Choosing the right jurisdiction for offshore company setup

The jurisdictions we form companies in

• United States, US LLC, $1,999/year. Delaware or Wyoming. 0% federal tax on income earned outside the United States, provided all shareholders are non-US persons and do not reside in US territory. Form 5472 with Pro Forma 1120 is prepared each year, and the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) when it applies.
• Hong Kong, HK Limited, $2,999/year. A private limited company. Foreign-sourced income is not taxable when management and control, contracts, invoicing and operations sit outside Hong Kong. Company secretary is included and we obtain the Business Registration Certificate; the Annual Return (NAR1), Profits Tax Return (filed once the statutory audit of the accounts is done; the audit is quoted separately) and Employer's Return (BIR56A) are tracked.
• United Arab Emirates, UAE Free Zone, $5,999/year. An FZCO in IFZA. Corporate tax is 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable profit and 9% on the excess. Corporate Tax and VAT registration and the annual returns are included and filed by our team.
• Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), RAK Free Zone, $5,000/year. An FZ-LLC in RAKEZ, the lower-priced UAE free zone. Same federal corporate tax as Dubai: 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable profit and 9% on the excess. Corporate Tax and VAT registration and the annual returns are included and filed by our team.
• Panama, Panama S.A., $5,000/year. A Sociedad Anónima with up to three shareholders. Territorial taxation: income earned outside Panama is not subject to Panamanian income tax. Panamanian law requires three directors, so you appoint your own or add nominee directors. The Tasa Única, Panama's fixed annual franchise fee, is filed and paid by our team.
• Seychelles, Seychelles IBC, $4,000/year. An International Business Company. No Seychelles tax on foreign-sourced income and no public register of beneficial owners. An IBC has no annual return or tax return to submit, so no filings are tracked for it and no deadline reminders are sent.

The price is a fixed annual fee for our service. Government fees (registration, licence, franchise and filing fees charged by the authorities) are not included and are quoted separately.

Any tax the company owes on its own results (corporate tax, profits tax or VAT) is the company's own liability and is never part of the fee. We prepare and file the returns tracked for the jurisdiction; the tax due is paid by the company.

Choosing between them

• The tax condition, not the rate: the US and Hong Kong tax foreign-sourced income at 0%, but each attaches conditions on where management, contracts and operations sit. Check that your business can meet them.
• Your activity: some sectors are restricted and cannot be onboarded anywhere. The wizard checks this before you pay.
• Banking: a US, UAE or Hong Kong company is easier to bank than a pure offshore one.
• Register visibility: registers differ in what they publish about directors and shareholders. Beneficial ownership is recorded in every case and is disclosed to the regulator, the registered agent and under exchange-of-information rules. No jurisdiction offers anonymity from authorities.

Eligibility requirements

• You must be at least 18
• A valid passport and proof of address for every shareholder and director
• An activity that is not on the restricted list
• Nationals of, and businesses operating from, restricted countries cannot be onboarded

Some jurisdictions ask for further documents, such as a business description or source-of-funds evidence.

How the setup runs

1. Create an account. Two eligibility questions confirm your business activity and nationality, then you accept the Terms, the AML policy, the Privacy Policy and the Refund Policy.
2. Complete the formation wizard: jurisdiction, company details, shareholders and directors. Each step is saved, so you can leave and resume.
3. Pay the annual fee. Payment is taken upfront and starts the formation.
4. Sign the engagement letter. Right after payment you sign it in your dashboard. It sets out the scope of the engagement, and the rest of the process opens once it is signed.
5. Complete identity verification. For the US, the UAE, Panama and Seychelles this runs on the platform after payment. Hong Kong identity checks are handled off-platform by the local agent.
6. Submit the due diligence dossier. The UAE, Hong Kong, Panama and Seychelles require an enhanced due diligence dossier: company details, documents for each shareholder and a signed declaration. We cannot file before it is submitted.
7. We file with the registry and upload the corporate documents to your dashboard.

From then on the company has its own page in the dashboard, with its documents and the filings tracked for the jurisdiction. Deadlines and status changes are notified by email and in the dashboard.

Banking

We suggest banking and EMI partners for companies formed in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, and make the introduction. An introduction is not an approval: the decision is always the bank's.

AML compliance

OffshorePRO is a licensed Corporate Service Provider and is bound by AML obligations. That means:

• Due diligence and identity verification on every applicant
• Screening of the business activity and the source of funds
• Records kept for the periods the regulator requires

Costs and refund policy

OffshorePRO charges a fixed annual price per jurisdiction, on the terms set out above.

• Payment is taken upfront and starts the formation process
• All payments are final and non-refundable
• There are no credits or prorated amounts for a partially used subscription period

The billing guide covers renewals, failed payments and cancellation.