US LLC for Brazilian founders: Stripe, PayPal and Mercury from Brazil

If you live in Brazil and sell to clients abroad, you have probably hit the same wall three times. Stripe Brazil asks for a CNPJ and pays you in reais at its own rate. PayPal Brazil converts every dollar before you can touch it. And a client in Miami or Berlin hesitates to wire money to a company they cannot place. A US LLC removes all three obstacles: it gives you a company in the United States, a Stripe account in dollars, a PayPal Business account in dollars and a Mercury bank account, all opened online from Brazil.

This guide explains how the stack works for a Brazilian founder, in which order to open each account, how to bring the money home, and what Brazil and the United States expect from you afterwards. It is written for people who will let LLC Place form the company and prepare every application, so that the only thing you do is answer a questionnaire.

Why a US LLC rather than a Brazilian company

The LLC is a limited liability company registered in an American state, Wyoming in most cases. Owned by a single member living in Brazil, with no employee or office in the United States and no income effectively connected with a US trade or business, it pays no US federal income tax: it files an information return every year, Forms 5472 and 1120, and its profit is taxed in the owner's hands in Brazil. What you gain is not a tax trick but access: American payment tools, invoices in dollars that foreign clients trust, and a bank account outside the volatility of the real.

Stripe: the account that finally works from Brazil

With a US LLC you open a Stripe account in the United States, in the company's name, not a Stripe Brazil account. Stripe asks for the EIN, the US commercial address, the Articles of Organization, the founder's passport and a US bank account for payouts. You charge in dollars or in any currency, and the money lands on the LLC's Mercury account a few days later, without conversion. You can keep charging Brazilian customers too, but a card issued in Brazil paying a US merchant is an international purchase for them. Our guide on opening a Stripe account with a US LLC walks through the form field by field.

PayPal Business in the LLC's name

The same logic applies to PayPal. A PayPal Business account opened in the United States for the LLC, with the EIN, holds dollars instead of converting them, and withdraws to the Mercury account. Many Brazilian freelancers keep PayPal only because clients on marketplaces insist on it: the US account makes it a clean dollar channel rather than a leak. Details in PayPal Business for a US LLC.

Mercury: the operating account

Mercury is the account where Stripe and PayPal pay out and from which you pay your tools and suppliers. It is opened online with the LLC's documents, the EIN and your passport, with no visit and no Social Security number. It is a dollar account, so there is no Pix and no reais: converting is the job of the next step. Everything Mercury asks for, and why some Brazilian applications are refused, is in our article on opening a Mercury account from abroad.

The full stack, in the right order

The order matters: the LLC first, then the EIN, then Mercury, and only then Stripe and PayPal, which both require a bank account for payouts. Trying to open Stripe before the EIN exists is the most common mistake we see, and it ends in a frozen account. Our timeline article, how long it takes to form a US LLC, gives the realistic calendar for each step.

Bringing the money to Brazil

Every real that reaches your personal account in Brazil left the LLC as a distribution to its member. The usual route is a transfer from Mercury to Wise Business, then a conversion to reais at a rate close to the commercial one, with the IOF applied on the way in, or a direct international wire from Mercury to your Brazilian bank at a higher spread. Keep the receipt of every transfer: it is the basis of your income tax return. Our comparison Mercury or Wise explains how the two accounts complement each other.

What Brazil expects from you

Living in Brazil makes you a Brazilian tax resident, and the LLC is your foreign company. Three points matter. Your stake in the LLC and the balance of its accounts go in the assets section of your annual income tax return, as assets abroad. Since Law 14.754 of 2023, the profit computed by the LLC can be taxed in your personal return every year, at 15 %, even without distribution, unless you opt for the transparency regime and report the revenue as your own: the right choice depends on your case and is made with a Brazilian accountant. And if your assets abroad reach one million dollars, the Central Bank's declaration of Brazilian capital abroad applies as well. Brazil takes part in the automatic exchange of financial information and has a FATCA agreement with the United States, so the structure works when it is declared, not when it is hidden.

What the United States expects from you

Two appointments a year: the state annual report, and Forms 5472 and 1120 for the IRS, due in the spring even when no tax is owed, with a heavy flat penalty when they are missed. Your LLC Place dashboard reminds you of both. The IRS filings are available as an option at €150 per year, or €398 per year with a dedicated tax expert, and are included in the Pro and Founder plans. Our guide to Form 5472 for a foreign owned LLC explains what goes in it.

What LLC Place does for you

We form the LLC in the right state, provide the registered agent and the US commercial address, draft the operating agreement in English, obtain the EIN without a Social Security number, prepare the Mercury application in the format the bank expects and give you the checklists for Stripe and PayPal. Afterwards the platform tracks your documents and deadlines. You answer a questionnaire, sign once, and follow every step from your dashboard, from Brazil, without a visa, a CNPJ or a trip.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a CNPJ or a US visa?

No. The LLC is formed with your passport, and Stripe, PayPal and Mercury are opened with the LLC's documents and the EIN. No visa, no CNPJ and no trip to the United States.

Can I keep my MEI or my Brazilian company?

You can hold a US LLC alongside a Brazilian company. The MEI regime, however, has restrictions on being a partner in another business, so check with your accountant before combining the two.

Can Brazilian customers pay my US LLC?

Yes, by card through Stripe or through PayPal. For them it is an international purchase, with the IOF that applies to card payments abroad, which is why the US LLC shines above all for clients outside Brazil.

Does Amazon or Shopify work with this setup?

Yes. Amazon US accepts a US LLC with its EIN and Mercury account, and on Shopify the Stripe and PayPal gateways are the ones a founder living abroad can activate. See our guides on selling on Amazon and selling on Shopify with a US LLC.