Foreign corporation

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Foreign corporation is a term used in the United States to describe an existing corporation (or other type of corporate entity, such as a limited liability company or LLC) that conducts business in a state or jurisdiction other than where it was originally incorporated.^[1] The term applies both to domestic corporations that are incorporated in another state and to corporations that are incorporated in a nation other than the United States (known as "alien corporations").^[2] All states require that foreign corporations register with the state before conducting business in the state.^[3]

For U.S. federal tax purposes, where "foreign corporation" means a corporation that is not created or organized in the United States.^[4] For tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats all domestic companies in the same manner for tax purposes, without regard to where they were originally formed or organized within the United States, but applies different rules to companies that are formed or organized outside of the US.