Key facts
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| VAT | None — state retail sales taxes instead (0–11%+) |
| Sales-tax duty for a remote seller | Economic nexus — commonly $100,000 of in-state sales |
| Federal corporate tax (C corporation) | 21% flat |
| LLC default taxation | Pass-through — no entity-level federal tax |
| S corporation | Not available to non-resident aliens |
| Withholding on US-source payments to non-residents | 30%, often reduced by treaty |
Selling into a country with no VAT
Selling B2C into the EU means charging destination-country VAT from €10,000 of cross-border turnover, via the OSS return. Selling into the US, the same business faces no federal consumption tax at all: only state retail sales taxes, which apply once economic nexus is crossed, commonly at $100,000 of sales into that state (the standard set by South Dakota v. Wayfair). Sales taxes are also single-stage: they hit the final retail sale, and B2B purchases for resale are exempt by certificate. For a European seller of modest US volume, the practical consumption-tax burden is often zero.[3][4][8]
The pass-through LLC
An LLC is taxed as a pass-through by default: the entity files information returns but pays no federal income tax; profit lands directly on the owner. For a non-resident owner with no US trade or business (no US office, staff or dependent agents) that can mean no US federal income tax on the LLC’s profits at all. The catch is built into the same sentence: the profit is then taxable where the owner is resident, at that country’s personal or corporate rates. The LLC moves the taxing right; it does not abolish it.[1]
The S corporation, the other pass-through, is closed to this audience: its shareholders must be US individuals or certain trusts, with non-resident aliens explicitly excluded. And US-source passive income (dividends, interest, royalties) paid to non-residents is withheld at 30%, reduced only by treaty.[1][5]
The catch
Three caveats. First, home-country tax: a Lithuanian, German or French resident owning a transparent LLC owes home tax on its profits as they arise, and some countries treat the LLC as opaque, creating messy double-taxation puzzles. Second, US connections: an office, inventory in US warehouses, or dependent agents create effectively connected income, and with it US filing and tax. Third, states: formation-state fees (Delaware’s $300 flat LLC tax), sales-tax registrations state by state, and state income taxes where nexus arises. The structure is clean only while the facts stay clean.[7][5]
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Does a US LLC mean paying no tax anywhere?
No. A pass-through LLC moves the tax to its owner. A European resident owner owes home-country tax on the LLC’s profit; the US side is quiet only while the business has no US trade or business.
When must a European seller register for US sales tax?
State by state, once economic nexus is crossed — commonly $100,000 of sales into the state, the threshold upheld in South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018). A handful of states levy no general sales tax at all.
Do US companies still report beneficial owners?
Since March 2025, FinCEN requires beneficial ownership reports only from foreign companies registered to do business in the US — US-formed LLCs and corporations are exempt.
Grenzüberschreitende steuerliche Folgen hängen von der steuerlichen Ansässigkeit, der Hinzurechnungsbesteuerung (CFC-Regeln) und der tatsächlichen wirtschaftlichen Substanz ab — eine reine Papierstruktur reicht nicht aus. Siehe den untenstehenden Haftungsausschluss.
Quellen
Im gesamten Artikel zitierte nummerierte Verweise. Gesetze verlinken auf konsolidierte Texte im amtlichen Register.
- S Corporations
- 26 U.S. Code §11 — tax imposed on corporations
- South Dakota v. Wayfair, 585 U.S. 162 (2018)
- Umsatz- und Nutzungssteuer
- Quellensteuer auf Zahlungen an ausländische Personen (NRA-Quellensteuer)
- Meldung von Informationen über wirtschaftliche Eigentümer
- Jahresbericht & Franchise Tax
- Regeln für den Mehrwertsteuer-One-Stop-Shop (OSS)