Starting a US LLC from Argentina After the End of the Cepo (2026 Guide)

An EIN is the US tax ID that banks and payment platforms require. Argentine founders without an SSN or ITIN can still get one -- the IRS issues EINs to foreign applicants through Form SS-4, filed by phone, fax, mail, or a third-party designee like EasyBrise. Processing usually takes one to three weeks.

Once the EIN is issued, Mercury or Relay let you open a US business account fully online. Mercury is free, with FDIC-backed sweep coverage up to five million dollars and free international wires; Relay is free on its Starter plan with native QuickBooks/Xero sync. Either gives Argentine founders a genuine, stable USD account that sits outside the peso entirely.

For over a decade, Argentina's cepo cambiario made it genuinely difficult to move dollars abroad to fund a foreign business. That changed on April 14, 2025, when the government lifted most currency controls, letting individuals and businesses buy US dollars freely for the first time since 2019. For a founder forming a US LLC, this is the difference between a multi-step workaround and a normal bank transfer -- the mechanics of funding a US LLC from Argentina today look much like funding one from any other country.

Every state requires some annual filing -- a flat fee in Wyoming and Delaware, a free Public Information Report in Texas, nothing in New Mexico, a mandatory report in Florida. Federally, Form 5472 plus Form 1120 is due April 15. Since a FinCEN rule effective August 14, 2026, US-formed LLCs are permanently exempt from BOI reporting.

Argentina has one of Latin America's deepest software talent pools, and a US LLC tends to fit founders already selling into the US -- dev shops, SaaS teams, and agencies -- more than businesses purely local to the Argentine market. It also suits Argentine founders already comfortable holding value outside pesos, a habit many built well before the cepo was lifted.

Formation itself is a five-step process: pick a state, file with just a passport, get an EIN without an SSN, open a US bank account remotely, then keep up with one annual state filing and a federal Form 5472 each year. EasyBrise manages the first four steps directly and keeps you on track for the fifth.

Wyoming is the default pick for most Argentine founders: low cost, strong privacy, a flat annual fee. Delaware fits founders with a US venture-funding path in mind. Texas suits businesses expecting meaningful revenue, since franchise tax only kicks in above a 2026 threshold of 2.65 million dollars. New Mexico is the cheapest to maintain long-term and never collects member names. Florida offers a Miami-based presence for LatAm-facing trade, though it is the only one of the five that discloses member names publicly. Full comparison below.

The most common mistake right now is assuming the old cepo-era funding workarounds are still necessary -- they are not, as of April 2025. Others assume a US-Argentina tax treaty exists -- it does not, though this rarely creates double taxation for an LLC with no US-source income. Skipping Form 5472 because no US tax is owed is a frequent, costly error -- the 25,000 dollar penalty applies regardless of tax owed.

With an EIN and US bank account, Stripe treats the LLC like any other US business. For Argentine founders in software and digital services, this is often the real unlock -- a US LLC resolves the friction that comes with billing international clients directly from an Argentine entity.

There is currently no comprehensive US-Argentina income tax treaty. On the US side, a single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is a disregarded entity, owing no US corporate tax on income not effectively connected with a US trade or business -- but it must still file an informational Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 by April 15. On the transfer side, the post-April 2025 rules mean funding the LLC from Argentina now works through ordinary bank channels rather than the workarounds the cepo used to require, though founders should still confirm current bank procedures since Argentina's FX rules have changed rapidly in recent years.