🇻🇳 For founders in Vietnam
Form a US company from Vietnam
Vietnam's software, design, and outsourcing talent sells heavily to American and other global clients, and founders in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang often reach a point where a local company (or invoicing as an individual household business) stops being enough. Clients in the United States frequently want to pay an American company, prefer domestic invoices and a US business account, and many payment processors, app stores, and SaaS vendors onboard US entities far more easily than Vietnamese ones. Forming a US LLC or C-Corp closes that gap without you leaving Vietnam.
An American entity gives you an EIN, a US business account through our licensed partner, and clean USD invoicing: the setup that payment processors and investors expect. A Delaware C-Corp is the standard if you plan to raise from American venture funds; a single-member LLC is simpler and, for a non-resident owner with no operations in the United States, is generally disregarded for federal tax and files an informational return rather than paying corporate tax; though Vietnam may treat the same LLC as a foreign company. Which is right depends on your fundraising and product plans, so confirm with a cross-border accountant.
Forming the company is the easy part. What actually trips up Vietnamese founders is how the United States taxes your income (Vietnam has no tax treaty with it), how you legally bring USD earnings home under State Bank of Vietnam foreign-exchange rules, and how your Vietnamese personal tax works. That is what this page covers.
General information about forming a US company. Not legal, tax, or investment advice. Rules and figures cited are current as of July 2026 and change frequently. Consult qualified local and US advisers before acting.
The process, end to end
Form the entity
Pick a Wyoming LLC (solo/bootstrapped) or a Delaware C-Corp (VC-track) and file the formation remotely, with no US visit needed.
Read the guideGet an EIN
Apply for the company's federal tax ID. You can get an EIN without an SSN, and you need it to open a US business account.
Read the guideOpen a US business account
Open a US business account remotely with the EIN and formation documents. No US address or SSN required. Banking is provided through our licensed partner; StableCorp is not a bank.
Read the guideGet paid
Invoice US and global clients as a US entity and settle in USD, EUR, or INR, or in USDC on supported chains. Local-currency payout is available in select markets through StableCorp's licensed regional partners on compliant rails.
Read the guideVietnam-specific considerations
No treaty means no reduced US withholding
Because there's no US–Vietnam tax treaty, you can't claim a treaty rate. US-source passive income to a Vietnamese resident (including C-Corp dividends) is taxed at the flat 30% US withholding rate. A single-member LLC with no US trade or business generally avoids this on its operating profit, but a C-Corp distributing dividends does not. Factor this into your LLC-vs-C-Corp choice.
You still owe Vietnamese tax on the profits
A US company doesn't make your income US-only or tax-free. As a Vietnamese resident you report worldwide income and are taxed at rates up to 35%. Whether the money reaches you as an LLC distribution, a dividend, or salary, plan for the Vietnamese liability and use Vietnam's unilateral foreign tax credit to offset any US tax paid and avoid being taxed twice.
LLC vs C-Corp changes your US filing
A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person is usually a disregarded pass-through (no US corporate tax if there's no US trade or business), but it must file Form 5472 plus a pro-forma 1120 each year, with steep penalties for missing it. A C-Corp pays US corporate tax on its profits and is the structure US venture investors expect. Pick based on whether you're raising US VC or just invoicing clients.
Bank the USD; be cautious with crypto rails
Vietnam lets you receive USD into a foreign-currency account at a licensed bank and convert to dong, but you can't settle domestic transactions in foreign currency. And while Law 71/2025 recognises crypto assets as property from January 2026, it does not authorise their use for payments or settlement, and fiat-backed stablecoins like USDT/USDC aren't approved settlement instruments. Convert any USDC to USD offshore and use a bank USD wire converted to VND, and keep contracts and invoices; your bank handles AML checks and SBV reporting.
Getting your money home to Vietnam
As a Vietnamese tax resident (generally, present in Vietnam 183+ days in a calendar year or a 12-month period, or with a permanent residence/regular abode there), you are taxed on worldwide income: business income and salary at progressive rates up to 35%, with a unilateral foreign tax credit for tax already paid in the US since no treaty exists. Money you draw from your US company (an LLC distribution, a C-Corp dividend, or salary) is foreign-source income you must declare on your Vietnamese personal income tax return, converting USD to dong at the prescribed bank rate. On the FX side, Vietnam's Ordinance on Foreign Exchange lets residents receive inbound remittances freely: you can open a foreign-currency account at a licensed (authorised) Vietnamese bank and receive USD from your US entity into it. The catch is domestic use: inside Vietnam, quoting, pricing, and settling transactions in foreign currency is prohibited, so to spend the money locally you convert USD to VND through your bank. Banks apply anti-money-laundering checks and report FX flows to the State Bank of Vietnam; expect to show the underlying contracts/invoices for larger inflows. Your bank (not you) is the party that reports transactions to the SBV under its own compliance obligations: international inbound electronic transfers from around USD 1,000 for individuals and domestic transfers of VND 500 million and above fall under those bank reporting thresholds. There are no broad controls blocking inbound USD, but keep documentation clean.
On crypto/stablecoin rails, tread carefully, because the rules changed on 1 January 2026. Law No. 71/2025/QH15 on the Digital Technology Industry took effect that date and, for the first time, recognises crypto assets as property that can be owned and traded under Vietnamese civil law, but it does NOT authorise their use for payments or settlement inside Vietnam. This is a tightly controlled framework, not open adoption: only a handful of licensed exchanges will operate, all domestic transactions must still be settled in Vietnamese dong, and Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP prohibits fiat-backed stablecoins, meaning USDT and USDC are not approved settlement instruments in Vietnam. Detailed tax and accounting rules were still being finalised in early 2026. The practical reading for a founder: stablecoins are not approved settlement instruments in Vietnam, so the straightforward path is to convert any USDC to USD offshore and wire USD from your US company to a licensed Vietnamese bank, where it converts to VND, not to cash stablecoins into the Vietnamese market. StableCorp settles your US company's earnings in USD, EUR, or INR to your US business account with our licensed partner, generating the records you need for both your US filing and your Vietnamese return; the USD wire to your Vietnamese bank happens through that account. Because the digital-asset framework is brand new, verify the current position with a local advisor before relying on any crypto route.
Vietnam & US taxes
No. There is no US–Vietnam income tax treaty in force. The two countries signed a Convention in 2015, but the US Senate never ratified it, so it has never entered into effect, and Vietnam does not appear on the IRS 'United States Income Tax Treaties A to Z' list (the only 'V' entry is Venezuela). For a founder this has two practical consequences. First, there is no treaty rate to reduce US withholding tax on US-source passive income: dividends paid by a US C-Corp to a Vietnamese-resident owner are subject to the statutory 30% US withholding, and other US-source FDAP income is likewise taxed at the flat 30% default with no treaty relief. You still file a Form W-8BEN/W-8BEN-E with your US payer to certify non-US status, but you cannot claim a reduced rate. Second, there is no permanent-establishment article to lean on. The analysis of whether your company's profits are 'effectively connected' US business income turns on plain US domestic rules. In practice, a single-member LLC run entirely from Vietnam with no US office, employees, or dependent agent, earning income from services performed outside the US, generally has no US-taxable effectively-connected income; a C-Corp pays US corporate tax on its profits regardless. Without a treaty, you rely on Vietnam's unilateral foreign tax credit to avoid double taxation. Confirm your exact structure with a cross-border tax advisor.
StableCorp helps founders in Vietnam form a US company, get an EIN and a US business account, and get paid on compliant rails, both sides.
Get startedFrequently asked questions
Do I need to live in the US or have a US visa to own a US LLC or C-Corp?
No. Vietnamese founders can form and fully own a US LLC or C-Corp while living in Vietnam, get an EIN, and open a US business bank account remotely. Ownership isn't tied to any visa. What you can't do is physically work inside the US without the right immigration status, but running the company from Vietnam is fine.
Is there a US–Vietnam tax treaty to stop me being taxed twice?
No. A treaty was signed in 2015 but never ratified by the US Senate, so it isn't in force, and Vietnam isn't on the IRS treaty list. There's no reduced US withholding rate available. You avoid double taxation instead through Vietnam's unilateral foreign tax credit, which offsets US tax paid against your Vietnamese liability. Confirm the mechanics with a cross-border advisor.
Can I legally receive USD from my US company in Vietnam?
Yes. Under the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange, residents can receive inbound remittances freely and hold them in a foreign-currency account at a licensed Vietnamese bank. You convert to dong to spend locally. Foreign currency can't be used to settle domestic transactions. Banks run AML checks and report FX flows to the State Bank of Vietnam, so keep your contracts and invoices for larger inflows.
Can I get paid in USDC and cash out to dong?
No. Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP prohibits fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC as settlement instruments in Vietnam, and while Law 71/2025 recognises crypto assets as property from 1 January 2026 it does not authorise their use for payments or settlement. The compliant route is to convert USDC to USD offshore, then wire USD from your US company to a licensed Vietnamese bank, where it converts to VND. StableCorp settles in USD, EUR, or INR, not by delivering stablecoins into the local market.