Creating an LLC for an app or SaaS: stores, Stripe, taxes, which state

Shipping an app or a SaaS from outside the United States runs into the same three walls: the App Store asks for US tax forms, Stripe asks for an entity, and the payouts land in an account that does not really want dollars. A US LLC clears all three at once. Here is how a non-resident developer sets one up, and what actually changes afterwards.

What the app stores are really asking for

Apple and Google do not buy your app, they distribute it and pay you out. For that they need a tax identity and a bank account in the name of that identity. With a US LLC and its EIN you complete a W-8BEN-E in the company’s name rather than a personal W-8BEN, and payouts land in a US account with no forced conversion on the way.

In practice, Apple asks the developer account holder to enter, in App Store Connect, the banking and tax details of the entity that receives the payouts. Google Play does the same in its payments console. With an LLC, you enter the company’s EIN, its US business address and its dollar account, and you certify its foreign status. One thing to know: an Apple developer account in a company’s name requires a D-U-N-S number, free of charge, issued by Dun & Bradstreet based on the LLC’s articles, which takes one to two weeks.

The same logic applies to Google Play, to Steam for game developers, and to any marketplace that withholds tax when it cannot identify who it is paying.

Creating an LLC for an app: the five steps

1. 1Pick the state. Wyoming for most app businesses, New Mexico if privacy matters more than filings, Delaware only if you plan to raise from US investors.
2. 2Register the company with a registered agent and a US business address, which the store and the bank will both check.
3. 3Get the EIN, the company tax number, with no SSN required.
4. 4Open the bank account and connect Stripe, then point App Store Connect and Play Console at it.
5. 5Keep it alive: Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year, the state Annual Report, and a franchise tax in some states.

A word on Delaware, since it comes up in every app founder’s research: it is worth it if your app is headed for a raise from US investors, who prefer its law and will sooner or later ask for a C-Corp conversion. For an indie developer or a small team living off subscriptions, it costs €400 a year in tax for nothing in return. Our comparison of Wyoming, Delaware and New Mexico lays out the fees and obligations of each.

Stripe, Paddle and RevenueCat

Stripe opens the account in the company name and verifies the EIN, the address and the bank account. Paddle and RevenueCat sit on top of that. A US LLC removes the country restrictions that block many entrepreneurs, and it gives you the currencies and payment methods your users expect, Apple Pay and Google Pay included.

Choosing between these tools comes down to who carries the tax liability for each sale. With Stripe, your LLC is the seller and handles sales tax and VAT where they apply. With Paddle or another merchant of record platform, the platform sells in its own name, collects taxes worldwide and pays you the net amount, for a higher fee. For a SaaS sold to consumers in many countries, a merchant of record makes life much simpler. For software sold to businesses, Stripe is usually enough, because most states do not tax business-to-business services and EU VAT is reverse-charged by the client.

Sales tax on software and subscriptions

There is no VAT in the United States, but around thirty states tax software sold as a download or a subscription, at rates from 4 to 10% depending on the customer’s address. The obligation to collect only starts above a sales threshold in the state, most often $100,000 a year, assessed state by state. A developer just starting out reaches that threshold nowhere, and one who mostly sells to businesses stays under it in most states. The rule to remember: track your sales by delivery state, and register in the first one where you cross the threshold. Our guide to sales tax and nexus covers the thresholds and the tools that calculate all of this on every order.

Tax: what you pay, and where

The country that taxes you is the one you live in. An LLC owned by a non-resident, with no office and no staff in the United States, generally owes no federal income tax on its profit, and it does not pay tax itself: its profit flows up to its owner, who reports it as income in their country of residence, under local rules and the tax treaty with the United States. A developer in France reports the LLC’s profit in France, and a developer in Portugal or the UAE follows their own country’s regime. The LLC does not lower your tax, it opens the door to US tools. In return it asks for two annual filings, Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120, which LLC Place prepares for €199 per year, or €398 per year with a dedicated tax expert, and which are included in the Pro and Founder plans. The state Annual Report comes on top.

Two points catch app developers specifically. Sales tax on software is a state question, not a federal one, and it only starts once you cross a state threshold, usually on direct sales rather than store sales. And your profit stays taxable where you live, whatever the company’s address says.

Is there an app to run the LLC itself?

That is the other half of the question people type into Google. Once the company exists, the work is administrative: deadlines, filings, the Annual Report, the accounting behind your payouts. LLC Place puts all of it in one dashboard, in 21 languages, with a reminder before every date and the IRS forms prepared and filed for you.

What LLC Place provides for app publishers

Everything the app stores and payment providers require is included from the first payment: the company registered in the state you choose, the EIN obtained without a Social Security number, the US business address, the operating agreement signed online, and an introduction to Mercury for the dollar account. The annual IRS filings are available as an option at €199 per year, or €398 per year with a dedicated tax expert, and are included in the Pro and Founder plans.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an LLC to publish an app on the App Store?

No, an individual can publish. The LLC becomes useful for receiving payouts on a dollar account, for Stripe, and for keeping the business separate from your personal assets. It is required to open a developer account in the name of an organization.

Which tax form does an LLC fill in for Apple and Google?

An LLC owned by a non-resident fills in a W-8BEN-E in the company’s name. The W-9 is reserved for US persons and companies in the tax sense.

Does an LLC have to collect sales tax on a SaaS subscription?

Only in the states that tax software, and only above the state’s sales threshold, usually $100,000 a year. Below it, there is nothing to collect. A merchant of record such as Paddle handles it for you.

Can a solo developer form a US LLC?

Yes. The application to form a single-member LLC takes ten minutes to fill in online, with no residency and no travel, and the company is then run from the LLC Place dashboard.

Do I need a US address or a US partner?

Neither. A registered agent and a business address are included, and a single foreign member is perfectly normal.

How long does it take before the first payout?

The state registration takes a few days, the EIN 3 to 5 business days without an SSN, and the bank account follows. Most developers are collecting through Stripe within one to two weeks.