Buy a Company in Germany from the USA

If you want to buy a company in Germany from the USA, you can: there is no German nationality or residency requirement to own a company, and the whole purchase can be completed remotely without leaving the United States. Most American founders we work with buy a clean, ready-made German company, a shelf company that already exists in the commercial register, and have the shares transferred to them through a notary by power of attorney. Müller Konsult is a lawyer-led firm in Düsseldorf that handles the European side end to end.

To be clear about what this page is, and is not: it is about buying a clean European entity, a never-traded German GmbH (or an Austrian, Swiss, or Liechtenstein company), not about buying a US business, not about acquiring an existing German trading business off a marketplace, and not about a US firm “expanding” to Germany through an employer-of-record. This is general information, not tax or legal advice; rules change, and US-side tax in particular needs your own adviser.

Can a US citizen own a company in Germany?

Yes. A US citizen can own a German company outright, with no local partner and no requirement to live in Germany or hold EU citizenship. German company law lets any person hold shares in a GmbH, and once the company is registered in the Handelsregister it has its own legal personality, with liability limited to the company’s assets (GmbHG §13).

Owning a company and living in Europe are two separate things. You can be the sole shareholder and even the managing director of a German GmbH while remaining resident in the United States. A residence permit only becomes relevant if you actually want to move, which is covered further down. For ownership alone, your US passport is no obstacle.

Why American founders choose a European company

A German or wider European company gives an American business a real foothold in the EU single market, the ability to sell and contract across 27 member states from inside the bloc rather than as an outside exporter. The reasons we hear most often are:

• EU market access without tariffs or third-country friction inside the union.
• Credibility with European clients, suppliers, banks, and platforms that prefer an EU counterparty.
• Diversification of your business base beyond the US market and dollar.
• A bridge between US operations and European customers or investors.

One honest point: the United States taxes its citizens and residents on worldwide income, so a European company is rarely a way to lower your overall US tax. It is chosen for market access, substance, and reach. With proper planning on both sides, the European structure and your US position can fit together cleanly.

Buy a ready-made company or form a new one?

Both routes end with the same kind of legal entity. The difference is how long you wait before it can actually trade. Forming a new GmbH means depositing capital and waiting several weeks for the registration to complete; a ready-made German GmbH is already registered, so the timeline shrinks to the few days needed for the share transfer.

For most US founders in a hurry, the shelf route wins on speed and certainty. If you would rather build from scratch, we also handle company formation in Germany.

The remote purchase process for US buyers

You do not need to fly to Germany. A typical purchase from the USA runs like this:

1. Consultation. We discuss your goals and recommend an entity and jurisdiction (Germany by default; Austria, Switzerland, or Liechtenstein if they fit better).
2. Selection and due diligence. We propose a clean company and verify it is debt-free, litigation-free, and current on tax.
3. Share purchase agreement. We draft and sign the SPA covering the transfer and corporate documents.
4. Notarised share transfer. Ownership passes by notarial act (GmbHG §15), handled remotely for you.
5. Register and transparency filings. We update the Handelsregister, file the new shareholder list, and report beneficial owners to the Transparenzregister.
6. Director and banking. The managing director is appointed and we arrange banking, VAT, and tax registration.
7. US coordination. We hand the corporate facts to your US tax adviser so your reporting is set up correctly.

Why the notary is required

German law does not allow a GmbH to change hands by private contract. The transfer of the shares must be recorded in notarial form (GmbHG §15). That requirement exists to give certainty and deter fraud, which is why every legitimate German company purchase runs through a notary.

Completing it from the USA by power of attorney

You can sign a power of attorney before a notary in the US, and have it apostilled, or use remote notarisation options, so the German notarial act is completed on your behalf. This is how most of our American clients buy without crossing the Atlantic. We prepare the documents and coordinate the timing across the time-zone gap.

What you need to provide (KYC and AML)

German anti-money-laundering rules (the Geldwäschegesetz) apply to every company purchase. As a US buyer you will be asked to identify the ultimate beneficial owners, give details of the incoming managing director and shareholders, confirm the planned business activity, and supply your passport and proof of address. If the buyer is a US company rather than an individual, we also need its corporate documents. We assemble the file so it is complete before the notary appointment.

Banking for US owners (and FATCA)

Opening a German business bank account is usually the slowest part for any foreign owner, and for US persons there is an extra layer: under FATCA, banks must identify and report US account holders, and some are cautious about onboarding them. That does not make it impossible, but it takes preparation. We prepare your banking file properly, and where you want to remove the hurdle altogether you can buy a shelf company with a bank account already in place. A nominee or local director can also help satisfy a bank’s local-presence expectations. For the full picture, see our guide to opening a German business bank account. We never promise a specific bank will say yes.

US tax when you own a German company

This is the part most providers ignore entirely, and it matters more for Americans than for almost any other nationality. Owning a German company does not switch off your US obligations. In broad terms:

• Worldwide income. US citizens and residents are taxed on income worldwide, including from a foreign company, regardless of where they live.
• Form 5471. Certain US persons who are officers, directors, or shareholders in a foreign corporation must file IRS Form 5471 to report it, under Internal Revenue Code sections 6038 and 6046.
• Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules. If US shareholders control the foreign company, GILTI and Subpart F rules can pull some of its income into your US return currently.
• Foreign accounts (FBAR). US persons with signature authority over foreign financial accounts above the threshold file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114).
• The US–Germany income tax treaty provides mechanisms to relieve double taxation, but how they apply depends on your facts.

This section is general information, not US tax advice, and the rules are detailed and fact-specific. We handle the German company; please confirm your US filing position with a qualified US tax adviser. On the German side, see German corporate tax for foreign-owned companies.

Residence in Europe is optional, not required

Owning a German company does not require a visa, and buying one does not, by itself, grant residence. The two are separate. If you do want to live in Europe, company ownership can support a route rather than replace it. As a US national you are a visa-free-entry nationality, which means you can apply for the German self-employment residence permit (§21 of the Residence Act) from within Germany. Alternatively, taking a genuine salaried managing-director role can open an EU Blue Card path, and the German business visa route has its own criteria. None of this is automatic, and we advise on feasibility honestly.

Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Liechtenstein?

Germany is the default choice for EU-market access, size, and credibility, but it is not the only DACH option, and the right one depends on your goal.

A US founder selling into the EU usually lands on Germany or Austria; one building a holding or wealth structure may look at Switzerland or Liechtenstein. We talk it through in our Germany, Switzerland and Austria comparison. You can also buy a company in Switzerland as a US citizen where that fits.

What the price includes, and what costs extra

A frustration buyers tell us about is that many providers either hide their prices or quote a single “from” figure. We do it differently, and it helps to split the price into what is built in and what is optional.

A key point for budgeting: the share capital is not a fee. It belongs to the company and can be used in its business once you own it, so a large part of any honest German company price is simply capital that ends up working for you. We give a clear, all-inclusive quote rather than a vague number.

Buying from the United States and want a straight answer on your situation? Request a free callback with our lawyers, with no commitment. Talk to our team.

Ongoing compliance after you buy

Buying the company is the start, not the finish. A German GmbH carries real ongoing obligations that most sellers never mention: bookkeeping to German standards, annual financial statements and their filing, corporate income tax, trade tax and VAT returns, and keeping the commercial and transparency registers current when ownership or management changes. We can handle all of it, and we coordinate with your US adviser so the German filings and your US reporting line up rather than surprise you at year end.

Why buy from a lawyer-led provider

A German company is a real legal entity carrying real obligations, so who you buy it from matters. With Müller Konsult you get legal sourcing grounded in the actual law cited on this page, genuine due diligence on every company before transfer, transparent included-versus-extra pricing rather than a hidden number, explicit handling for non-resident US buyers including remote completion and US-tax coordination, and a named, accountable corporate lawyer with a real Düsseldorf office, not an anonymous checkout page. If you are starting from the wider question of process, our guide on how to buy a company in Germany as a foreigner walks through every step, and the GmbH share transfer page explains the legal mechanics in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• German Limited Liability Companies Act (GmbHG), official English text — gesetze-im-internet.de
• German Commercial Register (Handelsregister) — handelsregister.de
• IRS — About Form 5471 (reporting foreign corporations) — irs.gov
• Germany Trade & Invest, official investment guide — gtai.de

Ready to buy your German company from the USA?

Contact Müller Konsult for a clean, ready-made German or DACH company with remote completion and US-tax coordination. We assess your goals, propose the right entity, and guide you through every step. Müller Konsult · Königsallee 27, 40212 Düsseldorf · +49 211 5403 8800 · info@gmbhforsale.com · Request a callback

Reviewed by Stefan Stelthove, Corporate & Commercial Lawyer, Müller Konsult. Last updated 7 June 2026. This is general information, not tax, legal, or immigration advice.

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