Real Tax Questions, Expert Answers
Get answers to your foreign-owned LLC tax questions from ForeignLLCTax. Every answer includes IRS source citations and step-by-step guidance.
Amazon Associates wants a tax interview, but my LLC only got its EIN recently. Should I wait or submit now?
I live in the UAE and recently formed a Delaware LLC for affiliate sites and newsletters. Amazon Associates is asking me to complete the tax interview, but the EIN is still new enough that I am nervou...
My LLC earns creator sponsorships and consulting retainers. Is one entity still fine if I split the books cleanly?
I live in Thailand and started with creator work, but consulting now makes up almost half of the business. I still want to keep everything under one U.S. LLC because the brand and audience overlap, an...
FIRPTA withholding — when is it 15%, 10%, or 0%? I'm confused by the different rates.
I'm about to sell a property in Florida that I've held through my LLC (I'm a UK citizen, non-resident). My closing attorney told me the withholding is 15% of the sale price, but I've seen people onlin...
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 contracto...
I flew to Los Angeles for four paid shoot days. Do I really need to split those days out from the rest of the campaign?
I live in France and do brand content through a Delaware LLC. One campaign was mostly planned and edited in Paris, but I spent four days in Los Angeles filming the paid part of the collaboration. The ...
My Twitch income is in the LLC, but I still buy gear personally. Is that a real tax issue or just messy bookkeeping?
I live in Brazil and stream full time through a Delaware LLC. Twitch payouts go to the company account, but in practice I still buy cameras, microphones, emergency PC parts, and some editing software ...
What exactly does 'non-U.S. person' mean on Form 5472? I'm confused by the IRS terminology.
I'm trying to fill out Form 5472 for my single-member LLC and it keeps referring to 'non-U.S. person' and '25% foreign owner.' I'm a Canadian citizen living in Toronto who formed an LLC in Wyoming. Am...
Google payments center keeps mentioning U.S. tax info and withholding. If I am a non-U.S. business, what is the form really doing?
I run a small app business from the Philippines through a U.S. LLC and Google keeps routing me into U.S. tax-information pages. Because I am not a U.S. person, I assumed the form was just a formality,...
Apple, Google, Stripe web billing, and AdMob all show different numbers. Which number belongs in the LLC books?
I am based in Mexico and my U.S. LLC now has four revenue streams: Apple subscriptions, Google Play sales, Stripe web billing, and AdMob ad payouts. Every dashboard shows a different total. The bank a...
I enrolled as an individual with Apple but formed an LLC later. Is the developer name problem just branding, or tax too?
I am in France and originally launched my iPhone app under my personal Apple developer account because I wanted to ship quickly. A few months later I formed a Delaware LLC and moved the business banki...
If Google is seller of record for my in-app purchases, do I stop worrying about U.S. sales tax entirely?
I live in Singapore and sell paid features through Google Play with a Delaware LLC. Some people tell me Google being seller of record means the sales tax side is basically handled, but others keep war...
Google Play is asking for tax details in the payments profile. Should that be my Delaware LLC or me personally?
I am based in Indonesia and publish Android apps through a Delaware LLC. When I opened the Google payments settings, I realized part of the profile still shows my personal details from when I first te...
My LLC trades through a broker, but it also does a little consulting. Does that break the safe harbor?
I am in Australia and use one Wyoming LLC for two things: a personal trading account through a U.S. broker and a small consulting side business that earned only about $12,000 this year. The trading ca...
I flew to New York for demos and signed two SaaS deals there. Did I just create a much bigger U.S. tax problem?
I am based in the UK and run a small B2B SaaS company through a Wyoming LLC. Last month I spent six days in New York, met prospects in person, and signed two annual contracts worth about $48,000 total...
If my trading activity fits the broker safe harbor, why do people still mention Form 5472?
I am in India and use a single-member Delaware LLC for active day trading through a U.S. broker. There is no other business activity. I understand the IRS says broker-only trading can avoid U.S. trade...
My LLC only holds U.S. dividend stocks. Why am I seeing withholding if I am not running a U.S. business?
I am in the UK and use a Delaware LLC as a holding vehicle for a U.S. equity portfolio. The account mostly holds dividend-paying stocks. There are no employees or active business operations. I expecte...
My SaaS contract has a $12,000 setup fee and $1,200 monthly subscription. Do I analyze the tax the same way?
I live in India and own a Delaware LLC that sells workflow software to U.S. companies. One new client agreed to pay a one-time $12,000 implementation fee plus $1,200 per month after launch. I do all o...
If my LLC only trades through Interactive Brokers, does that mean I am not in a U.S. trade or business?
I am in Singapore and use a Wyoming LLC mainly for trading U.S. stocks and ETFs through a U.S. broker. There are no employees, no office, and no other business activity. Annual gains vary a lot, but c...
I only use a U.S. warehouse for distribution, not retail. Does that still create a major U.S. tax issue?
I live in the UAE and use a New Mexico LLC to sell branded products online. We do not have a store or office in the U.S., but a New Jersey warehouse stores inventory and ships all U.S. orders. Revenue...
My clients are abroad but my LLC is in the U.S. Does that automatically make the income foreign-source?
I use a U.S. LLC from Thailand for design retainers and online workshops. Most of my clients are outside the U.S., so I assumed the income must be foreign-source. Then I learned that service income ma...
I hired my first U.S. employee for my foreign-owned LLC. Did I just change my whole tax profile?
I am in India and run an ecommerce operations company through a Delaware LLC. Until now everyone worked overseas, but I just hired a full-time U.S. employee in Texas to handle customer operations and ...
I am a non-U.S. founder with a brand-new Delaware LLC. Which bank setup is the least painful first move?
I live in Japan and just formed a Delaware LLC for a SaaS startup. I have been comparing Mercury, Relay, Novo, and Wise, and now I feel less certain than when I started. Mercury seems best for interna...
I discovered the missed filing myself before the IRS contacted me. Should I file the delinquent return now or wait for advice?
I am in Hong Kong and realized my foreign-owned LLC missed an international information filing. The IRS has not contacted me yet. I found the delinquent international information return procedures onl...
I got an IRS exam letter asking for records tied to Form 5472. What is the first smart step?
I live in France and own a Delaware LLC. The IRS sent a letter asking for supporting records tied to our Form 5472 filing, including related-party transactions and ownership details. I have the record...
If I missed Form 5472 two years ago, is the problem only the penalty or is the year still open too?
I am in Australia and my Delaware LLC missed a Form 5472 filing for an earlier year because I did not understand owner-paid expenses counted as reportable transactions. I was mentally treating the iss...
My preparer missed the filing. Can actions of an agent help with reasonable cause?
I am in the UAE and my accountant missed the Form 5472 filing even though I had sent the records on time. We now have a penalty notice. I know the IRS often says taxpayers are still responsible even i...
I keep hearing about Schedule C, but my foreign-owned LLC adviser says it may not apply to me at all
I am in Brazil and own a single-member U.S. LLC. Generic LLC content online keeps telling me Schedule C is the standard return for a one-owner business. My U.S. adviser says that is domestic content a...
I just got a $25,000 Form 5472 penalty notice. What should I do first?
I am in India and own a Delaware single-member LLC. We filed late and now received an IRS notice assessing a $25,000 Form 5472 penalty. Revenue was only about $18,000, so the penalty is larger than th...
My LLC is filing Form 5472, but does that mean I personally also file Form 1040-NR?
I live in South Korea and own a Delaware single-member LLC. My preparer is getting ready to file Form 5472 with the pro forma Form 1120 because I had owner funding and reimbursements during the year. ...
I meant to elect corporate treatment when I formed the LLC but never filed Form 8832. Can I backdate it now?
I am in Japan and formed a U.S. LLC almost a year ago. From day one I intended to treat it like a corporation for tax planning reasons, but I later realized Form 8832 was never actually filed. We alre...
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