The US and the UK traded about $162 billion in goods in 2025 — and for the UK, America is the largest single trading partner there is, buying around 22% of all UK exports, goods and services combined. A growing slice of that trade is one-person businesses: UK founders, freelancers, and sellers billing American customers directly.
Here's the twist. Many of them do it through an American company, not a British one. And when they search for how, they hit a wall of confusion — because the UK doesn't have an "LLC" at all.
We've helped founders from over 60 countries form US LLCs without setting foot in America. UK founders are among the simplest cases we see: no exchange controls, no remittance paperwork, English-language documents on both sides. The whole US setup can be done from your sofa in London or Leeds.
In this guide, you'll learn:
First, a one-line definition: a US LLC (Limited Liability Company) is an American business structure that gives you limited liability (your personal assets are protected) plus "pass-through" taxation (the company itself usually pays no US federal income tax — profit passes to the owners). You can own one 100% as a UK citizen or resident, without a visa, a US address, or a US Social Security Number. For the structure explained from scratch, see What is an LLC? and our main US LLC for non-residents guide.
Short answer: there isn't one. "LLC" does not exist in UK law. If you try to register an LLC with Companies House, you'll find no such option.
The UK has its own structures. Each one matches part of what an LLC does — but none matches all of it:
A Ltd is what most people mean when they say "the British LLC." It gives you the same liability shield. But it's a true corporation: it pays its own corporation tax, and your details go on a public register. An LLP is closer to an LLC for tax — profit passes through to members — but it needs at least two members, so it doesn't work as a one-person structure.
The practical takeaway: if you searched "LLC UK equivalent" because you want to start a UK business, a Ltd is your answer — and that's a Companies House job, not ours. But if you want an American company — for US customers, USD banking, and a US business identity — you don't want an equivalent at all. You want a US LLC owned from the UK. That's what the rest of this guide covers.
Sidenote. This is why "LLC" search results in the UK are a mess. Half the pages explain UK company formation. The other half explain the American structure. They're answering two different questions. You're here for the second one.
Let's be upfront. Unlike founders in India or Nigeria, you don't need a US LLC to get paid online. Stripe and PayPal both work fine for UK businesses. If anyone tells you a US LLC is the only way a British founder can accept card payments, close the tab.
The real reasons are different — and more specific.
1. US customers buy more easily from a US company. American clients and B2B buyers are simply more comfortable paying a US entity. A US LLC on the invoice clears procurement checks that a foreign company can stall in. US remittance details, a US EIN in the vendor system, an American company name on the contract — small frictions, but they add up to lost deals. (More in 9 benefits of a US company for non-residents.)
2. USD-native banking. With a US LLC and an EIN, you can apply for US business banking — US account and routing numbers through online providers like Mercury, Wise Business, or Relay. You get paid in dollars, hold dollars, and pay US suppliers in dollars, with no forced conversion on every invoice.
3. Privacy. This one surprises people. Everything about your UK Ltd is public. Companies House publishes your name, month and year of birth, service address, shareholdings, and your filed accounts — free, for anyone, searchable online. Since 18 November 2025, identity verification is a legal requirement for directors and PSCs, with due dates phasing in for existing companies. A Wyoming LLC is the opposite: member names don't appear on the public record at all. (See how to keep LLC ownership private.)
4. Less admin for a lean business. A Wyoming LLC files one short annual report (minimum $60). No public accounts. No confirmation statement. And instead of a corporation tax return, a foreign-owned LLC typically files one US information return each year — Form 5472, covered below. For a one-person, US-facing business, that's a lighter load than a Ltd's annual accounts and filings.
5. A US entity for US platforms and marketplaces. Selling on Amazon.com, working with US-only vendors, or invoicing US enterprises often goes smoother as a domestic entity. A US LLC also makes you eligible to apply for Stripe US and PayPal US as a US business — useful if you want USD-native checkout for American customers. Approval is always the provider's call.
For example: if you're a London agency owner whose biggest clients are in New York, a Manchester e-commerce seller expanding from amazon.co.uk to amazon.com, or an Edinburgh SaaS founder with 80% of revenue in dollars — that's exactly the founder a US LLC is built for.
Recommended reading: The 9 Benefits of a US Company for Non-Residents
Here's the summary version. For the full head-to-head, read our dedicated guide: US LLC vs UK Ltd.
When a UK Ltd is still the right call: your customers are in the UK or EU, you invoice in pounds, you want UK contractors or employees on the books, or you're raising from UK investors. A Ltd is cheap, fast, and everyone in Britain understands it. We'd rather tell you that than sell you a structure you don't need.
When the US LLC wins: your market is American, your revenue is in dollars, you value privacy, and you want the lightest possible admin while you grow. One founder can — and often does — run both: a Ltd for UK work, an LLC for US work.
Yes. The United States puts no restriction on foreign ownership of an LLC. The UK puts no restriction on owning a company abroad. There are no UK exchange controls, so you can fund your LLC with a normal bank transfer — no remittance scheme, no central-bank forms.
Two things to know before you start. Both are about tax, not legality — and both are your accountant's territory, not ours:
We're US-formation specialists, not UK tax advisors. We'll get the American side right and give your accountant clean paperwork. The UK side belongs to them.
For the US-side fundamentals, see our US LLC for non-residents guide.
The process is the same for a UK founder as for anyone else — with a few UK-specific notes along the way. Six steps, all remote.
There's no "national" US company register. Each state runs its own, through its Secretary of State. For most UK founders, Wyoming is the right call: a $100 filing fee, a low annual report fee, real privacy, and no state income tax.
For example: a freelancer who wants the lowest running cost might pick New Mexico, which has no annual report at all. A founder planning to raise from US investors should look at Delaware, despite the $300 franchise tax. Compare them in Delaware vs Wyoming for non-residents, and if privacy is your priority, see the best anonymous LLC states.
Recommended reading: Best US States for Foreigners to Form an LLC
Your name must be unique in your chosen state, and it must include "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company." Note the difference from home: "Ltd" or "Limited" won't work as the required ending for a US LLC. Check availability on the state's business database, and run a quick US trademark search before you commit. Our Wyoming naming guide walks through it.
Every US LLC must have a registered agent — a person or company with a physical address in your state that receives legal and government mail during business hours. Think of it as the US cousin of your registered office address, but with a live human behind it. Your home address in the UK can't do this job. StartFleet includes registered agent service in every plan from day one, so there's no separate add-on fee.
This is the document that legally creates your LLC — the US equivalent of your certificate of incorporation. Wyoming charges a $100 state filing fee, and online filings are processed in about one business day. Errors in member details or address formatting can get a filing rejected, so accuracy matters.
Wyoming won't ask you to file an operating agreement — there's no memorandum-and-articles step like at Companies House. Write one anyway. It's the internal document that says who owns the LLC and how it runs, and banks and payment providers often ask to see it.
Your EIN (Employer Identification Number) is your LLC's federal tax ID from the IRS — roughly what a UTR and company registration number are to HMRC and Companies House, rolled into one. You need it for banking, Stripe, and US filings. You do not need a Social Security Number or ITIN to get one.
Non-residents apply by phone (the IRS international line), by fax, or by mail using Form SS-4 — the IRS online EIN tool is only for applicants based in the US. If you ever lose your EIN confirmation letter, a 147c letter replaces it.
In practice, a non-resident EIN through the standard queue takes around 30–50 days — the IRS publishes faster turnarounds, but foreign applications rarely match them. StartFleet's Startup and Business plans include Express EIN service — typically 8–12 business days.
Usually the trickiest step — but easier from the UK than from most countries. Traditional US banks want you in a branch. Online-first providers don't. Mercury, Wise Business, and Relay all accept applications from UK founders of US LLCs. You'll typically need your company documents, EIN, passport, and proof of your UK address. Each provider underwrites your business itself, and approval is never guaranteed. Our non-resident banking guide covers what each one looks for.
Here's the realistic all-in picture, in dollars and approximate pounds.
Honesty note: forming a Ltd is cheaper — £100 at Companies House. You're not paying for the filing. You're paying for a US structure: the registered agent, the EIN handled correctly from abroad, US banking setup, and ongoing US compliance — the parts that are genuinely hard to do alone from the UK.
You have three realistic options for a US business bank account. None of the three is a traditional branch bank — they're online platforms that provide US business accounts with US account and routing details. None guarantee approval, and each underwrites your business its own way.
You'll generally need your company documents, EIN confirmation, passport, and a proof of your personal address.
Recommended reading: How to Open a US Business Bank Account as a Non-Resident · Our US bank account partners
Here's what you need to know, kept simple. Tax depends on your facts, so treat this as orientation — and confirm the details with a UK accountant before you form. This assumes you're a UK tax resident, not a US citizen or US tax resident, and that your single-member LLC hasn't elected to be taxed as a corporation.
On the US side, a single-member US LLC is a pass-through ("disregarded") entity. If you run a service business entirely from the UK — no work performed in the US, no US office, employees, or inventory — your income is generally not subject to US federal income tax. Service income is sourced where you physically do the work, not where your customers happen to be. (US workdays, staff, warehouses, or property change that answer) One filing to know about: a foreign-owned LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year. It's an information return, not a tax bill, but the penalty for missing it is $25,000, so it's worth handling properly. And US-formed LLCs are currently exempt from the FinCEN BOI report.
On the UK side, two questions decide everything — and both belong to your accountant, before you form.
Is the LLC itself UK-resident? A company incorporated abroad can still be UK tax-resident if its central management and control sits in the UK — a live question when one person runs everything from a UK desk. If it is, UK corporation tax can apply to its profits, and you pay personal tax on top of what you take out.
How does HMRC classify it? The US treats your LLC as transparent: profits are yours the moment they're earned. HMRC generally takes the opposite view — the LLC is "opaque," like a company, so you're taxed when it pays you, usually as a dividend. (Anson v HMRC, 2015, went the taxpayer's way, but HMRC treats that decision as fact-specific.) Where the LLC pays no US tax, the mismatch is mostly a timing-and-labels question. It stings when profits are taxed in the US and taxed again in the UK on distribution, because the two countries are taxing different things and treaty credit can fail.
Either way, UK tax residents normally pay UK tax on worldwide income — a US LLC doesn't change that.
Now the potentially good news. A June 2026 government consultation proposed giving qualifying UK-resident individuals automatic transparent treatment, matching the US view and clearing the double-tax trap. It closed on 31 July 2026. It's a proposal, not law, and it would exclude LLCs that are themselves UK-resident or trading through a UK permanent establishment — so your accountant will know where it lands.
Note: None of this stops UK founders from using US LLCs. It does mean a US LLC is about access — US customers, USD banking, less public ownership disclosure in some states — not about cutting your UK tax bill. Get your accountant's view on both questions — whether the LLC is UK-resident, and how HMRC classifies it — before you form, and the whole topic stays boring. That's the goal.
There isn't a true one. A Ltd matches the liability protection but pays corporation tax and lives on a public register. An LLP matches the pass-through taxation but needs at least two members. When UK founders want what an LLC actually offers — pass-through tax, privacy, a US business identity — they form a US LLC owned from the UK.
Yes. The US has no restriction on foreign ownership, and the UK has no restriction on owning a foreign company. There are no UK exchange controls on funding it. Your UK tax obligations continue as normal — that part belongs with your accountant.
No. UK tax residents normally pay UK tax on worldwide income. The LLC itself usually pays no US federal income tax if it has no US operations — but you still owe UK tax on what you take out (and HMRC's classification rules decide how). If you run the LLC from the UK, it may also be UK tax-resident in its own right. A US LLC is about access, not tax savings.
No. You can register and run a US LLC entirely from the UK. No visa, no US address, no SSN. You do need a US registered agent (included in StartFleet plans) and an EIN, which you can get without an SSN.
Yes — through online-first providers like Mercury, Wise Business, or Relay, using your company documents, EIN, and passport.
Yes, and it's a common setup: the Ltd handles UK/EU business, the LLC handles US business. Amazon sellers often run amazon.co.uk through the Ltd and amazon.com through the LLC. If you're thinking of switching an existing marketplace account from one entity to the other, get advice first — entity changes on platforms like Amazon trigger re-verification.
Not usually. UK registration for overseas companies applies when a foreign company opens a physical UK establishment. A US LLC run as an online business, with no UK premises, generally doesn't trigger it. If you'll have a UK office or staff, ask your accountant first.
Not currently. Since the interim final rule effective 26 March 2025, US-formed LLCs are exempt from FinCEN BOI reporting. Rules can change, so confirm the latest position at formation.
For most solo UK founders, an LLC — simpler, cheaper, pass-through. A C-Corp makes sense mainly if you'll raise US venture capital.
We register US LLCs for founders all over the world. On the US side, we handle everything: state filing, registered agent service, EIN (Express EIN on the Startup and Business plans), US bank-account setup help, Stripe/PayPal consultation, and — on the Business plan — your Form 5472 / pro forma 1120 filing and ITIN application. We also offer US tax consultation.
Plans start affordably and include the state fee and registered agent service. View full pricing →
If your customers, contracts, or platforms are American, the decision is straightforward: register a US LLC for the access, privacy, and simplicity it gives you — and keep your UK tax planning with your accountant, exactly as you would for any foreign income. If your market is the UK or EU, keep it simple and stick with a Ltd.
The US setup is fast: a formed LLC in about a day, and an EIN in a couple of weeks with help.
Elena Rossi leads corporate operations and client support strategies at StartFleet. Drawing on years of direct industry experience in business incorporation, entity structuring, and ongoing regulatory compliance, she ensures that founders have the reliable, up-to-date information they need to scale safely. Elena is passionate about removing the friction from small business growth. In her free time, she is an avid home chef and amateur landscape photographer.
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