How to Become a Sovereign Individual in 2026
A free basic blueprint to get started, the reality behind it, and why South America is the easiest place to do it all in 2026.
There’s an old Kerry Packer clip (once Australia’s richest man) that’s an absolute belter. He’s sitting in front of the Australian Senate while they condescendingly imply he’s doing the wrong thing by minimising his tax, and he fires back:
“Anyone who doesn’t minimise their tax needs their head read.”
And he was dead right.
Why on earth would you pay more tax than you’re legally required to?
Something about watching my hard-earned money go towards wind farms, political pet projects and a climate narrative that feels more ideological than practical never sat right with me. It didn’t feel like any of it was actually improving life for ordinary Australians.
That plus the rather large fact I wasn’t even living there anymore. But you also can’t just pack your bags, and magically stop paying tax. You need to set it all up legally, obtain residency and tax setup where you live and make sure everything is done cleanly and legally.
These past couple of years have taught me a lot about how to build a life outside a high tax country and I want to lay out what I think is the best way to go about it all. If you’re sitting in Australia or any Western country feeling squeezed by taxes, cost of living, and that growing sense that the harder you work and the more successful you become, the more headwind you cop.
What is a Sovereign Individual?
A sovereign individual is someone who structures their life across borders, legally, to reduce dependency on any single government, minimise taxation through jurisdictional choice, and increase personal freedom, mobility, and economic opportunity.
South America is the answer to start building something freer, and, quite frankly, a lot more fun, in 2026 (although it’s certainly not for everyone).
Start with opening a simple foundation
Everything begins with structure and you need your legal and tax foundations sorted so you can operate normally in the world.
A perfect starting point is opening a US Limited Liability Company (in the states of Wyoming or Delaware). It’s simple, fast, very private, affordable, and gives you access to proper banking, payment processors, and USD-based business systems.
If you work online in any capacity or even locally in South America a US LLC company just works.
Next step is getting an ITIN. It’s basically the U.S. version of a Social Security Number for foreigners. It doesn’t mean you’re paying U.S. tax, it just lets you open bank accounts, get cards, deal with payment processors and anything official in the States. Couple that with a US address
Once the company and ITIN are set up, you open U.S. banking. This is where things really change. You can earn and hold USD, get proper cards, send and receive globally.
Traditional banks like Chase or Bank of America generally require an ITIN and in-person verification, but fintech banks such as Mercury, Relay, and Wise make your life a lot easier - they allow you to operate fully online, and you don’t need an ITIN to open those (just a US LLC business).
Then comes the part most people mess up. You need a real tax residency. For me that’s where I live in Paraguay. Paraguay has a simple territorial system where income earned outside the country is not taxed. It’s stable, predictable, foreigner friendly and very straightforward. You become a resident and you pay tax where you live. That’s how you legally break tax ties with your old country.
Avoid the no man’s land trap - many expats are still doing this
The worst place you can be is nowhere. You can’t stay tax resident “nowhere”. Western governments treat that as avoidance and they will follow you until you demonstrate a new tax home. You do everything clean. You leave properly. You declare what you need to declare. You pay anything owed up until the day you no longer owe it. Then you move on with your life and you operate normally.
Being a sovereign individual is not about avoiding the rules. It’s about following the rules better than most people and ending up with a better life because of it.
Who to talk to to get started?
These two services:
Jerz - The Way of Jerz
Ladislas - The Wandering Investor
Jerz handled my full internationalisation process from start to finish, every single step.
If I could tell you some of the high-profile clients he’s worked with and the outcomes he’s achieved for them (as well as for muppets like me), you’d understand exactly why I rate him so highly.
He offers a decent price. Sure, you could probably piece it all together cheaper if you really wanted to, but that’s not the point. The value is in having everything done in one place without the stress. Doing it yourself can get messy, confusing, and ridiculously time-consuming. When you factor in the time saved, and the headaches avoided, it’s unbeatable.
Just think of the money you’ll immediately start saving once everything is set up properly.
With Paraguay especially, the prices just keep rising because the demand is huge. So my advice is simple, get in while it’s still available. Who knows when the rules change.
Paraguay residency is genuinely the key that unlocks the whole internationalisation process in South America for an expat.
Then there’s Ladislas from The Wandering Investor. If you want to broaden your world view, understand global investing, offshore living, tax strategy and meet people who are doing the same thing you are, he is the real deal. I’ve met a lot of people and he stands out, he’s also become a friend.
I really value the event Ladislas is running in Buenos Aires in March 2026. It’s five full days of people building offshore lives, building businesses, investing abroad, buying housing etc..
I genuinely get asked all the time about the best way to socialise, make friends, and build real connections in this part of the world. Well, you won’t get a better chance than this.
Buenos Aires has been good to me. The Twitter followers, the architecture, the culture, the steak, the people, the quality of life. It’s one of the easiest places in the world to rebuild yourself and chasing something difference. Events like this give you a community and you make real connections.
Here is the link to check it out:
The Wandering Investor Live Group Trip: Buenos Aires 2026
To summarise this article and add a bit of personal advice for the brave:
I get this quesion sometimes:
“Jordan - what the heck would I do for income in South America?”
Well, try doing your profession in South America. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you excel. You’re bringing skills developed in a high-functioning, competitive Western economy into places that genuinely value them. You stand out immediately, opportunities come faster, and if you structure your affairs properly and legally, the tax side becomes far more efficient, the same goes for any investments you hold.
And if you’re over it, try something new. Anything. What’s the worst that can happen? You go back to your safe home country and fall straight back into a comfortable job.
The simple blueprint
Set up a US LLC company.
Get an ITIN. (optional)
Open US banking - personal and busniness
Establish tax residency where you’re living (Paraguay).
Cut ties with your home country properly (legally).
Stay compliant.
Earn in a foreign currency.
Live a great life in South America - at 34, this year has been my most enjoyable yet.
The best and most efficient one-stop entry point into all of this is through Jerz.
If you have any questions, you can send them to me directly or drop them in the Geólogo Trader chat, the links are below.
Always happy to answer any questions, and thanks for being subscribed.
If you found this article valuable, a comment, like, or share goes a long way.
Cheers,
Jordan - Geólogo Trader 🇦🇺
Disclaimer:
This article is based solely on my personal experience. Everything mentioned comes from people I personally trust, individuals whose services I’ve used myself or have met in person and verified as genuine, competent and authentic.
Please make sure to do your own research and due diligence on all topics discussed.
This is a great guide to the practical steps required to become a Sovereign Individual.
I’d also add it requires a mental shift from what your family, friends and upbringing will have likely subtly influenced you to think like. I’d really encourage anyone reading this to read “The Sovereign Individual” (book) as it’ll fully crystallise your intuition that something isn’t quite right with being a regular citizen in western nations into a fully developed, communicable understanding of what’s going on in the world and why you’re taking this new direction, which may be very difficult for family and friends to understand.
A good understanding of Austrian Economics and Libertarianism is also vital. For that I’d read Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand, Choice - Robert Murphy, Anything by Doug Casey.
Thanks for the no frills blueprint! I am from Germany and have my LLC in the US. Many Americans think that the IRS is bad, but compared to the German Finanzamt it is a cuddly puppy. No idea about Australia but I can see it being similar. So, even ending up with a partial tax obligation in the US, is not that bad, in my own experience.