How do I form an LLC in the US as a founder from India?
Form it with a US state's corporate registry, get an EIN from the IRS, and file a short federal return every year. The steps: appoint a registered agent with a street address in the state (Delaware requires one), file the formation document, sign an operating agreement, then apply for the EIN, which is free, though a business based outside the US cannot use the online tool and applies by phone, fax or mail. A Delaware LLC pays a $400 tax every year by 1 June. A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person must file Form 5472 each year; missing it carries a $25,000 penalty. Stripe Atlas does the filing for $500 once, with government fees and the first year of registered agent included, then $100 a year. From India, putting money into it is overseas direct investment under FEMA, with annual returns through your bank. If you plan to raise venture money, US investors expect a Delaware C corp, since SAFEs and notes that convert into preferred stock do not fit an LLC.
Delaware's official starting point for forming an LLC or corporation: the registered agent requirement, name reservation, certificates and how filings are submitted.
Delaware's own page on what a Delaware LLC owes every year: no annual report, but a $400 tax due on or before 1 June, with a $200 penalty plus interest if missed.
The IRS instructions for Form 5472, which a foreign-owned US disregarded entity, such as a single-member LLC owned by an Indian founder, must file each year, with the $25,000 penalty for failing to.
This is the guide that tells you to decide before you raise, not after. Its core line, 'structure the decision around your capital plan, not around what other founders did,' walks through when a Delaware parent is worth it (US VC, an accelerator) versus when it is dead weight (bootstrapped, India or Singapore capital only), and then details the compliance you own from year one: the 400 percent net worth cap, the December 31 Annual Performance Report (the single most-missed ODI filing), and the Form FC-GPR you must file within 30 days when the Delaware parent invests back into the Indian subsidiary. Read this to avoid the expensive later flip entirely.
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Treelifeby Treelife (startup legal and finance advisory)22 min read
The clean version of this is to set up the US-parent structure before you raise from a US fund, because unwinding or retrofitting it later is where the lakhs and the months go
Transfer-pricing obligations start in year one of a parent-subsidiary structure, and the December 31 Annual Performance Report and the 30-day FC-GPR on downstream FDI are the compliance items founders most often miss and get penalized for
Getting the India filings wrong is worse than the US side: FEMA compounding, a freeze on future overseas investments, and open-ended income tax audit exposure, versus a fixed USD 25,000 IRS penalty on the Delaware side
The IRS page for applying for an EIN: free, issued immediately online for applicants with a US principal place of business and an SSN or ITIN, and by phone, fax or mail for everyone else.
The most popular guided path to a Delaware C-corp for global and first-time founders, with Cooley-drafted templates, EIN, founder stock, and 83(b) handling in one flow. It removes almost all the guesswork.
