Solo & small teams

You may not need a company. Settle that first.

Independent developers, cross-border sellers, freelancers, small teams with overseas clients. Formation-provider content naturally begins with incorporation; this page begins with the earlier question of whether an entity is needed at all.

Four options, and what each turns on

Solo · common situations

No entity

Often overlooked

You contract and invoice as an individual.

Turns onWhether clients accept an individual invoice, payment-rail limits, your home filing obligations

US LLC

Needs confirmation

A limited liability company formed under one US state’s law.

Turns onFederal and state tax treatment for your facts, owner filing duties, state fees and registered agent, bank eligibility

Hong Kong company

Needs confirmation

A limited company incorporated in Hong Kong.

Turns onClaiming and evidencing offshore profits, statutory audit, bank onboarding, economic substance

Singapore company

Needs confirmation

A private limited company incorporated in Singapore.

Turns onLocal director requirement, corporate secretarial and annual costs, tax residence

A status is not a conclusion — it is a reading of the facts as stated. Put your own situation in and all four are judged again, with the facts that are still missing named.

Answering these four beats picking a country first

"Register a US LLC and you pay no tax" — is that true?: Do not infer a tax result from the entity label. Ask a qualified adviser to separate the LLC’s federal classification, state treatment, the owner’s tax residence, income source, US business activity and every filing obligation. Get the answer for your facts in writing before paying an agent.
Hong Kong or Singapore?: Treat this as a fact comparison, not a popularity contest. Write down where clients, management, work and money movement actually sit; whether you will hire; and which bank or payment account you need. Then ask advisers in both places for the same setup, annual, tax and closure checklist.
I just invoice overseas clients. Do I need a company at all?: Price both paths before deciding. Confirm whether clients and payment providers accept you personally, what liability separation you actually need, and the accounting, tax and recurring filing work created by an entity. This page does not decide that legal or tax question for you.
Can I trust what the formation agents say?: Use a procurement test: request the full first-year and recurring scope, exclusions, refund terms, required filings and assumptions behind any bank-account claim. Ask when you would not need the service, then verify the answer against the relevant regulator and an independent accountant or lawyer.

Use the research before you buy implementation

If you already know where to incorporate and what it costs to maintain each year, you can take those facts directly to a formation agent or accountant. This site does not perform formation, accounting or professional advisory work.

Use the free route check to surface preliminary options and missing facts, then confirm them with the appropriate professional. If the route later involves an EOR, the free provider files show public service fees, stated coverage and questions to put in the quote.