Jurisdictions

United States, United Kingdom or Hong Kong and how founders compare them

By the Atiko team · Last reviewed October 2026

Founders of online stores who live outside the major payment markets usually arrive at the same shortlist: a company in the United States, the United Kingdom or Hong Kong. All three allow full ownership by non-residents, all three can be formed remotely, and Stripe and Shopify Payments are available to companies in each, subject to the provider’s own verification.

Beyond those shared points the three systems differ considerably in what they require locally, how they tax company profits and what they ask for each year. This guide sets out those differences criterion by criterion. It does not rank the jurisdictions. Atiko gives no legal or tax advice, and the choice belongs to the founder, ideally after speaking with an independent licensed professional.

The questions founders usually start from

A comparison is easier when it begins with the business itself. The jurisdiction is a container for the business, and the same container suits different businesses differently. Founders who work through the questions below before looking at rates and fees tend to reach a decision they do not need to revisit a year later.

• Where your customers are and which currencies they pay in
• Where your suppliers and inventory are located
• Whether you plan to raise outside investment
• How much yearly administration you are prepared to maintain
• How your country of residence taxes foreign companies you own

Formation and speed

In the United States a company is formed at state level. An LLC is created by filing Articles of Organization and a C Corporation by filing a Certificate or Articles of Incorporation. At Atiko a US company is typically formed within 24 hours of a complete file, depending on the state. The EIN is a separate step with the IRS and takes from several days to a few weeks.

In the United Kingdom a private limited company is registered at Companies House, and online incorporation is typically completed within 24 hours. Identity verification for directors and persons with significant control is now part of the process. In Hong Kong a private company limited by shares is registered with the Companies Registry, typically within a few working days, and receives its Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate together. In all three the authority sets the actual timing.

Who and what must be local

None of the three requires an owner or director to live in the country. They differ in the local presence the company itself must maintain. A US company needs a registered agent with a physical address in its state of formation to receive official and legal mail. Nothing else is required to be local.

A UK company needs a registered office address in the United Kingdom and a registered email address, with at least one director who is a natural person. A company secretary is optional for a private company. A Hong Kong company needs a registered office in Hong Kong and a company secretary based there, again with at least one natural-person director. Hong Kong therefore carries the heaviest local requirement of the three, and the United States the lightest.

How company profits are taxed

The frameworks differ in kind as well as in rate. A US LLC is taxed on a pass-through basis by default, so the company does not itself pay federal income tax and its results are attributed to its members. A C Corporation pays federal corporate income tax, currently at a flat 21%, and dividends are taxed separately in the hands of shareholders.

A UK company pays corporation tax at a main rate currently set at 25%, with a lower small-profits rate of 19% for small profits. A Hong Kong company pays profits tax on a territorial basis, on profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong, at a standard rate of 16.5% and at 8.25% on the first HK$2 million under the two-tier regime. Headline rates say little by themselves. What a particular founder ultimately owes depends on the facts of the business and on the rules of the founder’s country of residence, as assessed by a licensed professional.

Tax on sales to customers

Consumption taxes are separate from profit taxes and follow the customer more than the company. In the United States, sales tax is set by each state and depends on nexus. Since South Dakota v. Wayfair in 2018, a seller can have economic nexus through sales volume alone, with many states using a $100,000 annual sales threshold, and inventory in a state can create physical nexus.

In the United Kingdom, VAT is a separate tax from corporation tax and has its own registration rules. Hong Kong has no VAT or sales tax. That statement concerns Hong Kong only. A Hong Kong company selling to customers in US states or in the UK remains subject to the sales tax or VAT rules of those places. The destination of your sales therefore matters under every one of the three structures.

What each company files every year

Annual obligations are where the long-term cost of a jurisdiction becomes visible. In the United States the state side depends on the state. A Delaware LLC pays a flat annual tax of $400, a Wyoming LLC files an annual report with a minimum fee of $60, and a New Mexico LLC has no annual report. On the federal side, a foreign-owned single-member LLC generally files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120, and the penalty for not filing starts at $25,000.

A UK company files a confirmation statement and annual accounts with Companies House and a Company Tax Return with HMRC. A Hong Kong company files an annual return, renews its business registration, has its financial statements audited and files a profits tax return. Hong Kong is the only one of the three in which an audit is required for every company. In each jurisdiction the accounts and tax filings are prepared by independent licensed professionals.

Banking and payment processing

Business accounts are available to non-resident-owned companies in all three jurisdictions, and the onboarding experience differs. US business accounts that can be opened remotely typically open within a week of applying, once the EIN is in hand. UK institutions vary in whether they accept directors who live abroad. Hong Kong institutions generally apply the most detailed due diligence and want a clear account of the business and its link to the region.

Stripe and Shopify Payments apply their own verification everywhere, covering the company, the people behind it, the bank account and the store. Requirements for the account representative vary by country and change over time. The currencies you can charge and receive depend on the country of the account, which founders usually weigh against where their customers are. Banks and providers make their own decisions, and none can be guaranteed.

What each is commonly chosen for

A US LLC is commonly chosen by founders selling mainly to American customers who want light formation requirements and pass-through treatment. A Delaware C Corporation is commonly chosen by founders who intend to raise venture capital. A UK limited company is commonly chosen by founders selling to British and European customers who value a well-known corporate form and a transparent public register.

A Hong Kong company is commonly chosen by brands with suppliers and trading activity in Asia that are prepared for a yearly audit and local officers. Some larger businesses eventually hold more than one company, each serving a market. These are observed patterns and carry no recommendation. Atiko forms companies in all three jurisdictions and prepares the file for the one you decide on.