Virtual assistants who serve US clients eventually hit the same wall: the accounts paying $50 to $150 an hour want to hire a business, not a person with a PayPal link. A Wyoming LLC plus an EIN and a US bank account moves you out of the individual-contractor tier and into the vendor tier those clients are comfortable paying. The package is $397 all-in, including the Wyoming state filing fee, and formation runs in about 24 hours.
Why virtual assistants form a Wyoming LLC
The ceiling on VA income is rarely about skill. It is about how the client's accounts-payable system sees you. A US agency or SaaS company that wants to put a VA on a $2,000-a-month retainer runs that spend through a vendor onboarding process: they ask for a W-9, an EIN, an invoice on company letterhead, and a US bank account or ACH detail to pay. A freelancer with a personal name and a Wise personal account fails that intake before the conversation about rate even starts. The same client will happily approve "Acme Support LLC, EIN 99-XXXXXXX" at twice the hourly rate, because now it is a normal business expense their bookkeeper already knows how to categorize.
A Wyoming LLC gives you exactly that wrapper. You get a real US entity formed under the Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act (Wyo. Stat. Title 17, Chapter 29), a federal EIN, a US business address through your registered agent, and a business bank account at Mercury, Relay, or Wise Business. From the client's side you now look identical to a US-based agency, which is the entire point.
There are three concrete shifts that follow. First, retainers replace hourly nickel-and-diming. Premium clients prefer a fixed $1,500 to $5,000 monthly retainer they can budget, and a Stripe subscription billed under your LLC makes that automatic. Second, withholding drops. When you give a US client or a platform your LLC's details on a W-8BEN-E instead of staying an unverified individual, payments route at the treaty rate for your country rather than getting flagged or back-up withheld. Third, you can scale into a team. One LLC can sit on top of a roster of sub-contractor VAs, bill the end client at a blended premium rate, and keep the margin, all under a single P&L.
Wyoming specifically matters because it has no state income tax, no franchise tax, a flat $60 annual report (the state's minimum license tax, per the Wyoming Secretary of State), and strong privacy: members are not listed in the public filing. For a service business with no physical US footprint, that is the cheapest and cleanest of the 50 states to maintain. A VA does not benefit from a Delaware-style structure built for venture financing, nor does it want the franchise-tax exposure some states impose on entities with no in-state activity. The Wyoming entity is intentionally boring and cheap, which is exactly what a services business wants: a stable US identity that costs almost nothing to keep current while it does the only job you need it to do, which is make you payable by US companies on US rails.
Cost
There are two numbers that matter: what you pay once to get set up, and what it costs to keep the entity alive each year. Everything below is transparent, and the $397 already includes the Wyoming state filing fee, which many competitors quote on top.
| Item | Amount | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming LLC formation (all-inclusive) | $397 | Once | Includes the Wyoming state filing fee, registered agent year 1, operating agreement, and EIN |
| Wyoming annual report / license tax | $60 | Per year | Minimum for assets under $300K in Wyoming; paid to WY Secretary of State |
| Registered agent (year 2 onward) | ~$100 | Per year | Required to keep a Wyoming address on file |
| EIN (IRS Form SS-4) | $0 | Once | Included; no SSN or ITIN required for a foreign owner |
| Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 prep | $99 | Per year | Mandatory federal filing for foreign-owned LLCs (add-on) |
| ITIN (only if you want one) | $297 | Once | Optional; not required to form the LLC or open a bank |
Recurring cost lands around $160 a year (annual report plus registered agent), and roughly $260 if you have us prepare the Form 5472 package for you. For a VA running even a single $1,500/month retainer, that is a rounding error against the rate lift the structure unlocks. ITIN is a separate $297 add-on and is genuinely optional for most VAs, since the EIN, not your personal tax number, is what clients and banks ask for.
The exact setup stack for virtual assistants
A VA business is light on hardware and heavy on payments, contracts, and time tracking. Here is the stack that actually works, in the order you build it.
1. The entity and EIN. Form the Wyoming LLC first ($397, ~24 hours). The EIN comes next via IRS Form SS-4. As a foreign owner with no SSN or ITIN, the EIN is obtained by fax or mail rather than the instant online tool, which is why it takes roughly 8 to 10 business days. The EIN is the single most important asset here: it is what goes on every client W-9, every bank application, and every platform tax form.
2. The business bank. Mercury is the default for VAs serving US clients because it issues real US ACH and wire details and onboards non-resident owners fully online. Per Mercury's own eligibility docs, you need your formation documents, your IRS EIN confirmation, and a government ID for each owner of 25% or more. Relay is a solid alternative if you want multiple sub-accounts to separate client retainers, and Wise Business is the cheapest rail when you have to pay an overseas team.
3. The payment processor. Stripe US, opened under the LLC and EIN, handles retainer billing. Set each client up as a Stripe subscription so the monthly retainer auto-charges and reconciles itself. Stripe deposits straight into Mercury. For clients who insist on invoices and Net 15/Net 30 terms, Stripe Invoicing or a tool like Bill.com sends a US-formatted invoice with your LLC and EIN on it and accepts ACH, which US accounts-payable teams strongly prefer over card.
4. The contract and W-9 layer. Keep a signed services agreement and a completed Form W-9 (LLC name, EIN, registered-agent address) ready to send the moment a client's onboarding asks. This is what converts a "we only work with US businesses" objection into a paid contract.
5. Time tracking and books. Toggl, Harvest, or Hubstaff give you per-client, per-VA hours that justify your rate and feed clean invoices. For accounting, Wave (free) or QuickBooks Online tracks income and the deductible expenses you will lean on at tax time. If you run a team, this layer is also where you prove margin per client.
6. Platform updates. If you still take work through Upwork, Fiverr, or Toptal, switch the account from individual to business entity, enter the LLC name and EIN, and file a W-8BEN-E so platform tax handling reflects your treaty position rather than defaulting to maximum back-up withholding.
7. The team layer (optional). If you are scaling past solo work, this is where the LLC earns its keep a second time. Each sub-VA you bring on invoices the LLC as an independent contractor under a short written agreement; the LLC bills the end client at a blended premium rate and keeps the spread. Pay the team through Wise Business in their local currency, track hours and deliverables per VA per client so each account shows its own margin, and you have a real agency P&L rather than a pile of personal transfers. Solo VAs who reach $150K to $250K in annual revenue almost always get there through this team structure, not by selling more of their own hours, and the single Wyoming LLC cleanly hosts the whole roster without a separate entity per contractor.
Banking for virtual assistants
For a VA, the bank account is the trust signal. A US client paying a retainer wants to send ACH to a US routing and account number, not an international wire with intermediary fees. All three of the banks we introduce solve that, but they fit slightly different VA profiles.
Mercury is the best general fit. It is built for startups and online businesses, gives you native USD ACH and domestic/international wires, virtual and physical cards for your software subscriptions, and an API if you ever automate billing. Onboarding is remote and free of monthly fees. Per Mercury's documentation, the application collects beneficial-owner information for anyone holding 25% or more, so have your own ID and any co-owner's ID ready.
Relay shines when you want envelope-style separation: a sub-account per client retainer, or one for taxes-set-aside. That discipline matters once you cross several retainers and need to know what is actually yours versus reserved.
Wise Business is the one to add when you pay an overseas team. You bill the US client in USD, hold the dollars, and pay your VAs in their local currency at near-mid-market rates, which is cheaper than letting your bank convert. Many VA founders run Mercury for receiving and Wise for paying.
What reviewers actually check during onboarding: a matching legal name across your formation documents, EIN letter, and ID; a clear description of your business (say "virtual assistant and administrative support services for US clients," not something vague); and a registered-agent address that matches your filing. Mismatches and vague business descriptions are the top reasons applications stall. Have the Wyoming Articles of Organization, the EIN confirmation, and your passport in one folder before you start, and most VAs are approved within a few days.
Tax handling for virtual assistants
A single-member Wyoming LLC is a pass-through (a "disregarded entity") for US tax. The LLC itself pays no federal income tax; profit flows to you, the owner. For a non-US owner whose work is performed entirely outside the United States, that income is generally not US-source and generally not subject to US income tax, though you remain responsible for tax in your own country. This is a major reason VAs choose the structure: clean US-facing operations without a US tax bill on services performed abroad. Confirm your own treaty position, but the mechanics are well-established.
What you are not exempt from is the information filing. A foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 together with a pro forma Form 1120 every year there are reportable transactions with a related party (including capital you contribute). Per the IRS Instructions for Form 5472 and IRC section 6038A, failure to file a complete and correct package is a $25,000 penalty, with another $25,000 for each 30-day period the failure continues after IRS notice. The IRS treats a 5472 sent without its pro forma 1120 (or vice versa) as a non-filing. The deadline is April 15 (October 15 with a Form 7004 extension). At $99, having this prepared correctly is the single best insurance you can buy.
Good news on two fronts. First, FinCEN BOI reporting: under the March 2025 interim final rule, US-formed entities, including foreign-owned Wyoming LLCs, are now exempt from filing a Beneficial Ownership Information report. Only entities formed abroad and registered into a US state still report. Second, the dreaded $600 1099-K threshold was repealed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21, July 2025); for tax year 2025 and beyond the federal 1099-K threshold reverts to $20,000 and 200 transactions, so Stripe and similar processors will not flood you with low-dollar forms. Note that US clients still issue a 1099-NEC for $600+ paid directly to your LLC, which is why keeping a clean W-9 on hand matters.
Deductible expenses that a VA business legitimately runs through the LLC: software and SaaS subscriptions (Toggl, Notion, Zoom, scheduling, password managers), the share of your internet and phone used for work, a home-office portion, professional development and courses, design or transcription tools, a portion of your computer and peripherals, contractor payments to sub-VAs, and bank and Stripe processing fees. Track these in Wave or QuickBooks so net (not gross) revenue is what you reason about.
Step-by-step
- Form the Wyoming LLC. Submit the order; we file the Articles of Organization under the Wyoming LLC Act and assign your registered agent. Done in about 24 hours for $397, Wyoming state fee included.
- Get the EIN. We prepare and submit Form SS-4 to the IRS. No SSN or ITIN needed. Expect the EIN confirmation in roughly 8 to 10 business days.
- Sign your operating agreement. You receive a custom agreement for either solo-VA or VA-team operation. Keep a copy; banks and some clients ask for it.
- Open the bank account. Apply to Mercury (or Relay) with your Articles, EIN letter, and passport. Add Wise Business if you will pay an overseas team. Approval typically lands within a few days.
- Set up Stripe. Open Stripe US under the LLC and EIN. Create a subscription product for each retainer client so billing is automatic, and connect payouts to Mercury.
- Prepare your W-9 and contract templates. Fill a W-9 with the LLC name, EIN, and registered-agent address. Have a services agreement ready to send.
- Update platforms. On Upwork, Fiverr, or Toptal, switch to business entity, enter the LLC and EIN, and file W-8BEN-E for your treaty rate.
- Stand up tracking and books. Connect a time tracker (Toggl/Harvest/Hubstaff) and an accounting tool (Wave/QuickBooks).
- Raise your rates and re-pitch. Re-approach the premium clients who previously balked at hiring an individual, now as a US business.
- Calendar your compliance. Note the Wyoming annual report ($60, due your formation-anniversary month) and the April 15 Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 deadline.
Common mistakes virtual assistants make
The most expensive mistake is skipping Form 5472 because VA work "feels too small to count." It does not matter how small the revenue is; a foreign-owned LLC owes the filing, and the penalty is $25,000 per year, dwarfing any plausible tax. Calendar it or hand it to us.
The second is invoicing under a personal name after going to the trouble of forming an LLC. If your invoice, your Stripe account, and your bank do not all say the LLC name, you have rebuilt the freelancer perception you paid to escape. Make every client-facing artifact carry the LLC and EIN.
Third, not filing W-8BEN-E on platforms, which leaves default back-up withholding running on every payout when a treaty rate was available. Fourth, leaving deductions on the table: software, courses, sub-VA payments, and processing fees are all legitimate and directly lower your net.
Fifth, and most common, not actually raising rates. The LLC creates the permission to charge agency-level prices, but it does not raise them for you. VAs who form the entity and keep quoting their old freelancer rate capture almost none of the benefit. The structure opens the door; you still have to walk through it and re-price.
Sources: IRS, Instructions for Form 5472 and About Form 5472; IRS Form 1099-K and Section 70432 / OBBBA threshold repeal; FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting interim final rule Q&A; Wyoming Secretary of State, Annual Report / license tax; Mercury, account eligibility and required documents.