In this guide· 5 sections
For the freelancer or digital business billing international clients, a US LLC usually costs less than staying self-employed in Europe: no fixed monthly contribution and, with no effective US activity, no federal tax. In exchange you take on duties: an annual IRS tax filing, a registered agent and FBAR when it applies. It's not a tax trick but a legal structure that depends on your residency.
If you're a freelancer or run a digital business, you've probably wondered whether to keep operating as self-employed (autonomo) in your country or make the move to a US LLC. Let's compare with real numbers.
The real cost of being self-employed
In most European countries, being self-employed means a combination of a fixed monthly contribution + income tax + VAT. Here are the numbers for someone billing €5,000/month:
| Item | Spain | Germany | LLC (NM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social security / contribution | ~€300 | variable** | 0 |
| Personal income tax | ~24% | ~28% | 0%* |
| VAT | 21% | 19% | 0% |
| Annual cost LLC/self-employed | ~€3,600 | ~€4,200 | ~$150 |
*A non-resident single-member LLC pays no US federal tax if income is not effectively connected with a US trade or business.
**Germany has no self-employed contribution equivalent to the Spanish one. Self-employed workers pay mandatory health insurance (from ~€200/month based on income) and voluntary pension contributions. Cost varies significantly by income level and insurer.
How much does a Spanish autónomo pay in 2026?
The "~€300" in the table is an average: since 2023 Spain charges contributions in brackets based on actual net earnings, not a single flat rate for everyone. In 2026 there are 15 brackets. Contributing at the minimum base of each bracket — what the vast majority do — the contributions quota runs from €200/month (net earnings up to €670/month) to €590/month (net earnings above €6,000/month). You can voluntarily pick a higher contribution base and pay more, but even at the minimum of the top bracket that's already several thousand euros a year in social security contributions alone — versus the ~€300 the table average suggests.
Heads up: on top of those table figures you also pay the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI), which in 2026 is 0.9% of the contribution base and sits above the bracket quota. So the real monthly payment is a bit higher than the table number (roughly €206 to €607/month at the extremes). The 2026 quotas have been frozen relative to 2025. In your first year you can opt for the flat rate of €80/month (for 12 months, extendable another 12 if your earnings stay below the minimum wage), but from the second year you fall into the bracket your income places you in. By contrast, a New Mexico LLC has no monthly contribution of any kind: its fixed cost is the registered agent and the annual renewal, around $150/year. You can confirm the current brackets on the official Social Security site.
What operating with an LLC includes
A New Mexico LLC gives you:
- No state tax on income earned outside NM
- US bank account (Mercury, Relay, etc.)
- Get paid via Stripe, Wise, PayPal with no friction (they'll ask for your W-8BEN form to document your foreign status)
- Bill in USD to international clients — see how to issue correct invoices with your LLC for European clients
- Privacy: NM does not publish LLC members
But... there are obligations
Operating with an LLC is not "zero taxes" full stop, and the annual cost in the table doesn't tell the whole story either: the real cost of keeping your LLC includes renewals, registered agent, and filings worth understanding before you make the jump. You still have to:
- File an annual tax filing with the IRS (even if it's informational)
- Keep the Registered Agent active (NM does not require an Annual Report)
- Keep separate bookkeeping from your personal finances
- File FBAR if the LLC has financial accounts outside the US with aggregate balance above $10,000 (applies to the LLC as a domestic entity, not to the non-resident owner for personal accounts)
The LLC is not a tax trick. It's a legal structure that, combined with tax residency outside Europe, can optimize your tax burden in a 100% legal way.
Who does it make sense for?
The LLC is ideal if:
- You bill international clients (not just local ones)
- Your income exceeds €2,000-€3,000/month
- You don't have fixed tax residency in a high-tax country
- You want to bill in USD and operate on US infrastructure
If you bill €1,000/month to a single local client, it probably doesn't pay off. But if you work remotely for international clients, the difference can be thousands of euros a year. And if your question isn't LLC-or-sole-trader but which type of US company suits you, we compare the LLC against the C-Corp.
The LLC is only half of the equation. The other half is your tax residency. If you're not clear on where you're taxed as an individual, see our guide on tax residency for digital nomads: without that step, the structure is incomplete. And if you still live in Spain, the LLC doesn't get you out on its own — what happens to your LLC and Hacienda is the flip side of the self-employed coin. For a comparative technical breakdown of business structures, Investopedia's LLC article covers the differences with equivalent European structures.