If I get paid from US-based company personally (not through company), do I have to pay taxes to US gov on these incomes?

You don't pay taxes to US gov unless any of the following two things are true: (1) you are a US resident (2) your income is produced in the US.

There is a precise definition of being a US resident for tax purposes but it basically boils down to you staying in the US for the majority of the time.

The production of income is a bit more tricky. It basically says that if you use US "infrastructure" to produce your income then you have to pay taxes. The common example of this situation would be rental income from a property in the US. An example when this does not apply would be sitting in front of a computer in another country and writing a web app.

So if I'm hosting my app with a US hosting company, then does it apply?

First off, you need to be very clear in your own mind about your venture vs. your consulting work.

Consulting is simple. There are three main reasons to form an LLC as a consultant: you can isolate yourself from liability; you can snag more work as some companies prefer to work corp-to-corp rather than with individuals; and finally, you can utilize various legal mechanisms (such as managing vs. passive partners for example) to minimize your tax liability.

It sounds like none of the above applies to you very much. It's too much hassle to sue someone in a foreign country, companies prefer corp-to-corp for reasons largely irrelevant to outsourced consultants (who for example cannot claim US unemployment benefits), there is not much legal maneuvering you can do with a one-person partnership, etc.

Your venture is a whole other beast. First, keep in mind that you need to foreign-qualify your LLC in every state where you do business. It's hard to know whether you will need to foreign-qualify since you did not provide much information as to the nature of your venture, but for example accepting orders in New York means you do business there and to foreign-qualify in NY will run you over $1,000 (and if you are transacting 100% virtually, I have a hard time understanding why you need a US-based LLC). Second, if you plan to raise capital or incentivize your talent via equity, it is much easier to do so with a corporation than with an LLC. Third, there are tax implications pertaining to drawing partner distributions vs. shareholder equity, etc.

As you can see, there are no quick answers and you need to provide much more detail about your plans. In any event, I really recommend that you get a preliminary 1-hour consult with a lawyer and an accountant. If you feel that you don't need to go that far at this stage, then you probably don't need an LLC either.

To your other questions, LLC paperwork could not be easier. Book keeping is easy too, you can use quickbooks online ($17/month) or clearcheckbook.com (donation). Have an accountant show you how to reconcile your bank account once per month, and you are all set.

My venture would be pay-as-you-go SaaS app. But I dont think I'd be profitable right away so I'll probably keep freelancing for some time. And I sometimes get paid via ScriptLance/eLance/etc, which are US-based..

Yes, the main reasons why I want US-based LLC is that it looks much more reliable for some americans. Also, it's very expensive to form a company in my home country (Lithuania).

Now the only very unclear thing is if renting servers in US and having customers with US billing address counts as US-based incomes.

Customers probably doesnt count as 'infrastructure'. But what about servers, payment processor etc?

Does anybody know a good (and not that expensive) lawyer to advice on all that stuff?

For consulting, you could look into a Nevada LLC (cheap and low paperwork requirements) but it's not necessary. Companies that are open to outsourcing to Lithuania already know they are not working with a US-based company, while companies that want a US-based LLC will most likely have a whole bunch of "due diligence" requirements that you can't meet anyway (such as number of years in business, number of employees, etc). Trust me, your big problem is going to be getting paid as promised, not your lack of a US entity.

For personal income, your country will typically have a reciprocal agreement with the US so that you don't get double-taxed. Check with your local tax body for the exact details.

(Sorry, I know nothing about the other questions.)

>Is it hard to run a US-based LLC from abroad in general? Paperwork etc.

Anyone?

The process for citizens is generally:

- Form Organization At State Level (Secretary Of State)

- Apply For Federal EIN (Tax ID Number, IRS)

- Apply For Local Tax ID Number (State Dept of Revenue)

- File For Other Requirements -- such as local/state taxes/certificates/offices. Usually there is an employment agency you have to file with for Workers Comp.

Most states are going to need some sort of local address to form a domestic corporation/organization within their realm. You can register for business as a foreign corporation, but then you will need a local office. Again, all of this knowledge is highly state-specific, so YMMV.

Besides, you could always set it up with a UPS Store Mailbox that fwd's mail (at your cost) to your real international location.

I would also question why you need this. Do you have a specific purpose? I'm not saying you dont, I'm just curious.

* credibility - people (especially US citizens) trust you more. Why? My personal theory - they know they have someone to sue in the US if things go wrong.

* billing - most payment processors (authorize.net comes to mind) only work with US corporations. Bummer.

If your business is web based you can run it from anywhere... :)

Just curious...

It's one of only a few ways to make it into the US on a semi-permanent basis as a self employed person unless you're ridiculously famous or rich.