France
Wyoming
A French resident can form and own a Wyoming LLC. Wyoming asks for no nationality, no visit and no local partner, and France forbids none of it.
The usual promise is 0% tax. It rests on one true fact: a foreign owner whose LLC has no business in the United States owes no federal income tax on its profit. That fact answers the American question only.
France asks its own questions, in its own order, and none of them depends on Wyoming. This page follows that order, with each threshold taken from the tax code in force in October 2026.
The Wyoming side, in four lines
The American half is covered in the guides of this series. It is the short half for a founder living in France.
- Formation: $100 to the state and no residency condition. See forming a Wyoming LLC from abroad.
- Upkeep: a $60 annual report at the minimum, plus a registered agent. The full budget is in Wyoming LLC cost.
- Federal tax: no income tax without a US trade or business, and a Form 5472 every year under a $25,000 penalty. See Wyoming LLC taxes for non-residents.
- Banking: France is on none of the Mercury, Relay or Wise country lists read on 5 October 2026. See the bank account guide.
Where the 0% stops: the French questions, in order
French tax law does not ask where the company was registered. It asks where the business is carried on, what the company holds, who owns it and what was declared.
- 11. Is the business carried on in France?If the work and the decisions are in France, the profit is within French corporate tax under article 209 I
- 22. If not, do you hold 10% of a low taxed entity with mainly financial assets?Article 123 bis taxes your share of its profit each year, distributed or not
- 33. Is the holder a French company with more than 50%?Article 209 B applies the same idea to companies subject to French corporate tax
- 44. In every case, declareThe LLC account on form 3916, the entity itself if article 123 bis applies, and what you receive
A business run from France is taxed in France
Article 209 I of the code général des impôts taxes the profits "réalisés dans les entreprises exploitées en France". The test is the place where the business operates, not the place of incorporation.
The tax administration's commentary gives three forms that a business carried on in France can take when no treaty applies.
| Form, per BOI-IS-CHAMP-60-10-10 | What it means for a solo founder |
|---|---|
| An establishment in France | A permanent place where the work is done, which can be a home office |
| A dependent representative in France | Someone who acts for the company with no independent business of their own |
| A complete commercial cycle in France | Finding the client, doing the work and invoicing, all from France |
Two further texts close the gap.
- Any legal person run for profit is liable. Article 206 extends corporate tax to "toutes autres personnes morales se livrant à une exploitation ou à des opérations de caractère lucratif". A foreign LLC is not outside it.
- The rate is the ordinary one. Article 219 sets the normal corporate rate at 25%.
- The registered seat can be set aside. Where it is fictitious, the commentary looks to the real seat, where management, administration and control are "principalement concentrés", and equates it with the place of effective management.
A developer in Lyon who signs, delivers and invoices from Lyon through a Wyoming LLC has an American certificate and a French business. The profit is taxable in France, at company level, before any question of dividends.
What the France-US treaty does not do
Many guides answer the French question with one sentence: the treaty prevents double taxation. For a single-member LLC, the treaty protects far less than that.
| Text | What it says | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| BOFiP, BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20 | A US LLC with one member is not a taxable person in the United States, so it "ne peut bénéficier des dispositions de la convention" | Only the member can claim the treaty, as a resident of France |
| Treaty, article 5(2)(a) | A permanent establishment includes "un siège de direction" | Managing the business from France gives France the right to tax its profit |
| Treaty, article 4(5) | For a company resident in both states, the authorities try to agree. Failing that, it is resident of neither for treaty benefits | There is no automatic tie-breaker in the owner's favour |
How France classifies the LLC: the sources diverge.
- One reading, implied by many formation guides: France follows the American treatment, so the LLC is transparent on both sides.
- The other reading, common in French commentary: an LLC is always an opaque company, like a SARL.
- What the administration's doctrine says: LLCs are "constituées sous la forme juridique de sociétés de capitaux". For the treaty, they are treated as partnerships only where the United States taxes them as partnerships.
- What we did not read: court decisions. Have the classification confirmed for your own structure.
Article 155 A: when the invoice goes through the LLC
This is the text that fits the most common setup: a consultant or developer living in France who bills clients through an LLC they own. Article 155 A of the code général des impôts taxes the fees in the name of the person who did the work, not the company that received them.
The article covers sums received by a person established outside France "en contrepartie de services" that are "rendus" by a person domiciled or established in France. Since 1 January 2024 it also covers image, name and voice rights, copyright and industrial property.
One of three conditions is enough.
| Condition in article 155 A, I | How a one-person Wyoming LLC stands |
|---|---|
| The French resident "contrôlent directement ou indirectement" the recipient | Met by definition when you own the LLC |
| The French resident cannot show that the recipient carries on, "de manière prépondérante", an industrial or commercial activity other than the one paid for | Hard to show when the LLC only invoices your own services |
| The recipient is under a "régime fiscal privilégié" | The test of article 238 A, covered below |
Three consequences follow from the text itself.
- The income is yours. The sums "sont imposables au nom de ces dernières", meaning the person in France who rendered the service.
- The LLC is liable too. Under paragraph III it is "solidairement responsable", up to the sums received, for the tax due by that person.
- Money paid back to you is not taxed twice. Paragraph IV treats the tax on those sums as already paid when the LLC passes them on.
Article 155 A and article 209 I are two different routes to the same income. One taxes the individual, the other the business carried on in France. Which one an inspector uses, and how the two combine, is a matter of case law that was not read for this page.
Article 123 bis: the 10% rule, and a balance sheet test
If the business is truly carried on outside France, a second rule can still tax the French owner personally. Article 123 bis has three conditions, and all three must be met.
| Condition | Exact wording or threshold | A solo Wyoming LLC |
|---|---|---|
| Holding | "10 % au moins" of shares, financial rights or voting rights, directly or indirectly, family holdings included | 100%, met |
| Privileged regime | Not taxable, or tax lower "de 40 % ou plus" than French tax (article 238 A) | No US income tax paid, met |
| Assets | "principalement constitués de valeurs mobilières, de créances, de dépôts ou de comptes courants" | Depends on the balance sheet |
The third line is where readers go wrong. The test looks at what the entity holds, not at what it does. The commentary reads "principalement" as more than 50% of the assets.
A consulting LLC with no equipment often holds two things: a bank balance and unpaid client invoices. Those are deposits and receivables. On the text, such an LLC can meet the condition while being a working business.
When the three conditions are met, the consequences are these.
- Your share of the profit is deemed received each year, whether or not anything is distributed.
- The profit is recomputed under French corporate tax rules, and any comparable local tax is deducted.
- The amount is multiplied by 1.25 for income tax, under article 158, 7, 2°. The commentary excludes social levies from that uplift.
- The flat minimum on net assets does not apply here. It is reserved for states with no administrative assistance agreement with France.
The way out has two versions, and we could not confirm which one covers the United States.
- Version one covers the European Union and states that have both an administrative assistance agreement and a tax recovery agreement of similar scope to the EU directive. The rule falls away unless the structure is an artificial arrangement.
- Version two covers every other state. The owner must prove that the entity mainly has a purpose and an effect other than locating profit in a low tax regime.
- The prudent reading: plan on having to bring the proof yourself, with real premises, staff and activity outside France.
Article 209 B, when a French company holds the LLC
Placing the LLC under a French company does not remove the question. It moves it to article 209 B.
| Element | Rule in article 209 B |
|---|---|
| Who is covered | A legal person established in France and subject to corporate tax |
| Threshold | More than 50% of shares, financial rights or voting rights, directly or indirectly |
| Reduced threshold | 5%, when more than 50% of the foreign entity is held by French or related enterprises |
| Trigger | The foreign entity is under a privileged regime within article 238 A |
| Safeguard outside the EU | Proof that its operations mainly have another purpose and effect than locating profit there |
The privileged regime test compares tax actually borne, year by year, with what the same profit would have borne in France. An LLC that pays no income tax anywhere fails it by construction.
What to declare, and what silence costs
Most of the French exposure comes from what was left off the return, more than from the structure itself.
| What | Where it goes | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| The LLC bank or fintech account | Form 3916, with the income return | 1,500 euros per account |
| An entity within article 123 bis | A statement on plain paper with the income return | Ordinary penalties, and a longer audit period |
| Tax on sums held in an undeclared account | Not applicable | 80% surcharge under article 1729-0 A |
| A business run in France and never registered | Corporate tax returns | 80% surcharge for hidden activity under article 1728 |
- Why the LLC account is yours to declare: the commentary treats an account as held by its holder, co-holder or beneficial owner. A sole member is the beneficial owner.
- The audit window widens to ten years, from three, when the duties under articles 123 bis, 209 B or 1649 A were not met (article L. 169 of the livre des procédures fiscales).
- Abuse of law is the last layer. Article L. 64 lets the administration disregard acts that are fictitious or exclusively tax driven, with an 80% surcharge. Article L. 64 A reaches acts whose main motive is tax.
If you plan to leave France
Becoming non-resident changes every answer on this page, because articles 209 and 123 bis attach to a business or a person in France. Departure has its own rule, article 167 bis.
- Who is covered: taxpayers resident in France for at least six of the ten years before leaving.
- What triggers it: holdings giving at least 50% of a company's profits, or holdings worth more than 800,000 euros in total.
- What is taxed: the unrealised gain on those holdings, on the day of departure.
- What to check first: payment deferral conditions and the rules of the arrival country, with an adviser, before the move.
When a Wyoming LLC fits a founder in France
| Situation | Reading |
|---|---|
| Freelancer or consultant working alone from France | The business is carried on in France. The LLC adds filings and no saving |
| Holding or investment LLC, managed from France | The profile article 123 bis was written for |
| Real operations in the United States, with people or premises there | Legitimate, and then the United States taxes that profit |
| Founder who has left France for good | The French rules above stop applying. The arrival country's rules start |
| US customers who require a US contracting entity | A commercial reason. Declare everything and expect French tax on the profit |
The bottom line
A Wyoming LLC is cheap to form and lawful to own from France. It does not move a business out of France. If you work and decide from France, article 209 brings the profit into French corporate tax, and the treaty offers a single-member LLC no shelter of its own.
If the business is abroad in substance, article 123 bis still looks at your holding and at the LLC's balance sheet. In every case, the account and the entity belong on your French return.
Settle the French position first, with a French tax lawyer, then form the company for the reasons that survive that review. When you are ready, see what the Wyoming company formation service covers, from the filing to the registered agent and the EIN.
Frequently asked questions
Can a French resident legally own a Wyoming LLC?
Yes. Wyoming sets no nationality or residence condition, and French law does not forbid holding a foreign company. What French law requires is that the business, the account and the income are declared and taxed where the rules place them.
Is a Wyoming LLC really taxed at 0% for someone living in France?
Only on the American side, and only when the LLC has no US trade or business. A business carried on from France falls within French corporate tax under article 209 I, at the normal rate of 25%.
Does the France-US tax treaty protect my LLC?
Not the LLC itself when it has a single member. The French tax administration states that such an LLC cannot claim the treaty, and that only its member can. The treaty also treats a place of management as a permanent establishment.
What is the threshold for article 123 bis?
It applies when a French resident holds at least 10% of a foreign entity under a privileged tax regime whose assets are mainly securities, receivables, deposits or current accounts. Holdings of a spouse, ascendants and descendants count toward the 10%.
Do I have to declare the LLC's Mercury or Wise account in France?
On the administration's reading, yes, if you are its beneficial owner. Foreign accounts are declared on form 3916 with the income return. The fine is 1,500 euros per undeclared account.
How far back can the French tax administration go?
Three years in the ordinary case. The period runs to the end of the tenth year when the declarations required by articles 123 bis, 209 B or 1649 A were not made, or when the activity was hidden.
Does putting the LLC under my French company solve it?
It changes the article, not the question. A French company holding more than 50% of an entity under a privileged regime falls within article 209 B, unless it proves the entity has mainly a purpose other than locating profit there.
Sources
- Code général des impôts, article 155 A (in force since 1 January 2024): sums paid to a person outside France for services rendered by a French resident are taxable in the name of that resident, in three alternative cases, with joint liability of the recipient
- Code général des impôts, article 123 bis (in force since 1 January 2022): the 10% holding test, the financial assets condition, the deemed income and the two safeguard clauses of paragraph 4 bis
- Code général des impôts, article 238 A: a privileged tax regime means no tax, or tax lower by 40% or more than the tax that would have been due in France
- BOFiP, BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20: a US limited liability company with a single member cannot claim the France-US tax treaty, only its member can
- BOFiP, BOI-IS-CHAMP-60-10-10: what a business carried on in France means under article 209 I, and the three forms it takes
- France-US income tax treaty of 31 August 1994, consolidated French text: article 4 on residence and dual resident companies, article 5 on the place of management as a permanent establishment
Official, read on 5 October 2026: articles 123 bis, 155 A, 158, 167 bis, 206, 209, 209 B, 219, 238 A, 1649 A, 1728, 1729, 1729-0 A and 1736 of the code général des impôts and articles L. 64, L. 64 A and L. 169 of the livre des procédures fiscales, read in full in a consolidated copy of the official LEGI database (editions of 28 September and 1 October 2026), with articles 123 bis, 209 B and 238 A checked again on legifrance.gouv.fr; the consolidated France-US treaty published on impots.gouv.fr; and the BOFiP commentaries BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20, BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20-30, BOI-IS-CHAMP-60-10-10, BOI-IS-CHAMP-60-10-20, BOI-RPPM-RCM-10-30-20-10 to 40, BOI-IS-BASE-60-10-20-20 and BOI-CF-CPF-30-20. The Wyoming and US federal figures are those of the guides of this series. Not read: French case law on how courts classify a US LLC, and the individual tax and social contribution rates, which this page leaves out on purpose. To reconfirm before acting: which safeguard clause of article 123 bis applies to an entity formed in the United States, and how the rules apply to your own facts, which needs a French tax lawyer. This is not legal or tax advice.