How to Close a US Company if you are a Foreigner

In this post I described the process of dissolving a US corporation.

If you are a foreigner, you own a US company registered in Delaware, but you don't have a US bank account, there is an additional challenge you'll have to face when dissolving your company: Paying your Franchise Tax. 

Although it may look like a trivial step, if you are a foreigner it turns out this can be a surprisingly tough challenge.

The Problem

If you don’t live in the US and you don’t have a US bank account, you can’t make an electronic payment of the Delaware Franchise Tax. In this case, the only option that Delaware allows is to send an International Money Order to this address:

Delaware Division of Corporations

401 Federal Street, Suite 4

Dover, DE 19901

302-739-3073 option 3

302-739-5831 Fax

Think of it as a check that you buy in a Post Office, for instance, with cash. Once you have it in your hands, you have to send it right away per post to this address within 24 hours. You probably have something similar in your country.

The problem with international money orders, is that they are not international at all!

In fact, they only exist in the US and Canada. If you try to send money like this from your local post office in your country they’ll probably tell you that it’s not possible because there are no agreements between your country and the US for this kind of operation.

The Solution

I’m afraid the only two solutions that I have found for this problem are: One, to send the money in cash inside an envelope, and two, to ask someone in the US or Canada to send the International Money Order for you. I have used option two with success twice, because I don’t trust solution one. If you find an alternative solution, please let me know!

Disclaimer: I'm no legal professional, so nothing of what I write here constitutes legal advice.

The Online Course

Due to the large number of people interested about this subject, I have created an online course that teaches you how to easily create (and dissolve) a US business from the comfort of your home, be it in the US or elsewhere, avoiding expensive legal fees.

The course contains 37 lectures with videos, instructions, quizzes and checklists to help you navigate through the process of setting up your US company, avoiding common pitfalls inexperienced entrepreneurs usually fall into. You will also find templates for all the necessary legal documents, which you can freely download and use right away.

As a special thank to my blog readers, I've created 100 coupons to access this course with a 50% discount. Click on the link below to redeem your discount code before I run out of invitations!

For an in-depth understanding of how to form your business in the US I recommend you this book by Constance E. Bagley.

Enjoy creating your US company!