7 Best Services to Set Up a US Subsidiary for a Foreign Company

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Reviewed for financial accuracy by the Startup Finance Guide editorial team. Our editors cross-reference all claims against platform documentation, pricing pages, and primary regulatory sources. Last reviewed: November 2, 2026.

Seven services set up a US subsidiary for a foreign parent, and they are not substitutes for each other. Stripe Atlas files a Delaware C-Corp for $500 including state fees and the first year of registered agent. Clerky charges $427 per use or $819 for a lifetime package of startup paperwork. Firstbase lists formation at $99, currently running a pay-only-the-state-fee offer, with registered agent sold separately at $299 a year. SRGA, Infinilex Consultancy and DLA Piper design and defend the structure instead of filing it. Safeguard Global pairs entity setup with employer of record hiring across 187 countries.

The certificate is not the finish line. A Delaware confirmation arrives, the EIN follows, the subsidiary looks done, and then the IRS wants Form 5472. The penalty for not filing it starts at $25,000, per year, and no formation platform files it for you.

Key takeaways

• A US subsidiary is a separate US corporation owned by a foreign parent. A C-Corp is the usual vehicle, because S-Corps cannot have foreign shareholders.
• The seven split into three jobs: filing platforms (Stripe Atlas, Firstbase, Clerky), advisory firms (SRGA, Infinilex, DLA Piper), and a workforce provider that does both plus hiring (Safeguard Global).
• Filing costs hundreds. The work that actually protects the parent, intercompany agreements, transfer pricing records and home-country filings, is quoted by scope and costs considerably more once it is skipped and fixed later.
• Watch the add-ons. Stripe Atlas includes the first year of registered agent and renews at $100. Firstbase does not include it at all and charges $299 a year per state.

The seven compared

Provider	What it is	Starting cost	Entity types	Reach
Stripe Atlas	Filing platform	$500 one-time, includes state fees and year one of registered agent	C-Corp, LLC, subsidiary	Delaware
Clerky	Filing plus startup paperwork	$427 per use, or $819 lifetime package	Delaware C-Corp	Delaware
Firstbase	Filing platform plus back office	$99 listed, with a state-fee-only offer running; agent $299 a year	LLC, C-Corp	Delaware, Wyoming
SRGA	Cross-border advisory	Quoted per engagement	C-Corp, LLC	US, India, UAE
Infinilex Consultancy	Legal and structuring advisory	Scoped after a free call	Delaware C-Corp	US, India, UAE
Safeguard Global	Workforce provider plus entity setup	Quoted	Entity setup by country	187 countries
DLA Piper	Global law firm	Custom legal engagement	Any structure	40+ countries
Prices were checked against each provider's own pages in November 2026 and move often, particularly the promotional formation rates.

The three filing platforms

Stripe Atlas

$500 one-time, covering Delaware incorporation with next-day expedited processing, the state filing fees, an EIN, founder equity issuance and the 83(b) election filing. The first year of registered agent is included and renews at $100 a year, cancellable at any time. Atlas says you can incorporate in one business day.

The extras are real but worth reading carefully: $2,500 in Stripe credits for year one, and partner discounts that the site values at over $50,000 in one place and over $200K in another, so treat the headline loosely. There is also a $500 bonus for opening a Stripe Treasury account within seven days of incorporating, subject to terms.

The limit: Atlas states plainly that it is not a law firm and does not give legal, tax or accounting advice. Intercompany agreements and home-country filings are somebody else's job.

Best for: foreign parents who need a clean Delaware entity quickly and will engage a cross-border CPA separately.

Clerky

$427 for a single incorporation, or $819 for the Company Lifetime Package, which bundles expedited filing, the first year of registered agent and unlimited use of its standard fundraising, hiring, commercial and maintenance documents for the life of the company. It is run by startup lawyers and is a bonded legal document assistant rather than a law firm.

For a foreign founder, the useful part is the EIN application handled in-house with no fax machine involved, plus bank account applications prepared before the EIN arrives.

The limit: Delaware C-Corps only. If you want an LLC or a Wyoming entity, this is the wrong tool.

Best for: foreign startups expecting US investors, who need paperwork that will survive diligence.

Firstbase

Formation in Delaware or Wyoming, listed at $99 against a struck-through $399, with a current offer stating that formation is free and you pay only the state fee. Expedited EIN setup, bank account introductions through banking partners and standard documents come with it.

Read the ongoing costs before you compare it with Atlas. Registered agent is required and is not included, at $299 a year per state. The Firstbase One bundle, which adds accounting, agent, Mailroom and tax filing, is $199 a month billed yearly. Mailroom alone starts at $35 a month.

The limit: the cheap entry price is the least important number here. Over three years the agent fee alone outruns Atlas.

Best for: non-US founders who want formation, a US address and bookkeeping in one dashboard and will use the bundle.

The three advisory firms

SRGA

A cross-border advisory firm with chartered accountants, legal and tax specialists working as one team across India, the UAE and the US. Its US practice covers C-Corp and LLC incorporation, bank account opening and registered agent service, then continues into federal and state tax filing.

The part worth noting is transfer pricing handled inside the same engagement: documentation, studies, planning and IRS dispute support, designed alongside the intercompany agreements rather than after them. For a parent with real intercompany flows, having those two designed by one team is the difference between a defensible position and a reconstruction exercise three years later.

Best for: mid-size foreign parents with intercompany transactions across the US, India and the UAE.

Infinilex Consultancy

A legal, compliance and structuring firm with offices in Noida, New York and Dubai, aimed at founders building across the same three markets. For an Indian parent, the value is that it designs the US entity around FEMA and RBI requirements rather than treating the Delaware filing as the whole task.

Its published guidance makes the point plainly: formation platforms incorporate the Delaware entity, but they do not file Form FC, obtain the UIN or prepare the Annual Performance Report. It also publishes a sequenced approach to the Delaware flip, including the share swap and its FEMA, RBI and tax consequences. The firm states it runs its own practices in all three jurisdictions rather than subcontracting to correspondent firms, and engagements are scoped after a free 30-minute call.

Best for: Indian founders and Indian parent companies who need the US subsidiary built around FEMA and RBI requirements.

DLA Piper

A global law firm operating in more than 40 countries, with corporate, tax and regulatory practices that handle cross-border structuring at scale. This is the choice when the subsidiary is one part of an acquisition or a group reorganisation, not a greenfield entity.

The limit: scale cuts both ways. A simple subsidiary will be the smallest matter on the team's desk.

Best for: multinationals folding a US entity into a wider corporate transaction.

The workforce provider

Safeguard Global

An employer of record and global workforce provider covering 187 countries that also offers international entity setup, with HR, payroll, tax and accounting alongside. Its own tool compares the cost of hiring through an employer of record against setting up an entity at a given headcount, which is the right question to ask before forming anything.

Many foreign parents form a subsidiary because they want to hire, then discover the entity was the expensive route to three employees. Those payroll obligations are also where the first compliance failures tend to appear, as our guide to international payroll compliance mistakes sets out.

Best for: foreign companies planning US hires who have not yet decided between an employer of record and their own entity.

How to choose

1. Pick the entity type first. A C-Corp unless a specific tax reason says otherwise: S-Corps are closed to foreign shareholders, and a foreign-owned LLC is a disregarded entity that still files Form 5472. Read the branch and subsidiary trade-offs before you commit.
2. List every payment that will move between parent and subsidiary. Service fees, IP licences, loans, cost sharing. Each needs a written intercompany agreement and arm's-length pricing under IRC Section 482, in place before the first invoice. Keeping the records straight is easier with automated bookkeeping built for transfer pricing.
3. Ask, in writing, who files Form 5472. Any US corporation at least 25% foreign-owned attaches Form 5472 to its return for every year with a reportable related-party transaction, and a Form 7004 extension covers the attachment. Get the provider to say whether its fee includes this. Most do not.
4. Confirm the home-country filings. Indian parents should ask specifically about Form FC, the UIN and the Annual Performance Report. India is also moving software and services export reporting from SOFTEX to the Export Declaration Form from October 2026, and advisory coverage of the transition is ahead of the detail, so confirm the current position with your AD bank rather than a blog.
5. Name an owner for the annual calendar. Registered agent renewals, Delaware franchise tax, annual reports and tax returns all recur. If no provider owns them, compare providers that combine formation with ongoing compliance.

What it costs to set up and keep

• Delaware state filing: $109 for incorporation on the state's August 2026 fee schedule, varying with the stock structure. Expedited service runs $50 for 24-hour and $100 for same-day, with two-hour at $500 and one-hour at $1,000.
• Registered agent: roughly $100 to $300 a year. Atlas includes year one then charges $100. Firstbase charges $299 a year per state and includes nothing.
• Delaware franchise tax: due 1 March each year, with a $400 minimum under the assumed par value method most startups use.
• Tax preparation: Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached needs a cross-border CPA, and the bill scales with each intercompany flow, which is why cross-border compliance costs climb as a structure grows.
• Advisory engagement: quoted by scope. None of the three advisory firms here publishes a price, so take quotes from at least two.

Limitations

Pricing came from each provider's published pages in November 2026 and the promotional rates in particular change without notice. Firstbase's page carries two different formation prices and several inconsistent add-on figures, so confirm at checkout. Stripe Atlas states two different partner-discount totals on the same page. None of these services was engaged or tested for this article, and nothing here is a view on the quality of any firm's advice. Tax figures are general and depend on treaty positions specific to the parent's country.

Frequently asked questions

Does a foreign owner need a visa or a US resident director?

No. International Trade Administration guidance states that citizenship, permanent residency or a work visa is not required to own a US business entity, nor for a foreign individual to sit on a US corporation's board. Ownership does not confer the right to work in the US, so any executive who will actually work there needs their own immigration status.

Is a branch simpler than a subsidiary?

Simpler to create, riskier to run. A branch needs no new entity, but it has no separate legal existence, so the foreign company carries the US tax and legal liabilities directly. A branch also faces the 21% federal corporate rate plus a 30% branch profits tax on repatriated earnings, which a treaty may reduce.

What tax does a US subsidiary pay, and what happens to dividends?

21% federal corporate income tax plus any state income tax. Dividends to a foreign parent carry a 30% statutory withholding rate, which many treaties cut to 5% or to zero. The treaty position is the single biggest variable in the structure.

Does a US subsidiary still file beneficial ownership reports?

No. FinCEN's final rule, issued 11 August 2026 and effective 14 August 2026, exempts US companies from beneficial ownership reporting. A subsidiary formed by a state filing is a US company. Foreign companies registered to do business in a US state still report their non-US owners.

Can a foreign-owned subsidiary open a US bank account without an SSN?

Usually, yes. Banks generally want the EIN, the owner's passport and the formation documents. It is decided case by case, and large national branches decline foreign-owned applicants more often than online banks and fintech platforms do.

Does a subsidiary with no revenue still file Form 5472?

Usually yes. The test is related-party transactions and ownership, not revenue. The capital a parent contributes to form the company generally counts as a reportable transaction, so confirm the list with a cross-border CPA every year.

Conclusion

A provider is only as good as the calendar behind it. Write this out and ask each candidate which lines they will own:

• Before the first intercompany invoice: intercompany agreement signed, pricing method documented.
• Immediately after incorporation: EIN issued, registered agent appointed, bank application started.
• 1 March: Delaware franchise tax and annual report.
• 15 April: Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, for calendar-year corporations, unless Form 7004 goes in first.
• Annually at home: the parent's own regulator, including the Annual Performance Report for Indian parents.

A provider who cannot say who owns each line has not finished scoping the engagement, and the lines nobody owns are the ones that generate penalties.

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Provider pricing was taken from each company's published pages in November 2026 and promotional formation rates change without notice. Tax figures are general and depend on the treaty position of the parent's country.

How we built this comparison: we used each provider's own pricing pages, the Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule and IRS and International Trade Administration guidance, and we flag where a provider publishes two different figures for the same thing.