A Company Abroad for Your Business

A jurisdiction that fits the business model

The country of incorporation for an operating business is chosen by clients and payments. A consultant cares about contracts with corporate clients and whether the company pays for itself; an IT agency about where the team works and the transfer of rights to code; a SaaS business or an online store about an available payment service and taxes in the buyers' countries; a crypto project about licences for its type of activity.

What is covered by industry

Consultants and freelancers. Registering a company in another country, including an offshore one, does not change the specialist's own tax residence: they pay personal taxes where they live. The article helps you work out the turnover at which your own company pays off and compares a UK LTD, a US LLC and an Estonian OÜ.

IT agencies. Taxes depend on where the people who run the projects and sign the contracts live and work. Permanent establishment, the client contract, rights to code and the GDPR are covered.

SaaS. A classic offshore company without profit tax rarely suits this business, because payment providers are often unavailable in such countries. The choice starts with a Stripe country or another PSP, followed by VAT on digital services in the EU and the UK.

Online stores. VAT and customs duties are paid where the parcel arrives, so the jurisdiction is chosen by the location of the warehouse, the buyers' countries and the payment services. The article covers IOSS, the €3 duty in the EU and sales tax in the US.

Crypto projects and Web3. FATF standards treat exchange, custody of clients' assets and brokerage as activities of providers that countries license or register. MiCA and DAC8 in the EU and the regimes of Singapore, Dubai and the BVI are covered.

How to use this section

One rule holds for every industry: the taxes of the owner and the team are set by the country where they live and work, and an offshore registration does not remove tax in the buyer's country. For each model, we compare 2–3 structures with taxes, two-year costs and the banking route.

Read the article for your industry, then check the chosen country against its jurisdiction review and test the payment route in the guide to acquiring. The bank and the payment service assess the business model before opening an account, so a description of the product, the clients and the turnover is worth preparing in advance. Standard structures for IT, trade and holding companies are collected on the page offshore structures for different activities.

Solutions by industry

• Crypto and Web3: licensing, MiCA and DAC8

  Classifying the activity under FATF standards, MiCA and DAC8 in the EU, the regimes of Singapore, Dubai and the BVI, and banks' requirements.

• Freelancers and consultants: break-even point

  When a freelancer needs their own company, how to compare a UK LTD, a US LLC and an OÜ and at what turnover the company pays off.

• IT agency: contracts and code ownership

  Why where the team works affects taxes more than the country of incorporation, what to put in the client contract and how to transfer rights to code.

• Online store: VAT and payments

  The warehouse, the payment service, VAT and duties in the EU and the UK, and US sales tax: four questions before registering a store.

• SaaS: Stripe, VAT and code ownership

  The payment service, VAT on digital services, rights to code and investors' expectations when choosing a country for a subscription service.