Stripe Atlas vs Firstbase for Non-Residents

Both Stripe Atlas and Firstbase will file your US company paperwork, but neither one gets you an ITIN, a working bank account, or ongoing IRS compliance sorted out. Here's what each actually does, and what you still need to handle yourself.

What Stripe Atlas Actually Does

Stripe Atlas is a formation product built primarily around Delaware C-Corporations, with a Delaware LLC option available too. For a flat one-time fee, it files your incorporation documents, obtains your EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS, sets up basic legal templates like founder agreements and stock issuance paperwork, and covers registered agent service for the first year. It also nudges you toward opening a business bank account with a partner bank, most commonly Mercury.

Atlas is well suited to founders who plan to raise venture capital, since Delaware C-Corps are the default structure US investors expect. It is less suited to a solo European founder who just wants a simple vehicle to invoice clients and hold a US bank account, since a C-Corp brings corporate tax filings and more complexity than most bootstrapped businesses need.

What Firstbase Actually Does

Firstbase offers formation for both LLCs and C-Corps, in Delaware, Wyoming, and a few other states, usually through a subscription model rather than a single flat fee. That subscription typically bundles registered agent service, mail handling, and some compliance reminders on an ongoing basis. Firstbase leans a bit more toward non-US founders in its marketing than Stripe Atlas does, and it supports Wyoming LLC formation, which is often the more cost-effective and simpler choice for founders not planning to raise institutional funding.

Like Atlas, Firstbase will get your paperwork filed and your EIN application submitted. What happens after that, particularly around US taxes and banking, is largely left to you.

Where Both Services Leave Gaps

Filing formation documents is the easy 20% of setting up a US company as a non-resident. The harder 80% is what neither Stripe Atlas nor Firstbase fully solves.

No ITIN Support

Neither service applies for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) on your behalf. An ITIN is not a visa requirement, you do not need to be a US resident or visa holder to get one, but you do need a valid reason tied to a US tax filing obligation, such as filing Form 5472 as a foreign-owned single-member LLC. Many founders discover months later that they need an ITIN to open certain accounts, sign specific tax forms, or satisfy a bank's compliance team, and by then they are scrambling to find a Certified Acceptance Agent or navigate a paper-based IRS process from abroad.

Banking Is Not Guaranteed

Both Atlas and Firstbase point you toward partner banks like Mercury, and platforms such as Wise and Relay also onboard non-resident founders remotely. But formation companies do not control bank underwriting decisions. Compliance teams at these institutions look closely at business models, source of funds, and founder documentation, and approval is never automatic just because you incorporated through a well-known platform. Founders sometimes complete formation, then get stuck waiting or get declined for banking with no clear next step.

Ongoing IRS Compliance Is Overlooked

This is the gap that causes the most expensive mistakes. A foreign-owned Single-Member LLC (SMLLC) is required to file Form 5472 alongside a pro-forma Form 1120, every single year, even if the company had zero revenue and zero activity. Form 5472 is an informational return, it reports transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner, and by itself it does not calculate any tax owed. But failing to file it, or filing late, triggers a penalty of $25,000 per form, regardless of whether the business made any money. Neither Stripe Atlas nor Firstbase automatically files this for you as part of formation, and their subscription compliance reminders are not the same as an accountant actually preparing and submitting the return correctly.

Stripe Atlas vs Firstbase: Side by Side

The Real Cost of Doing It Yourself After Formation

The formation fee is rarely where non-resident founders lose money. It is the months afterward, waiting on an ITIN application sent by post, guessing at bank compliance requirements, or discovering at tax time that a 5472 was due and nobody filed it, that create real financial and time cost. A $25,000 penalty for a missed informational return dwarfs whatever you saved on the cheapest formation package.

How Founders Credit Fits In

Founders Credit exists to close exactly these gaps for European founders. Rather than treating formation as the finish line, we handle the full sequence done-for-you: LLC or corporation formation (Wyoming is our common low-cost default for founders not raising venture capital), EIN via SS-4 for non-residents, ITIN application support, opening a US business bank account and getting you US business or credit cards, and ongoing compliance including the annual Form 5472 and pro-forma 1120 filing so you are never exposed to that $25,000 penalty for a form you did not know existed. Everything is remote, since none of this requires a US visa or a trip to the US.

Glossary

• ITIN: Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, issued by the IRS for tax purposes, available to non-residents without a visa requirement.
• EIN: Employer Identification Number, the tax ID for your US company, obtainable by non-residents via Form SS-4, typically by fax.
• Form 5472: Annual informational return required for foreign-owned single-member LLCs, filed with a pro-forma Form 1120, carrying a $25,000 penalty for late or missed filing.
• SMLLC: Single-Member LLC, a common structure for solo non-resident founders, disregarded for US tax purposes but still subject to reporting rules when foreign-owned.
• Registered agent: A person or company with a physical address in the state of formation, required to receive legal and state correspondence on behalf of your LLC.

Frequently asked questions