US Company Formation from Thailand (2026): US LLC or C-Corp for Thai Nationals and Expats, the Remittance Tax Rule, DTV and LTR Visas, and the US–Thailand Treaty

Two quite different groups of people form US companies from Thailand. The first is Thai: designers and developers in Bangkok and Chiang Mai with American clients, Thai brands selling food, cosmetics and home goods to the USA, and Thai companies opening a US sales office. The second is foreign: the remote workers, founders and consultants who have made Thailand their base, many of them now on the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) or a Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, and who use a US LLC to bill international clients.

Both groups face the same Thai rule change, in force since 1 January 2024: foreign income that a Thai tax resident brings into Thailand is taxable in the year it is brought in, whenever it was earned. Both also need to understand a second rule that people often miss: income for work performed in Thailand is Thai-source, however it is invoiced. This guide explains both, then takes US LLC formation and US C-Corp formation in turn.

In short: a Thai citizen or a foreign resident of Thailand can own 100% of a US LLC or C-Corporation, formed remotely. You are tax resident in Thailand if you spend 180 days or more there in a calendar year. Residents pay Thai tax on foreign-source income earned from 2024 onward when it is remitted to Thailand, at progressive rates up to 35%. A proposed exemption for income remitted within a year or two of earning it was still not law at the time of writing. Income for work done in Thailand can be Thai-source whatever entity invoices it. Thailand has no CFC rules. Under the US–Thailand treaty, US dividends are withheld at 15%, or 10% for a company owning at least 10%. LTR visa holders are exempt from Thai tax on foreign income. DTV holders are not. With UCB, a Wyoming LLC with EIN is $249 and a Delaware corporation with EIN is $358, all-in.

Who can form a US company from Thailand

US states impose no nationality or residence requirement on a company's owners, managers or directors. A Thai citizen, a foreigner living in Thailand on any visa, and a Thai company can each own a US company outright. No US visa, SSN or US address is needed, and no one has to travel. The company needs a registered agent in its state, which is included for the first year in every UCB formation (see registered agent explained), and an EIN from the IRS, which needs no SSN or ITIN (see EIN for non-residents).

For identity, use a passport. A Thai national ID card is not accepted by US banks. For proof of address, a bank statement or utility bill in English is easiest. A Thai-language document will need a translation. Use the romanised spelling in your passport on every form: Thai names are romanised in many ways, and banks match them letter by letter.

Thailand's rules on foreign income

Tax residence: 180 days

Thailand's test is simple and slightly different from most countries'. You are a Thai tax resident for a calendar year if you are in Thailand for 180 days or more in total during that year, whatever your nationality or visa. Non-residents are taxed only on Thai-source income.

The remittance rule since 2024

Until 2023, Thai residents paid tax on foreign-source income only if they brought it into Thailand in the same year they earned it. Leaving it abroad until the next year kept it out of Thai tax.

Revenue Department instruction Por. 161/2566 closed that gap for income earned from 1 January 2024. Such income is now assessable in whichever year it is remitted to Thailand. Instruction Por. 162/2566 keeps income earned up to 31 December 2023 outside the new rule, so it can be remitted without Thai tax. Keep records that show when older savings were earned.

A draft law would exempt foreign income remitted in the year it is earned or the following year. At the time of writing it had not been passed or published in the Royal Gazette. Do not plan on it.

Foreign income is taxed with your other income at progressive rates from 0% to 35%. Foreign tax paid on the same income can be credited where a tax treaty allows it, as the US–Thailand treaty does.

Work done in Thailand is Thai-source

Section 41 of the Revenue Code taxes income from work or business carried on in Thailand, whether it is paid in Thailand or abroad. Such income is not "foreign income" at all, and the remittance rule does not apply to it. It is taxable in the year it is earned, wherever the money sits.

Thailand generally treats a US LLC as a juristic company formed under foreign law. That leaves two questions for your Thai accountant:

• Is the LLC itself carrying on business in Thailand through you? A foreign company doing business in Thailand through an employee or agent can be liable to Thai corporate income tax at 20%.
• Is what you take out a foreign dividend, taxed when remitted, or really your own pay for work done in Thailand?

A digital product created and sold online, or a US-based team, gives a stronger case for foreign-source income than an individual consultant billing hours worked in Bangkok.

No CFC rules

Thailand does not currently have controlled foreign company rules. Profits a Thai resident leaves in a US company are not attributed to the owner simply because the company is low-taxed. That is a real difference from Japan, Korea and China. It does not change the Section 41 question about work done in Thailand.

US LLC formation from Thailand

The US side

A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is disregarded for US federal income tax. Without a US office, US staff or US agents who conclude contracts, its income is usually not effectively connected with a US trade or business, so no federal income tax is due (see effectively connected income explained). It files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year. Missing it carries a $25,000 penalty (see Form 5472 explained). Because it is not a US corporation, money it passes to you carries no US dividend withholding.

The Thai side, in baht

These are illustrative figures, not a client case, at ฿33 to the dollar.

Ploy is a Bangkok illustrator who sells digital brushes, fonts and templates to American customers through her own website and a marketplace. Her Wyoming LLC receives the payments. In 2026 its profit is US$60,000, about ฿1.98 million. She brings US$30,000 (฿990,000) to her Thai bank account during the year and leaves the rest in the LLC's US account.

In the USA, the LLC files Form 5472 and a pro forma 1120, and owes no federal income tax.

In Thailand, her accountant treats the products as sold abroad by the LLC and the transfers to her as foreign dividends. Only the ฿990,000 remitted is assessable in 2026. Before allowances and her other income, Thai tax on ฿990,000 works out at about ฿113,000:

The ฿990,000 left abroad becomes taxable in the year she brings it in. Had Ploy been a consultant billing US clients for design hours worked in Bangkok, the accountant would have looked at Section 41 first: the income could be Thai-source and taxable in full in 2026, remitted or not.

US C-Corp formation from Thailand

The US side

A C-Corporation pays 21% federal tax on its profits, plus state tax where it does business, and files Form 1120 and Form 5472 every year (see the 21% corporate tax explained and the C-Corp guide for non-residents). Under the US–Thailand treaty of 1996, US withholding on dividends is 15% for an individual and 10% for a company owning at least 10%. Interest is generally 15% (10% for banks and similar lenders), and royalties 5%, 8% or 15% depending on the type. Claim the treaty rate on Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (see W-8BEN-E vs W-8BEN).

A Thai individual owning a corporation

Dividends that a Thai resident brings home are foreign income, taxed at progressive rates in the year remitted, with a credit for the 15% US withholding. The combined burden (21% corporate tax, 15% withholding, then any Thai top-up) is heavier than with an LLC. A corporation makes sense when you need US investors (see raising US investment as a foreign founder), or when profits will stay in the USA to fund growth.

A Thai company's US subsidiary

Take an illustrative case: a Thai food company in Samut Sakhon that exports sauces and snacks forms a US corporation. The subsidiary imports the products, holds stock with a fulfilment company in California and sells to Asian grocery chains and on Amazon. It is the importer of record, buys from the parent at arm's-length prices and pays US tax on its own profit (see US subsidiary for a foreign company).

When the subsidiary pays dividends to its Thai parent, the treaty rate is 10%. In Thailand, a Thai company's dividends from a foreign company can be exempt from Thai corporate income tax if three conditions are met:

• the Thai company holds at least 25% of the voting shares;
• it has held them for at least six months before the dividend;
• the profits behind the dividend were taxed abroad at a rate of at least 15%.

The US federal rate of 21% passes that test. The US withholding is then the last layer of tax on profits coming home. A Thai company investing abroad should keep its Bank of Thailand foreign exchange documentation in order when remitting the capital. Your bank will handle the forms.

Expats in Thailand with a US company

Many foreigners in Thailand run their business through a US LLC. The Thai rules apply to them in the same way, with three points to watch.

Residence. Spending 180 days or more in Thailand in a calendar year makes you Thai tax resident, whatever your nationality and visa. Below 180 days, you are taxed only on Thai-source income. Your home country may also still tax you; Europeans in particular should check how their home country treats a US LLC (see the country guide).

The DTV. The Destination Thailand Visa, introduced in 2024, allows remote work for employers and clients outside Thailand for stays of up to 180 days per entry, within a five-year visa. It gives no tax exemption. A DTV holder who becomes resident pays Thai tax on foreign income remitted to Thailand, under the rule above. The DTV does not permit work for Thai clients.

The LTR. Long-Term Resident visa holders in the qualifying categories, including the "work-from-Thailand professional" category, are exempt from Thai tax on foreign-source income. For a remote founder who qualifies, that changes the planning entirely. The LTR's income and employer requirements are demanding, so check them carefully.

US citizens and green card holders living in Thailand are a separate case: the USA taxes them on worldwide income, and a US LLC is not disregarded in the same way for them.

Which state

• Wyoming, or New Mexico as the cheapest, for an online business run from Thailand.
• Delaware for a corporation raising investment.
• The state of your warehouse or office for an operating subsidiary. California is common for Thai food and consumer brands, because of Los Angeles's Thai community and the ports.

See best state for non-residents, California LLC for non-residents and the state selector.

What it costs

State fees and the first-year registered agent are included. Your Thai accountant's fees are separate. See what a US LLC costs every year.

Banking and moving money

Thailand is not a high-risk country for US banks and fintechs, and both Thai citizens and foreign residents of Thailand are generally accepted for remote US business accounts. What gets applications through:

• A specific business description.
• An English website showing real products or services.
• Matching romanised names across documents.
• A US business address with your own suite number rather than the registered agent's.

See US business bank accounts for non-residents, why banks reject non-resident applications and Stripe for non-residents.

Since 2024, how and when you move money into Thailand has tax consequences. Keep a simple record of each transfer to Thailand: date, amount and what it represents (distribution, salary, or savings earned before 2024). Thai banks ask the purpose of large incoming foreign transfers, and your accountant will need the same information at year-end.

Visas: the Treaty of Amity

The 1966 Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations between the USA and Thailand makes Thai nationals eligible for E-1 and E-2 visas. A Thai citizen who makes a substantial investment in a real US business can apply for an E-2 visa through it, with an immigration lawyer. Once you live in the USA, the US company's profits become US taxable income for you.

Common mistakes

• Leaving profits abroad and assuming they are tax-free in Thailand. Since 2024 they are taxed when they arrive, in whatever year that is.
• Treating income for work done in Thailand as foreign income because a US company invoiced it.
• Planning around the proposed remittance exemption, which was not law at the time of writing.
• Assuming the DTV gives a tax break. It does not; the LTR, in qualifying categories, does.
• Losing track of pre-2024 savings, which can be remitted tax-free if you can show when they were earned.
• Skipping Form 5472 because the LLC owed no US tax.

Frequently asked questions

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

Is money from my US LLC taxed in Thailand? If you are Thai tax resident, foreign income earned from 2024 is taxed when you bring it into Thailand. Income for work done in Thailand can be Thai-source and taxable when earned, wherever it is paid.

Does Thailand have CFC rules? Not currently. Profits left in a foreign company are not attributed to the owner, but the remittance rule and the Section 41 question still apply.

Will my US LLC pay US tax if I work from Thailand? Usually not, with no US office, staff or agent. It files Form 5472 and a pro forma 1120 each year.

I am a foreigner on a DTV. Do I pay Thai tax? If you spend 180 days or more in Thailand in a year, you are resident and taxed on foreign income you remit. The DTV gives no exemption. LTR holders in qualifying categories are exempt on foreign income.

How much US tax is withheld on dividends to Thailand? 15% for an individual, or 10% for a company owning at least 10%, with a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E.

Do I need an ITIN? Not to form the company or get its EIN. See what is an ITIN and who needs one.

How UCB can help

We handle US company formation from Thailand remotely: the state filing, EIN, registered agent, US business address and bank application, and then the yearly federal return through our US tax filing service. Your Thai accountant handles your Thai return and the question of which income is Thai-source, and we supply the US documents they need. See our formation, EIN and bank account package ($348) and the country guide.

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