Wyoming LLC for FreelancersStripe, PayPal, Wise — priced in dollars, paid on time

You freelance for US clients. You send an invoice, they pay via PayPal or a wire. By the time the money hits your local bank you have lost 3–6% in FX spread, 2–4 days of float, and a piece of your credibility every time your client sees a Serbian, Moroccan or Argentine bank on the wire memo.

A Wyoming LLC solves three problems at once: (1) you invoice from a US entity with a US EIN and US address, (2) you accept payment through Stripe, Wise Business, Mercury or PayPal Business in USD, (3) your effective FX cost drops to 0.4–0.6% when you convert to your home currency using Wise instead of a retail bank.

This page covers the payment-processor angle specifically. If you also want the general formation walkthrough, see the main Wyoming LLC formation page.

Stripe is the single biggest reason freelancers form a US LLC. Stripe does not require you to be a US citizen or US resident. It requires (a) a US-registered legal entity, (b) an EIN, (c) a US bank account in the entity name, and (d) a personal identification document (passport works).

A Wyoming LLC satisfies (a) directly. We include the EIN filing (satisfies b) and provide the Mercury banking introduction (satisfies c). Your passport satisfies (d). Approval time is typically 2–4 business days after account submission.

Stripe currently supports account holders based in 47 countries. If your country of residence is not on that list (e.g. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria until recently), you can still use Stripe as long as the LLC is US-registered and your beneficial-owner ID clears Stripe's compliance review. In practice this works for the majority of applicants; we track approval rates by country and share the data during onboarding.

Stripe fees for a Wyoming LLC

Standard US Stripe pricing applies: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge, 0.8% for ACH direct debit (capped at $5), 1% for international cards. There is no monthly fee. Payouts hit your Mercury account in 2 business days by default, or same-day for an additional 1% fee.

PayPal Business behaves differently from Stripe. To open a PayPal Business account under a Wyoming LLC you need the EIN, the Certificate of Good Standing, and a US phone number (Google Voice or Twilio work). PayPal will hold the first $1,000–$2,000 for up to 21 days as a reserve — this is standard for all new US business accounts, not a country-specific block.

The advantage of PayPal for freelancers is invoicing: PayPal Invoicing sends clean US-domiciled invoices your clients recognise, and PayPal Working Capital (a credit facility) becomes available after 3–6 months of steady transaction volume. Neither is realistic on a foreign-domiciled PayPal.

Wise Business gives your Wyoming LLC a US routing and account number for ACH receiving, plus GBP, EUR, AUD and CAD receiving details in the same login. Conversion rates are the mid-market rate plus a fee of roughly 0.4–0.6% for major pairs. For a freelancer converting $5,000/month to a local currency, this is 5–10× cheaper than PayPal's default 4–5% conversion.

Mercury is the default US business bank we introduce. As a Mercury Banking Partner we submit our clients through a dedicated pipeline that reduces approval time to 3–7 business days. Mercury does not charge monthly fees, has no minimum balance, and integrates natively with Stripe, Wise, QuickBooks and Xero.

Most freelancers keep both: Mercury for holding operating cash and paying US vendors, Wise for converting revenue to their home currency at the mid-market rate.

When your invoice header reads "Doe Consulting LLC · 30 N Gould St, Suite R, Sheridan WY 82801 · EIN 87-1234567", US clients process it faster and their accounting departments do not need to run a W-8BEN. Instead, you provide a W-9 (because the payee is a US entity), and payment moves through standard AP workflows.

For fixed-scope projects above $5,000, we recommend a simple Master Services Agreement + Statement of Work signed under Wyoming law. Wyoming courts recognise electronic signatures under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, so DocuSign or PandaDoc is enforceable.

A single-member Wyoming LLC owned by a non-US person is a "disregarded entity" for US federal tax purposes (Treas. Reg. §301.7701-3). Income earned outside the US, without a US permanent establishment, is generally not subject to US federal income tax. You still file two federal forms every year: Form 5472 and a pro-forma Form 1120 (see IRC §6038A).

If your freelance work is performed physically in the US (you fly to a client's office in Miami and code for a week), that portion of income becomes effectively connected income (ECI) and is US-taxable. Working from Buenos Aires for a US client is not ECI. Working from Miami for a US client is.

Your home country will still tax you on your worldwide income under its own rules. The Wyoming LLC is a US-law wrapper; it does not eliminate your local tax obligations. This is why we always recommend running your specific setup past a local tax adviser once the entity is live.