoring Chilean tax and CFC rules. The biggest error is assuming "no US tax" means "no tax." Chile taxes worldwide income and has Article 41 G CFC rules with reporting via Declaración Jurada 1929. Plan with a Chilean advisor from day one.
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Skipping Form 5472. Even with zero US tax, a foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 annually. Missing it triggers a $25,000 IRS penalty. This is the most common and most expensive US mistake.
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Applying to banks before the EIN exists. Every platform requires the EIN letter. Applying early just wastes an application and can flag your file. Wait for the EIN.
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Being vague with the bank. Generic descriptions like "consulting" with no detail are the top reason for stalled Mercury and Relay applications. Describe what you sell, to whom, and where the money comes from.
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Assuming you need an ITIN. Most disregarded single-member LLCs with no ECI don't need one to operate or bank. Don't pay for it unless a specific filing or platform requires it.
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Letting the annual report lapse. Forgetting the ~$60 Wyoming annual report dissolves the LLC over time. Calendar it, or use a service that files it for you. Keeping the LLC alive costs only about $160/year.
Sources: US Department of the Treasury — Entry into Force of Income Tax Treaty with Chile; IRS — United States Income Tax Treaties A to Z; PwC — US-Chile Treaty Enters Into Force; SII — Declaración de Rentas en el Extranjero (Artículo 41 G); IRS — Form 5472 instructions; FinCEN — Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting; Wyoming Secretary of State — Business Center.