Form a US LLC from Italy

As a non-resident without a US SSN or ITIN, you apply for an EIN using Form SS-4 by fax, marking 'Foreign' as the responsible party's identification type. Fax processing typically takes 4-7 business days once the IRS confirms receipt. Italian founders sometimes try to use their Codice Fiscale in place of the required 'Foreign' designation -- don't; the Codice Fiscale isn't a recognized US tax ID and using it incorrectly on the SS-4 form is a common cause of processing delays.

Wyoming works well for Italian founders running consulting practices, digital products, or e-commerce brands with no near-term funding plans -- $60/year, no franchise tax, no public ownership disclosure. Delaware is worth the extra cost specifically for founders building a startup they intend to pitch to venture funds, since Delaware remains the structure Italian and broader European VCs expect to see when a startup has US market ambitions.

The US-Italy income tax treaty, in force since a 2009 replacement of the older 1984 treaty, set a 5% withholding limit on certain direct dividends and 15% on other dividends between the two countries, along with strengthened administrative provisions for resolving disputes. For a disregarded single-member LLC with a non-resident owner, Form 5472 and a pro-forma Form 1120 are required annually regardless of income or treaty status -- missing either risks the standard $25,000 minimum penalty. If you remain an Italian tax resident, any income drawn personally from the LLC needs declaring on your Italian tax return (via the Modello Redditi if you're not on a simplified regime), and the treaty helps prevent that income being taxed twice, though it doesn't remove the Italian-side declaration itself.

Partita IVA is where nearly every Italian freelancer and small founder starts, and it's genuinely well-suited to solo consulting work. The friction shows up once you're billing US clients who expect an entity they recognize, or once you're building a digital product rather than selling hours -- Italian VAT rules around digital services sold internationally add a layer of complexity that a US LLC selling to US customers simply doesn't have to deal with. Italian founders also cite Italy's broader reputation for administrative slowness (rightly or not) as a reason to want a separate, fast-moving US entity for anything US-facing, even while keeping their partita IVA active for Italian-side work. A US LLC doesn't replace your Italian registration -- it sits alongside it as a separate legal entity for the parts of your business that are genuinely international.

Mercury and Relay both accept Italian applicants post-EIN with no US visit required. Italy has no exchange controls and the euro is freely convertible, so there's no regulatory friction moving funds between Italy and your US LLC. Most founders use Wise for day-to-day EUR/USD conversion on operating expenses, since it's typically cheaper than routing international wires through a traditional Italian bank, and pair it with Stripe for receiving US customer payments directly into the LLC.

Wyoming's annual report and $60 fee are due by the first day of your formation anniversary month; Delaware's franchise tax (up to $400 under 2026 rates) is due every June 1. Federally, Form 5472 and the pro-forma 1120 are due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15 via Form 7004. If you're keeping your partita IVA active alongside the LLC, make sure your Italian commercialista is aware of the US entity -- foreign asset and income reporting obligations (like the RW section of the Modello Redditi) can apply even when the LLC itself owes no US tax.