Getting paid from Mexico
Stripe is available to businesses registered in Mexico, and so are PayPal and Shopify Payments, with local methods such as OXXO cash payments. If you sell mainly in Mexico and in pesos, a Mexican setup may be all you need.
A US LLC makes sense when most of your customers are in the US or pay in dollars. With the LLC's EIN and a US business bank account you can apply for a US Stripe account, which pays out in dollars to the US account. Stripe reviews every account and decides; no one can promise approval.
At home
Mexican tax: foreign transparent entities
Mexico taxes its residents on worldwide income. Since the 2020 reform, articles 4-A and 4-B of the Income Tax Law (LISR) deal with foreign entities that are transparent for tax purposes, meaning they are not taxed as residents where they are formed. A US LLC that has not chosen to be taxed as a corporation is usually in that position.
Mexican residents pay tax on income earned through such an entity in proportion to their share, in the calendar year the income is generated, whether or not it is paid out. Article 4-B also requires a separate account for each foreign transparent entity.
Separately, the preferential tax regime rules (REFIPRE, articles 176 to 178 LISR) cover income abroad that is not taxed, or is taxed at less than 75% of the income tax Mexico would charge. Which of these rules apply to your LLC, and how the treaty fits in, is a question for a contador.
Reporting to the SAT
Article 178 LISR requires an informative return every February on income from preferential tax regimes in the previous year. It also applies to income earned through foreign transparent entities, even when that alone does not make it REFIPRE income.
The LLC's income also belongs in your own annual return. Keep the LLC's books and US bank statements from day one; they are what you and your contador work from.
Money in and out
Mexico has no exchange controls on transfers like these. You can send money to the LLC from a Mexican bank, and profit you take out arrives as an international transfer. Keep the transfer records with the LLC's books.
The US side is the same for everyone
Where you live does not change the US part. It is done online, without travelling, without a US address and without an SSN.
- Choose a state: Wyoming or New Mexico for low running costs, Delaware if you plan to raise money from investors.
- The formation document is filed with a registered agent in that state, within 48 hours.
- The EIN is requested from the IRS as soon as the state approves. No SSN or ITIN is needed.
- You get the operating agreement that banks and payment providers ask for.
- With those documents you apply for a US business bank account, for example at Mercury.
- Every year: the registered agent, the state's annual report where there is one, and Form 5472 for a single-member LLC owned by a foreign person.
Which state?
With no people or premises in the US you can choose any state. Most founders abroad choose on yearly cost and speed.
Pay for your LLC in Mexican peso
At checkout you can pay in Mexican peso instead of US dollars, including OXXO. We convert at the day's ECB reference rate plus 1.5%, fixed at the moment you order.
Sources checked on November 2, 2026
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; check your own situation with a contador in Mexico before you form the LLC.
