US Company Formation from Guatemala (2026): US LLC or C-Corp, Why Exported Services Are Guatemalan Income, CAFTA-DR Exporters and Nearshore Teams

Guatemala's ties to the USA are close and practical. Coffee, cardamom, bananas, apparel from the maquilas and fresh vegetables cross into the USA under CAFTA-DR. Contact centres and software teams in Guatemala City serve American customers in Spanish and English. Several million Guatemalans and Guatemalan Americans in California, Texas, Florida and the north-east keep family businesses running between the two countries. A US company is a common next step for exporters, service firms and diaspora families alike, and it can be formed from Guatemala without travelling.

Guatemala's income tax (ISR) follows the territorial principle, but with a provision that matters more than any other for service businesses. Article 4 of the Tax Update Law (Decreto 10-2012) expressly lists the export of services from Guatemala among Guatemalan-source income. Work done in Guatemala for foreign clients is Guatemalan income, whoever bills it. This guide starts there, then compares US LLC formation and US C-Corp formation for Guatemalan owners.

In short: Guatemalans and residents of Guatemala can own 100% of a US LLC or C-Corporation, formed remotely. Guatemala's ISR is territorial, but services rendered in Guatemala, and services exported from Guatemala, are Guatemalan-source by law. Income genuinely earned outside Guatemala is generally treated as not subject to ISR. Businesses can choose between ISR on profits (25%) or the optional simplified regime on gross income (5% on the first Q30,000 a month, 7% above). There is no US–Guatemala income tax treaty, so US corporate dividends to Guatemala carry 30% withholding. With UCB, a Wyoming LLC with EIN is $249, a Florida LLC with EIN is $299 and a Delaware corporation with EIN is $358, all-in.

Who can form a US company from Guatemala

Neither US federal law nor any state limits company ownership by nationality or residence. A Guatemalan citizen, a foreigner resident in Guatemala, or a Guatemalan sociedad anónima can hold all of a US LLC or corporation. An individual owner can act as its only manager or director. You need no US visa, no SSN, no US address and no trip. What every US company does need is a registered agent in its state, which is covered for the first year in every UCB formation (see registered agent explained), and an EIN, which the IRS issues to foreign owners without an SSN or ITIN (see EIN for non-residents).

US banks identify owners by passport. The DPI (Documento Personal de Identificación) is not enough on its own. For proof of address, a recent EEGSA or Energuate electricity bill, a Tigo or Claro bill, or a bank statement works, with a translation. Guatemala City addresses use zonas ("12 calle 1-25, zona 10"), so keep the same format on every form. A Guatemalan company owner should have its NIT, its patente de comercio and its Registro Mercantil inscription ready, with translations.

Guatemala's source rule, in plain terms

The ISR taxes income obtained in Guatemalan territory, wherever it is paid. Article 4 of Decreto 10-2012 defines Guatemalan-source income broadly, and expressly includes:

• services provided in Guatemala;
• services exported from Guatemala.

The tax administration (SAT) treats income obtained outside Guatemala as not subject to ISR (rentas no afectas), and it has a separate line in the annual return.

So the question is not "is my client abroad?" but "where is the work being done?":

• A developer, designer, agency or contact centre working from Guatemala has Guatemalan-source income, even if every client is American and every dollar lands in a US account.
• A US company with its own operations in the USA, such as a warehouse, staff or a shop, earns US income, which is outside Guatemalan ISR for its Guatemalan owner at the business level.
• Goods sold abroad by a Guatemalan business without being imported into or exported from Guatemala have been treated by SAT as not subject to ISR, according to its published criterion.

Guatemalan businesses pay ISR under one of two regimes. Under the profits regime they pay 25% of net profit. Under the optional simplified regime they pay 5% of gross income up to Q30,000 a month and 7% on the excess, with monthly payments withheld or self-assessed. Freelancers and small agencies often use the simplified regime. Dividends paid by Guatemalan companies carry 5% ISR on capital income.

US LLC formation from Guatemala

On the US side

An LLC with one non-resident owner is "disregarded" for federal income tax: the IRS looks through it to the owner. If the business is run from Guatemala, with nobody in the USA who works for it or signs contracts on its behalf, its income is generally not connected with a US trade or business, and the IRS collects no income tax (see effectively connected income explained). Because the LLC is not a corporation, nothing it pays you counts as a dividend, so the lack of a treaty costs nothing here. The obligation that remains is an annual information return, Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120, with a $25,000 penalty for missing it (see Form 5472 explained).

A quetzal example

These are illustrative figures, not a client case, at Q7.7 to the dollar.

Diego runs a four-person video production and editing studio in zona 4. His clients are US marketing agencies and e-learning companies. He forms a Wyoming LLC, because two large clients will only onboard US vendors, and the LLC invoices US$150,000 a year.

The LLC pays Diego's Guatemalan sociedad anónima US$140,000 under a production services agreement, about Q1.08 million. That is the company's export of services from Guatemala, Guatemalan-source and taxed under the regime it has chosen. The LLC keeps US$10,000 to pay US stock-footage and music licences.

In the USA, the LLC files Form 5472 and a pro forma 1120 and owes no income tax. In Guatemala, the production company reports its income to SAT, and Diego's accountant keeps the services agreement and invoices on file to support it.

The two-company arrangement is not a tax device. The tax stays in Guatemala, where the work is done. It is a commercial one: a US vendor for US clients, and fast ACH payments.

US C-Corp formation from Guatemala

On the US side

A US corporation is a taxpayer in its own right. It pays 21% federal income tax on its profits, plus state tax where it does business, and files Form 1120 (with Form 5472 for dealings with its foreign owner) every year (see the 21% corporate tax explained and the C-Corp guide for non-residents). When it distributes profits to a Guatemalan shareholder, 30% is withheld, because there is no treaty to reduce it. Profits that travel all the way to Guatemala lose about 44.7% to US federal tax.

Exporters under CAFTA-DR

The corporation comes into its own for Guatemalan exporters who want a US importing and distribution company. Goods that meet CAFTA-DR's rules of origin enter the USA largely duty-free, which depends on where the goods were made, not on who imports them.

Take an illustrative case: a family coffee exporter in Antigua forms a Florida corporation. The US company imports green and roasted coffee, sells to specialty roasters and cafés across the USA, and runs an online shop for its own roasted brand. It is the importer of record, registers with the FDA as a food importer, and pays US tax on its distribution and retail margin. It buys from the Guatemalan exporter at arm's-length prices, and the exporter's Guatemalan profit stays taxable in Guatemala. Profits are reinvested in US stock and marketing rather than paid to Guatemala at 30% withholding.

The same model works for apparel, fresh produce, cardamom and handicraft exporters. Do not use a disregarded LLC owned by the Guatemalan exporter for this: it would make the exporter itself the US taxpayer on the US business, with branch profits tax on top. See US subsidiary for a foreign company.

Nearshore service companies

Guatemalan contact centres and software firms selling to US enterprises often need a US corporation to sign master service agreements, carry US insurance and employ a few US account managers. The pattern is the one used across Central America. The US corporation contracts and sells. The Guatemalan company delivers and is paid an arm's-length fee. The Guatemalan margin is taxed in Guatemala as exported services, and the US margin in the USA.

Family businesses across the border

Many US companies owned from Guatemala have relatives as co-owners in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami or New Jersey. Once a co-owner is a US citizen or green card holder, the company is no longer purely foreign-owned:

• A multi-member LLC is a partnership for US tax. It files Form 1065, and the US owners pay US tax on their shares.
• The Guatemalan partner's share of any US business income is subject to US withholding.
• A business with a shop or restaurant in California or Texas must be formed or registered there, and pays that state's taxes.

See single-member vs multi-member LLC and California LLC for non-residents.

Which state

• Wyoming or New Mexico for a service business run from Guatemala, with no US premises.
• Florida for an exporter's US company or anything with a Miami presence (see Florida LLC for non-residents).
• California or Texas where the business actually operates in those states.
• Delaware for a corporation raising investment or signing enterprise contracts.

See best state for non-residents and the state selector.

What it costs

UCB's prices include the state fee and the first year of registered agent service:

• A Wyoming LLC with EIN is $249, or $348 with a US bank account application.
• A Florida LLC with EIN is $299.
• A Delaware corporation with EIN is $358.

Keeping a Wyoming LLC active costs $121 a year, or $421 with the annual federal return. A US business address with your own suite number is $60 a year. See what a US LLC costs every year.

Banking and payments

US banks and fintechs generally open remote accounts for companies owned from Guatemala. They look for:

• A business description specific enough to understand ("Spanish-language video production for US e-learning companies", not "services").
• A website in English.
• Owner documents that match the company records exactly.
• A US business address with your own suite number.

Payments from the US account to Guatemalan banks are routine international wires, and Guatemalan banks offer US dollar accounts. Keep your services agreement and invoices to hand, because Guatemalan banks ask about the source of regular foreign transfers. See US business bank accounts for non-residents and why banks reject non-resident applications.

Common mistakes

• Assuming income through a US LLC is foreign income when the work is done in Guatemala. The law names exported services as Guatemalan-source.
• Paying dividends from a US corporation to Guatemala, at 30% with no treaty.
• Running an exporter's US distribution through a disregarded LLC, which makes the exporter a US taxpayer.
• Assuming CAFTA-DR covers anything shipped from Guatemala. Only goods meeting the rules of origin qualify.
• Missing Form 5472 in a year when the LLC owed no US tax.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Guatemalan citizen own 100% of a US company? Yes, without visiting the USA or holding a US visa.

Is my income through a US LLC taxed in Guatemala? If the work is done in Guatemala, yes. Decreto 10-2012 counts services provided in Guatemala and services exported from Guatemala as Guatemalan-source income. Income from operations genuinely outside Guatemala is generally not subject to ISR.

Can I use the simplified regime? Many Guatemalan freelancers and small businesses use the optional simplified regime (5% of gross income up to Q30,000 a month and 7% above). Your accountant will compare it with the 25% profits regime for your margins.

Is there a US–Guatemala tax treaty? No income tax treaty. US dividends, royalties and related-party interest paid to Guatemala are withheld at 30%.

Does the US LLC pay US tax? Normally not, if no one works for it in the USA. It must still file Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 each year.

How UCB can help

We handle US company formation from Guatemala remotely: the state filing, EIN, registered agent, US business address and bank application. Each year we file the federal return through our US tax filing service. Your Guatemalan contador handles SAT filings, and we supply the US records they need. See our formation, EIN and bank account package and the Latin America guide.

Setting up a US company from Guatemala? WhatsApp us at +1 315 961 2956 or email enquiries@ucbsolutions.com.