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Non-Resident US LLC on Amazon FBA: What Taxes You Owe

Own a US LLC from abroad and sell on Amazon FBA? Sales tax, Form 5472, income tax and state filings explained, and what changes with your own store.

G
GoodVat Team
·7 min read

A lot of sellers outside the US run their Amazon business through a Wyoming or Delaware LLC. It opens a US bank account, Stripe and the Amazon US tax interview without a US address of your own. Then the question comes: what taxes does the LLC actually owe? Here’s the short version, by tax, and what changes the day you add a Shopify store.

TL;DR

  • Sales tax on Amazon orders: Amazon collects and pays it. Most states don’t need you to register if Amazon is your only channel; Washington and New Jersey do if your stock is there.
  • Sales tax on your own website: yours to collect, in states where you have nexus. FBA stock gives you nexus in every state where it’s stored.
  • Form 5472: every year, even with no income. The penalty is $25,000.
  • Federal income tax: depends on your facts and your country’s treaty. Often nothing, but get advice.
  • State fees and taxes: your formation state’s annual fee, plus possible gross receipts or franchise filings where your stock sits.
TaxApplies to an Amazon-only LLC?Applies once you add your own store?
State sales taxNo: Amazon collects itYes, in states where you have nexus
Form 5472 + pro forma 1120Yes, every yearYes, every year
Federal income taxDepends on your facts and treatyDepends on your facts and treaty
Formation state annual feeYes (Wyoming from $60, Delaware $300)Yes
State gross receipts or franchise taxPossibly, where stock is storedPossibly, where stock is stored or you sell a lot
BOI report (FinCEN)No, since March 2025No

Sales tax: Amazon covers Amazon orders

Every US state with a sales tax makes marketplaces like Amazon collect and pay it on the orders they handle. That’s true wherever the seller lives and whatever kind of company you sell through. On Amazon orders, your LLC doesn’t charge, collect or file sales tax.

Most states also don’t make you register when all your sales there go through a marketplace. That’s why plenty of non-resident FBA sellers have no sales tax registrations at all, and for an Amazon-only business that’s usually fine. The exceptions are a few states where Amazon stores your stock: Washington and New Jersey expect a registration then. The marketplace sales and nexus guide lists what each state says.

What changes it is a second channel. Once you sell through your own Shopify or WooCommerce store, including orders shipped by Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment, you’re the seller and the tax is yours:

  • In almost every state where Amazon stores your stock, you have physical nexus, so your own-site sales there are taxable from the first order. Texas is the exception: it waits until your total Texas sales pass $500,000.
  • In other states, you have economic nexus once your sales pass the state’s threshold, usually $100,000 a year. Some states count your Amazon sales towards that total; others don’t.

You then register in those states, collect tax at checkout and file returns. The foreign sellers’ guide to US sales tax covers registering without a US address.

Form 5472: the filing nobody mentions at setup

A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person is a foreign-owned disregarded entity. It doesn’t pay income tax itself, but it must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, reporting transactions with its owner: the money you put in to form it, the money you take out, any loans.

This applies even if the LLC made no money, and the penalty for missing it is $25,000 per year. It’s due on 15 April, or 15 October with an extension. Our Form 5472 guide covers what to report and how to catch up on missed years.

Federal income tax: it depends on you, not the LLC

For income tax, the IRS ignores a single-member LLC and looks at the owner. A non-resident owes US income tax on business profits only if they’re effectively connected with a US trade or business, and if you live in a country with a US tax treaty, usually only if you have a permanent establishment in the US.

Whether an Amazon FBA business crosses those lines depends on your facts: who does the work, where, and what you have in the US besides stock in Amazon’s warehouses. Many non-resident sellers end up with no US income tax to pay, but it’s a judgment that needs a cross-border accountant, not a forum thread. Your home country will usually tax the profit either way, as you’re the owner.

Two practical points:

  • Amazon’s tax interview. A foreign-owned single-member LLC usually completes a W-8BEN in the owner’s name (W-8BEN-E if a company owns the LLC), not a W-9, because the LLC is disregarded.
  • EIN. You need one for the LLC. Non-residents get it without an SSN or ITIN, by sending Form SS-4 to the IRS by fax or mail, or by phone.

State taxes beyond sales tax

Forming in Wyoming doesn’t keep you out of other states. Each state where you do business can have its own taxes:

  • Your formation state’s annual fee. Wyoming’s annual report fee starts at $60. Delaware charges LLCs $300 a year.
  • Gross receipts and franchise taxes. A few states tax revenue rather than profit, such as Washington’s business and occupation (B&O) tax, Ohio’s commercial activity tax and Texas’s franchise tax. Their thresholds are high enough that most small sellers owe nothing, but stock in their warehouses can still mean registering or filing an information report.
  • State income tax. Some states can tax a business that stores inventory there. For a disregarded LLC, that falls on the owner. Most small non-resident sellers never hear from a state about it, but it’s worth asking your accountant about the states where your stock sits.

These are outside what GoodVat handles; your accountant should check them once a year.

BOI reporting: no longer needed

In March 2025, FinCEN’s interim final rule exempted companies formed in the US from beneficial ownership (BOI) reporting. That includes LLCs owned by non-US persons. Only companies formed abroad and registered to do business in a state still report.

What to do, in order

  1. Get an EIN for the LLC, if you don’t have one.
  2. Complete Amazon’s tax interview as a foreign-owned disregarded entity.
  3. File Form 5472 every year, from the year you formed the LLC.
  4. Ask a cross-border accountant about US and home-country income tax once a year.
  5. Before you launch your own store, list the states where Amazon stores your stock and check your sales against each state’s threshold. Register in those states before your first own-site order ships.

FAQ

Does a foreign-owned LLC selling on Amazon have to pay US sales tax?

Not on Amazon orders. Amazon collects and pays the sales tax on them in every state with a sales tax, wherever the seller is based, and most states don’t require sellers whose only sales go through a marketplace to register (Washington and New Jersey do if Amazon stores your stock there). Sales through your own website are different: you collect the tax yourself wherever you have nexus, including states where Amazon stores your stock.

Does a Wyoming or Delaware LLC owe state tax on Amazon FBA sales?

The state you formed the LLC in only charges its own annual fee: Wyoming’s annual report fee starts at $60 and Delaware charges LLCs $300 a year. The states that matter for tax are the ones where you sell and where Amazon stores your stock. They decide sales tax, and some have gross receipts or franchise taxes with their own filing rules.

Does a non-resident LLC owner pay US income tax on Amazon sales?

It depends on whether your Amazon business counts as a US trade or business, and on your country’s tax treaty with the US. A single-member LLC is ignored for income tax, so the question is about you as the owner. Many non-resident sellers owe no US income tax, but the answer depends on the facts, so ask a cross-border accountant. You’ll usually owe tax in your home country either way.

What is Form 5472 and do I need to file it?

Form 5472 reports transactions between a foreign-owned US LLC and its owner, such as money you put in or take out. Every single-member US LLC owned by a non-US person files it each year with a pro forma Form 1120, even with no income tax due. The penalty for not filing is $25,000.

Do I need an ITIN or SSN for my LLC’s EIN?

No. A non-resident can get an EIN for a US LLC without an SSN or ITIN by sending Form SS-4 to the IRS by fax or mail, or by phone. You need the EIN for Amazon’s tax interview, for a US bank account and for any state sales tax registration.

Does a foreign-owned US LLC need to file a BOI report?

No, not since March 2025. FinCEN’s interim final rule exempted companies formed in the US, including LLCs owned by non-US persons, from beneficial ownership reporting. Only companies formed outside the US and registered to do business in a state still report.

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