US Company
E-commerce Tax Issues for a Non-Resident US LLC
A Shopify store with a Wyoming LLC is still a US person for filings. Sales tax is a state question. Federal information returns are an IRS question. Inventory in the United States can change both. We map those layers. We do not promise that “Amazon collects everything, so you are done.”
Three different clocks
Form 5472 (or 1065) is federal information reporting. Income tax depends on source and presence. Sales tax is state-by-state economic or inventory nexus. Marketplace facilitator laws mean Amazon or another platform may collect sales tax at checkout in many states — and you can still have a registration duty. We will not collapse those three into one slogan.
Dropshipping is not FBA
Goods that never enter a US warehouse look different from goods that sit in a fulfillment center. See Amazon FBA for the inventory-heavy version. This page is the wider shop: Shopify, your own checkout, Walmart Marketplace, and mixed carts.
Who this is for
Shopify or custom store
US customers, foreign founder, LLC in Wyoming or elsewhere.
Mixed marketplaces
More than one platform, more than one payout account.
Digital plus physical
A course and a t-shirt are not taxed the same way at the state level.
Past the economic-nexus rumor
You crossed a dollar or transaction line and nobody registered you.
What you get
Nexus sketch
Where a registration might be required, based on what you can show.
Federal packet
5472 or 1065 still happens even if sales tax is “handled by the marketplace.”
Processor alignment
The LLC on the store footer should match the processor and the bank.
No invented holiday
We will not tell every dropshipper they owe zero everywhere.
How the process works
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1
Platform list
Where you sell and who collects tax at checkout.
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2
Inventory map
US warehouse, overseas supplier, or digital-only.
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3
Federal forms
The LLC packet for the year.
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4
State list we can defend
Registrations we will file, and states we will not spray.
What we need from you
- Platform reports or a honest annual GMV range.
- Whether any SKU sat in a US warehouse.
- LLC and EIN documents.
- Current sales-tax IDs, if any.
Read this before you start
- Economic nexus thresholds differ by state. The old “$100,000 or 200 transactions” line is a starting rumor, not a statute for every state.
- Digital goods are taxable in some states and not others.
- Home-country VAT or GST is not this engagement.
Common mistakes
Trusting marketplace collection as the whole job
Collection at checkout is not always registration, income tax, or 5472.
Using a personal importer of record
Title and inventory facts leak into tax facts.
One Stripe account for three brands
The reviewer and the state both get confused.
Ignoring the formation-state report
Wyoming still wants its annual report if that is where you formed.
FAQ
Scriplit LLC is a Wyoming company that helps non-residents form US LLCs and prepare US information and tax filings. We are not a CPA firm or a law firm. This page is general information, not advice for your facts. Home-country tax, treaties, and your actual activity can change the result.
Related
Next steps on Scriplit
Send the platforms and where stock sits
Shopify only, Amazon only, or both. Warehouse in the US or dropship from home. Those two facts change the map.