Can an overseas furniture factory supply Perigold directly?

It can apply. Perigold uses Wayfair's supplier agreement, which overseas companies can sign, but a North American warehouse or 3PL is required to deliver orders, and Perigold is not the importer of record. When the foreign company supplies directly, importing, storage and collections sit with it, which may amount to a U.S. trade or business and a Form 1120-F filing.

If my country has a tax treaty with the U.S., do I still file in the U.S.?

Often yes. Treaties generally tax business profits in the U.S. only through a permanent establishment, and facilities used solely to store and deliver goods usually don't create one, but U.S. agents who conclude contracts or your own office or showroom can. A company relying on the treaty generally files Form 1120-F with a Form 8833 disclosure. Vietnam and Hong Kong have no income tax treaty in force with the U.S.

What does a U.S. company supplying Perigold file each year?

A C corporation files Form 1120 at 21% federal tax. If 25% or more foreign-owned, it files a Form 5472 for each related party it deals with, at $25,000 per missed form. At formation, a foreign person taking 10% or more of the vote means BEA Form BE-13 within 45 days. Purchases from an affiliated factory must be arm's length, and inventory cost can't exceed customs value.

Who should be importer of record for Perigold shipments?

Perigold doesn't import, and suppliers pay the duty. The factory can import under DDP, the U.S. company can import, or the foreign company can import as a nonresident. For high-value furniture, having the U.S. company import usually works best: duty and freight land in its inventory cost, and declared values and transfer prices are coordinated in one place.

Overseas Furniture Factory on Perigold: Direct or U.S. Company?

An overseas furniture factory or brand can supply Perigold by having the foreign company sign Wayfair's supplier agreement directly, or by setting up a U.S. company to contract and import. Perigold requires a North American warehouse or 3PL and is not itself the importer of record, so when the foreign company supplies directly, importing, storage and collections all sit with it, which can give it a taxable U.S. business. Most mid- to high-end brands end up with a U.S. C corporation, at the cost of filing Form 1120 and Form 5472 every year.

What Perigold requires of suppliers

Perigold is Wayfair's luxury home site and has no separate seller center. Brands apply through sell.wayfair.com and sign the Wayfair Master Platform Agreement (updated November 14, 2025); Perigold-specific terms are provided in Partner Home. The brand sets a base cost, and Wayfair sets the retail price and collects sales tax from the customer. Wayfair pays undisputed invoices within 60 days, or within 30 days for a 2% Quick Pay fee.

A North American warehouse is required. Wayfair's onboarding guide says you need a warehouse or third-party logistics partner in North America to deliver orders; suppliers that can't drop-ship can use Wayfair's CastleGate warehouses. Perigold is not the importer of record. Its general manager told Glossy in March 2026 that Perigold doesn't import or pay tariffs directly; its suppliers do. Insurance. The agreement asks for general liability of at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million in aggregate per year.

Together, these mean the goods must enter the U.S. and sit in a U.S. warehouse before they are sold to Wayfair. Who imports, whose name is on the warehouse contract and who receives Wayfair's payments are the questions this article answers.

Route one: the foreign company contracts directly

How it works: the Chinese, Vietnamese or European company signs the supplier agreement, gives Wayfair a Form W-8BEN-E, acts as a nonresident importer (or lets a forwarder import under DDP), leases 3PL space in the U.S., and is paid into its own foreign account.

The tax issue: a foreign company keeping inventory in the U.S. and selling it to a U.S. retailer is quite likely engaged in a U.S. trade or business, and the related profit is effectively connected income reported on Form 1120-F. If the company's home country has an income tax treaty with the U.S. (China does), business profits are taxable in the U.S. only through a permanent establishment. Treaties generally exclude facilities used solely to store, display or deliver goods, but U.S. employees or agents who conclude contracts, or an office or showroom of your own, can create one. A company relying on the treaty generally still files Form 1120-F and discloses the position on Form 8833. Vietnam and Hong Kong have no income tax treaty in force with the U.S., so there is no such protection.

Filing on time matters: a foreign corporation that doesn't file Form 1120-F within the required period can lose its deductions and be taxed on gross income, a risk many overseas companies don't see coming.

The practical friction: opening a U.S. bank account, buying product liability insurance and posting a customs bond are all harder for a foreign company. The state holding the inventory may also require registration and state tax. And vendor reviews at Wayfair and other retailers go more smoothly with a U.S. company.

Route two: set up a U.S. company first

How it works: the overseas parent forms a C corporation in Delaware or another state. The U.S. company signs the supplier agreement, acts as importer of record, signs the 3PL contract and collects Wayfair's payments. It buys from the overseas factory and sells to Wayfair.

What it files each year: Form 1120 at 21% federal tax; if 25% or more foreign-owned, a Form 5472 for each related party it deals with (the factory, the parent), with a $25,000 starting penalty per missed form per year; and, at formation, BEA Form BE-13 within 45 days when a foreign person takes 10% or more of the vote. Dividends to a Chinese parent are withheld at 30% by statute, usually 10% under the treaty.

Related-party trade has to hold up: the price the U.S. company pays an affiliated factory must be arm's length (IRC §482), and its tax inventory cost cannot exceed customs value (IRC §1059A). Declaring low to customs while booking high for tax fails on both sides.

Why most brands choose it: contracting, importing, insurance, banking and vendor reviews all go more smoothly; U.S. profit is taxed in the U.S. company, and the foreign company generally has no Form 1120-F to file; and later channels beyond Perigold (direct designer sales, a showroom, other retailers) run through the same company.

How to choose

Small volume, testing the market: direct supply can work to start, but first work out whether there is a permanent establishment, whether Forms 1120-F and 8833 are needed, and how warehousing, insurance and importing will work on the U.S. side.

A long-term luxury channel in the U.S.: usually a U.S. C corporation from the start. A foreign-owned single-member LLC is disregarded for income tax, files pro forma 1120 + 5472, and with U.S. inventory still has to deal with effectively connected income, so it is a less clean supplier entity. The LLC can elect corporate treatment on Form 8832, but generally can't change again for 60 months.

A Vietnamese factory held through Hong Kong: no treaty protection, so direct supply is riskier, and brand royalties paid to the Hong Kong company are withheld at 30%. Plan the whole structure first.

Who should be importer of record?

Three common setups: the overseas factory or its forwarder imports under DDP; the U.S. company imports; or the foreign company imports as a nonresident. Whoever is importer of record is responsible for the entry, the duty and any refund.

Check furniture tariffs line by line: as of November 2026, upholstered wooden seating, kitchen cabinets and vanities carry a 25% Section 232 tariff (since October 14, 2025); the planned rise to 30% and 50% has been pushed to January 1, 2027. UK goods pay 10%, and EU and Japanese goods are capped at 15% all-in. Chinese-origin furniture also carries Section 301 duties. A customs broker settles origin and HTS classification.

For high-value furniture we usually suggest the U.S. company import: duty, inbound freight and brokerage go into its inventory cost, and declared values and transfer prices are coordinated inside one company.

A first-year timeline (U.S. C corporation)

Before onboarding: a pre-supply review of entity, importer, inventory state and price ladder. Weeks one and two: form the company, appoint a registered agent, get an EIN (by faxed Form SS-4 if the responsible party has no SSN), open a U.S. bank account and buy liability insurance. Within 45 days of formation: file BE-13. Before the first shipment: CBP importer registration and a customs bond, the 3PL contract, and a review of sales tax and state tax registration where inventory sits. Onboarding: apply, sign the agreement, upload products and images in Partner Home. Monthly: books from Wayfair purchase orders, invoices, deductions and inventory. April 15 of the next year: Form 1120 + 5472 (extendable to October 15, with tax paid by April 15), plus state returns on each state's schedule.

The takeaway

Perigold is won on product and service, but the entity and import setup on the U.S. side decides how much margin you keep. The full onboarding steps, tariff layers, entity table and a worked example are in the Perigold guide; Perigold's supply model, sales tax and why there is generally no 1099-K are covered in the Wayfair supplier guide. To talk through your case, book a free 15-minute call or message WeChat YCLUSA; complex structures with several factories, royalties and related-party imports can go to a paid consultation.