I run a service LLC from Mexico with U.S. clients but no U.S. office. Is that usually enough to stay out of ECI trouble?
I live in Mexico and use a Delaware LLC for consulting work. All of the client calls, deliverables, and project management happen from Mexico, and I do not have any U.S. office, employee, or contractor presence. The reason I am asking is that the internet gives two extreme answers: either I am completely safe or I should assume any U.S. client income is effectively connected.
I know reality is probably more nuanced than either extreme. What I want to understand is what records make the remote fact pattern credible and what kinds of exceptions or later mistakes usually turn a clean foreign service business into a harder U.S. tax case.
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