04Platform mechanics
The filings and rules nobody tells you about.
The IRS, FinCEN, state and marketplace rules that decide whether a new e-commerce company works — and what we do about each one.
EIN without an SSN: how it really works
A foreign owner with no Social Security Number cannot use the IRS’s online EIN application. Form SS-4 is faxed to +1 304-707-9471 from outside the US (855-215-1627 from inside), and the IRS says the EIN is returned generally within four business days. Posting the form to the EIN International Operation in Cincinnati takes four to five weeks, and the international phone line is +1 267-941-1099. We prepare the SS-4 with the LLC’s details exactly as filed and fax it the day the formation certificate arrives.
Fax the SS-4 on the day of formation and the EIN letter is back in around four business days; post it and the bank account waits until month two.
Form 5472: the filing most new LLC owners miss
A US LLC with a single foreign owner is treated as a reporting corporation. Each year it must file a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 by 15 April — extendable to 15 October with Form 7004 — and the IRS accepts these only by fax or post. The penalty for not filing is $25,000, plus $25,000 for each further 30 days after notice. Our renewals service puts this on the calendar in year one, because the company owes the filing even if it has not sold a thing.
An LLC formed in November that sold nothing still owes a Form 5472 for that part-year by the following 15 April.
BOI reporting: no longer required for a US LLC
FinCEN’s final rule of 11 August 2026, effective 14 August 2026, exempts US-formed companies and US persons from beneficial ownership information reporting. Only foreign-formed entities registered to do business in a US state still report. A Wyoming or New Mexico LLC formed for you therefore has no BOI filing, and we say so plainly, because some formation services still sell “BOI compliance” as a paid add-on.
A Pakistan-owned LLC formed in Wyoming: no BOI report. A Pakistani company registered as a foreign entity in a US state: still reports.
Which state, and what it costs each year
At the time of writing, published state-fee comparisons put Wyoming’s annual report at a $60 minimum with formation around $100, Delaware at a flat $300 annual LLC tax due 1 June (with a $200 penalty plus 1.5% a month if late), and New Mexico at about $50 to form with no annual report at all. State fee pages were not reachable during our last check, so we confirm the current figure with the state before filing. We recommend the state on banking and renewal cost, not on reputation.
Over five years a Delaware LLC pays roughly $1,500 in annual LLC tax; a Wyoming LLC around $300 in annual reports.
Banking for a Pakistan-owned LLC
Wise’s own help pages state that it does not issue USD account details to a business or personal profile with a Pakistan address and does not accept PKR into business accounts. Mercury’s prohibited-countries list excludes US companies whose founders live in Pakistan. Payoneer, by its own account, operates in Pakistan with USD, GBP and EUR receiving accounts and PKR withdrawal, which is why it is the account we open first for marketplace payouts; Wise or a US bank follows only where the owner’s residency and the provider’s approval allow.
A Lahore-resident owner of a Wyoming LLC: Payoneer opens; Wise USD details and Mercury do not, whatever a formation agent promised.
Walmart’s entity rule and Amazon’s document list
Walmart Marketplace requires a business tax ID; an SSN is not accepted. A US entity files a W-9 with its EIN letter and state registration; a non-US seller must be incorporated in a country Walmart supports for a W-8BEN-E, and the 2026 list does not include Pakistan, so the US LLC is the route. Amazon’s registration guide asks for government ID, a chargeable credit card, a bank account, business registration, proof of address dated within 180 days and photo or video verification. We build both files from the same details.
Same legal name, same address, same phone on the EIN letter, bank account and Seller Central application — one mismatch triggers a verification loop.
IRS, FinCEN, Wise, Mercury, Walmart and Amazon figures from their own pages, state fees from published comparisons; checked 11 November 2026. They change, so we re-check before each engagement.
