I have been hearing the term "Offshore Delaware Corpoartion" lately. Is there really a difference?

A corporation that is formed in Delaware by a non-U.S. person has some of the same advantages of offshore IBCs, namely freedom from income tax if business is conducted outside of the U.S., no shareholder registry, nominee directors and that corporate records and books can be kept anywhere in world.

In that case, can a corporation that is formed in Delaware by a non-U.S. person have a U.S. bank acct? A corporate bank acct?

there is no difference

There are tow main entities in Delaware (as in many US states); corporations and LLCs. Both pay only franchise tax in Delaware if they do not operate in Delaware, but corporations are taxed by federal taxation on worldwide income. LLCs are passed through entities, this mean income of the LLCs is passed to members if LLC do not elect to be treated as corporation. In case if LLC is passed through then it depend on type of income. If LLC do not have any US source of income or if it does not do any business in US then it is not taxed in US, but if there is then there is tax to be paid by members on the US part of income.

u4t2t, you are correct, federal taxes are still applicable -- you can't get away from that.

What if a non-US corporation wishes to have a US bank account but is not physically present in the U.S. does it still need to pay taxes on U.S. sales? Let me give you an example:

Let's say a company in Timbuktu sells products or services to customers located in the U.S. but has no physical presence in the U.S., wishes to establish a corporate bank account in the U.S. to make it easier to pay refunds to those U.S. customers.

Would that kind of arrangement require the company to file a yearly corporate return or pay taxes? I assume they would still have to pay DE franchise tax, right?

As far as the state chancery is concerned there is no difference.

The 'overseas' distinction is made by the formation services as a means of putting premium pricing on the service. Delaware still gets the same filings and charges the same fees.

What if a non-US corporation wishes to have a US bank account but is not physically present in the U.S. does it still need to pay taxes on U.S. sales? Let me give you an example:

Let's say a company in Timbuktu sells products or services to customers located in the U.S. but has no physical presence in the U.S., wishes to establish a corporate bank account in the U.S. to make it easier to pay refunds to those U.S. customers.

Would that kind of arrangement require the company to file a yearly corporate return or pay taxes? I assume they would still have to pay DE franchise tax, right?

If you have US company you must pay federal taxes on US sales no matter where you operate from. In this case youneed to prepare and fiel annual return each year (federal return), you would of couse have to pay franchise tax in Delaware and registered agent fee and of course accountant to prepare and file annual return for you which I do not recommend to do on your own.

Its pretty difficult to get a US business bank account without a SSN, even if you form a Delaware corporation and have an EIN / Federal Tax ID. We are located near the Canadian border and even for bank branches near the border that are used to dealing with Canadians, it is still difficult and most now require a face-to-face meeting with the owner to confirm their ID. You might want to consider trying to find a bank that will work with you before you pay to incorporate in Delaware.