I paid a cross-border CPA $500 to answer one question: how does a non-American g
By Max Sigurdson-Scott · October 14, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I paid a cross-border CPA $500 to answer one question: how does a non-American get on TikTok Shop US?
Blame Scott Needham. In last week's Instant Value Seciton he talked about just how BIG the Amazon halo effect is from TikTok sales. Sell on TikTok, and your Amazon sales go up too.
So I went and figured out how to do it.
If you're American, you can skip the rest of this. You don't need to jump through any hoops. Just start selling there.
For the rest of us it's not that simple. I didn't know the way in. So I paid the CPA, talked to a TikTok expert, and wrote the whole thing down.
There is a way in. It's eight steps, and the guide says who handles each one and what you get out of it. I'm partway through it myself (so I can't tell you yet if it all works out).
Serious friction:
• You need a US person. The guide lists 32 things to watch out for, and the first one is who NOT to use. Don't just grab whoever offers.
• You need a US tax number. You can get one without a Social Security number.
• There's a tax form that trips up foreign owners. There's a fix for it.
A good CPA & a bit of paperwork is all you need.
Anyway, answer these:
1. Are you American? (If yes, close LinkedIn and go open a shop.)
2. Do you have a US person you'd trust with this? (Not just anyone. Read the who-not-to-use part first.)
3. Are you ready to sort out a US tax number and that tax form? (Annoying, not impossible.)
Make sure to read this week's Selling From the Beach deep dive... it's the full non-American TikTok Shop route.