How to sell on Amazon US as a non-US resident (2026)

You can sell on Amazon.com from Australia, the UK, India, the UAE, South-East Asia or anywhere else without a US company, a US address or a US bank account. Amazon's own registration guide says so plainly, which is worth knowing because a lot of the advice online comes from people who sell LLC formation packages. What you do need is an ID, proof of address, a card Amazon can charge internationally, a way to get paid and a correctly filled-in US tax form. This guide walks through each step from Amazon's, the IRS's and US Customs' own pages, all checked on 26 October 2026, and shows where a US LLC actually changes things.

Can you sell on Amazon US from another country?

Yes. Amazon's Global Selling page says "If you're a business outside the US, you may not be required to form a US company to sell your products in the US", and you reach US shoppers through a North America and Brazil unified account.

A few things to know before you start:

• One account covers four stores. Amazon's registration guide says an account created at sell.amazon.com can sell in the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa need separate accounts.
• You can register as a person. The same guide says "You don't need to be an LLC or registered business, or be otherwise incorporated, to sell in the Amazon store." If you aren't incorporated, pick "None, I am an individual" as the business type.
• Your business location is where you're registered. Amazon defines it as the country where your business is registered or, if you're unincorporated, the country where you do business.

What you need to register

Amazon asks for identity, address, payment and tax details, then verifies you. The registration guide and Amazon's how to sell page list:

• Government-issued ID, such as a passport. You also enter your legal name, citizenship, date of birth and residential address from it.
• Proof of residential address dated within the last 180 days, such as a bank or credit card statement.
• An internationally chargeable credit card. Amazon accepts American Express, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard and Visa, and the card doesn't have to be in your name.
• A bank account in your name or your business's name. It doesn't have to be in the US (see Getting paid).
• A phone number with a country code.
• Tax information, collected through the tax interview (see below).
• Business licence or registration details if you're registering a company. The company registration number is separate from a US EIN.
• An email address that isn't already used for an Amazon customer account.

Identity verification comes next. You upload your ID and proof of address, then either take a photo of your face holding your ID or join or schedule a video call with an Amazon associate. Documents must be colour scans or photos showing all four corners, and Amazon rejects screenshots and blurry images. The guide says registration can often be done in a few hours and identity verification "usually takes three business days or less".

If you register a company, Amazon also asks for its beneficial owners, meaning anyone holding more than 25% of the shares or voting rights.

Individual or Professional plan

The Individual plan costs US$0.99 per item sold and the Professional plan US$39.99 a month, each plus selling fees (checked 26 Oct 2026), according to Amazon's pricing page.

Notes on the fees:

• Referral fees are charged on every sale as a percentage of the total price or a minimum amount, whichever is greater. Amazon's table runs from 3% to 45% depending on the category.
• Media items also carry a US$1.80 closing fee per item.
• Creating the account is free. The registration guide says there's no fee to create a selling account. Amazon's how to sell page also mentions a one-time registration fee on the Professional plan but doesn't give an amount, and the pricing page lists none, so check the figure at sign-up.
• Selling in several stores. The Global Selling page says if you link accounts across stores, your Professional fee is capped at the equivalent of US$39.99 a month.
• FBA fees are separate and depend on size and weight. Amazon points to its Revenue Calculator rather than listing them on the pricing page.

Getting paid from Amazon US

You don't need a US bank account. Amazon's registration guide says you can use Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers to receive proceeds in a bank account outside the US. The other common route is a multi-currency account that gives you US account details.

Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers

Amazon's Currency Converter page says it pays out in 20+ currencies, with pricing based on your cross-currency net proceeds over the last 12 months (checked 26 Oct 2026):

Two catches. Payouts in AED, CHF, MXN, KRW or TWD pay a flat 1.5% whatever your volume, and JPY pays a flat 2.0%. The exchange rate is set by Amazon's third-party provider on the day the transfer starts, so compare the rate you get, not just the fee.

Amazon also offers Seller Wallet, which holds USD from the US store and converts it into 20+ currencies on the same 1.50% to 0.75% scale. You need a US-store account in good health and proof of a business establishment in a supported country.

Wise or Payoneer

Many sellers abroad get USD account details from a payments provider, take payouts in US dollars and convert when the rate suits them.

• Wise: Wise's Amazon help article says its account details work with Amazon "only for local payouts", so you use its USD details for Amazon US. Bank verification can take up to 4 working days. Wise's US business pricing shows a US$31 one-time set-up fee, free receipt of domestic USD payments and US$6.11 for each incoming USD wire (checked 26 Oct 2026).
• Payoneer: Payoneer's Amazon page says you get local receiving accounts in the currencies of the Amazon stores you sell in, with a 0.5% fee to convert between balances and typically a fixed 1.5 USD, GBP or EUR fee to withdraw to a local bank (checked 26 Oct 2026). It doesn't state a receiving fee on that page.

Wise's help article notes that Amazon keeps your payments and new listings pending until you complete its tax verification.

The tax interview: W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E

Amazon asks every seller to complete a self-service tax interview that "will create the appropriate tax form on your behalf", according to its Europe to US page. For a non-US seller, that form is a W-8, which tells Amazon you're a foreign person for US tax purposes.

Which one you end up with:

• Form W-8BEN if you're selling as an individual who isn't a US citizen or US resident. The IRS instructions say you give it to the payer that asks for it, not to the IRS.
• Form W-8BEN-E if you're selling through a foreign company, such as your Australian Pty Ltd or UK Ltd. The W-8BEN-E instructions say nonresident individuals must not use it.
• Form W-9 if you're a US citizen or US resident, even one living abroad. The W-8BEN instructions say to use W-9 in that case.
• A single-member LLC usually doesn't sign its own W-8. The W-8BEN-E instructions say a disregarded entity's single owner, if foreign, provides "Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (as appropriate)".

Two practical rules from the IRS pages:

• It expires. A W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E generally stays valid from the date you sign it until the last day of the third calendar year after that, so expect to redo Amazon's tax interview when it lapses.
• Tell the payer when things change. If your circumstances change, for example you become a US resident, the W-8BEN instructions say to notify the payer within 30 days.

Will you get a Form 1099-K?

Usually not, if Amazon holds a valid W-8 for you. The Form 1099-K instructions say a US payer "is not required to file Form 1099-K" for a payee with a foreign address if, before paying, it has documentation that lets it treat the payee as foreign. Filing may still be needed if you have a US address on file, if payouts go to a US bank account under standing instructions, or if the payer has reason to think you're a US person, although an applicable Form W-8 can still cover those cases. For context, the same instructions set the third-party network reporting threshold at more than US$20,000 and more than 200 transactions in a calendar year.

If you take payouts to USD account details located in the US, ask your adviser whether that changes your reporting. And a missing 1099-K doesn't mean the income is untaxed: your home country almost certainly taxes it.

Do you need a US LLC?

Usually not to register or sell. Amazon's registration guide says you don't need an LLC, and Amazon UK's US tax page describes two options for a business outside the US: set up a US entity such as an LLC, or sell directly from your existing company.

Where an LLC changes things:

• A yearly IRS filing. A US LLC owned by one foreign person is a "foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity". The Form 5472 instructions say it must file Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120 each year. Money you put in or take out counts as a reportable transaction, it can't be filed electronically, and the penalty for failing to file is US$25,000, with another US$25,000 if the failure continues more than 90 days after the IRS notifies you.
• A US tax ID. An LLC gets an EIN, which some US banks and service providers want.
• State costs and a registered agent every year, which our guide to US LLCs for non-US founders prices out.
• Home-country tax doesn't go away. The LLC guide shows how Australia, for example, taxes residents on income of foreign companies they control.

The honest summary: an LLC is a tool for banking, liability or investor reasons. It isn't an Amazon requirement, and it adds a filing with a five-figure penalty.

Getting stock into the US for FBA

If you use Fulfillment by Amazon, someone has to import your stock into the US, and that is normally you or a customs broker acting for you. Amazon's Global Logistics service asks sellers to "provide your importer of record (IOR) details" during onboarding and only ships once the IOR is approved. That service currently ships from mainland China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

What US Customs says:

• Who the importer of record is. CBP's guide for commercial importers defines it as the owner, purchaser or a licensed customs broker they designate, and says entry documents are due within 15 calendar days of the shipment arriving. It also says a foreign corporation can make entry through a US agent, and the surety on any bond for a nonresident must be incorporated in the US. That guide was last revised in 2006, so confirm the detail with a broker.
• Your IOR details must be real. CBP's Customs Bulletin of 2 September 2026 says that from 18 September 2026 it voids IOR numbers with inaccurate information on CBP Form 5106. The form takes an IRS EIN, a Social Security number or a CBP-assigned number, so a foreign seller without an EIN isn't shut out. The physical address must be your actual location and can't be a registered agent, customs broker, freight forwarder, PO box, business service centre or someone else's address. The email and phone number must be yours, not your broker's.

For duty and parcel rules after the end of duty-free de minimis, read shipping to the US after de minimis. If you also sell on your own site and want one warehouse for both, see how to choose a 3PL.

US sales tax on Amazon sales

Amazon collects and pays US sales tax on most of your Amazon orders. Amazon UK's US tax page says "Marketplace-Facilitator legislation requires Amazon to collect, remit, and refund Sales Tax on your behalf", based on where each order is delivered. The same page warns there may still be states that require you to register and file for other taxes.

State rules show how that plays out:

• California made marketplaces responsible from 1 October 2019. The CDTFA's guide says you don't need a seller's permit if all your retail sales are made through a registered marketplace facilitator, but those sales still count towards the state's US$500,000 economic nexus threshold if you also sell in other ways.
• Other states vary. The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board's marketplace facilitator chart covers the 24 Streamlined member states and some others, and says a marketplace seller "may also be required to register and file returns" in some of them.

The trigger to watch is selling outside Amazon, through your own Shopify store for example, or holding stock in a state. Our guide to sales tax and VAT for online stores covers economic nexus thresholds state by state.

Three ways to set it up compared

Most non-US founders choose between selling as themselves, through their home-country company, or through a US LLC. Each row comes from the sections above.

The table doesn't settle whether you or your company owe US income tax returns of your own. That depends on your activities in the US and any tax treaty, so ask an adviser who works with non-US Amazon sellers.

Common mistakes

These are the ones that cost overseas sellers time or money:

• Forming an LLC because a video said you must. Amazon's own registration guide says you don't need one. Form it for a real reason, or not at all.
• Choosing W-9 in the tax interview. Unless you're a US citizen or resident, you're a W-8 filer. A W-9 tells Amazon you're a US person, which you aren't.
• Letting the W-8 lapse. It generally expires at the end of the third calendar year after you sign it, and Wise reports that Amazon keeps payments pending until tax verification is done.
• Missing Form 5472 after forming an LLC. Funding the LLC is a reportable transaction, so a slow first year still needs a filing.
• Ignoring the conversion rate. Amazon's Currency Converter charges 1.50% on smaller volumes plus whatever exchange rate its provider applies on the day.
• Using a forwarder's address for your importer record. Since 18 September 2026, CBP voids IOR numbers with addresses that aren't your actual location.
• Assuming Amazon covers all sales tax. It does on Amazon orders, but sales through your own site still count towards state thresholds in places such as California.
• Treating US non-reporting as tax-free. Your home country still taxes the profit.

To compare notes with other founders selling across borders, join Remote Builders (it's free). If you're running your store from Bali, Bali Startup & Tech covers the local side.

Step-by-step checklist

Work through these in order:

1. Decide who sells: you as an individual, your home company, or a US LLC (only if you have a reason beyond Amazon).
2. Gather your passport, proof of address from the last 180 days, an internationally chargeable credit card and a phone number.
3. Set up payouts: Amazon Currency Converter to your local bank, or USD details from Wise or Payoneer.
4. Register at sell.amazon.com, choose the Individual or Professional plan, and complete identity verification by photo or video call.
5. Complete the tax interview as a W-8BEN (individual) or W-8BEN-E (company) filer, and diarise its expiry.
6. If you'll use FBA, line up a customs broker and your importer of record details before the first shipment.
7. Check whether you sell outside Amazon in any US state, and register there if your sales pass its threshold.
8. Talk to a tax adviser in your home country about how the Amazon income and any US entity will be taxed.