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.
What IRS enforcement actions on crypto should foreign LLC owners be aware of?
I've been reading about the IRS cracking down on cryptocurrency tax evasion. They apparently got data from Coinbase and other exchanges through John Doe summonses. My foreign-owned LLC trades on sever...
Does hiring one California contractor mean my foreign-owned LLC has to register there?
I am in Australia and run a Delaware LLC with around $95,000 in e-commerce support revenue. I am about to hire a California-based contractor who would handle customer onboarding and maybe some account...
I already formed in Delaware through Atlas. Is it worth moving the LLC to Wyoming now?
I am in Brazil and used Stripe Atlas to form a Delaware LLC for a SaaS company. We are not raising VC money anymore and the business is still small, so I keep seeing people say Wyoming would have been...
Google Play is asking for foreign status documents and also showing Brazil withholding notices. Which tax am I looking at?
I am in India and sell an Android subscription app through a Delaware LLC plus a local Indian company. Google's payments pages asked for foreign status information, and separately I am seeing referenc...
My Washington SaaS setup is remote. Why is my accountant asking about B&O tax?
I am in South Korea and have a Washington LLC because my co-founder lives in Seattle and handles operations there. We sell a SaaS product and most of the code is written outside the U.S. I assumed the...
Apple asked my Singapore company for a U.S. tax form. Is that normal if I am not in the U.S.?
I run a Singapore private company and recently switched my mobile app publishing to a Delaware LLC that I own. Apple is asking for U.S. tax information in App Store Connect even though I am not U.S.-b...
What are New York's filing requirements for a foreign-owned single-member LLC?
I formed an LLC in Delaware but registered it as a foreign LLC in New York because I have a client there. I'm a UK citizen living in London. My LLC provides consulting services to a NYC-based company....
My Atlas LLC has almost no revenue yet. Can I skip U.S. filing for the first year?
I am in Lagos and formed a Delaware LLC through Stripe Atlas for a micro-SaaS project. Revenue in 2024 is maybe $8,000 and most of that came late in the year. Before that, I personally paid for format...
Can California really charge my LLC even if the business barely sold anything there?
I live in Germany and formed in Delaware, but one co-founder moved to California and has been doing product demos and some customer support from there. Sales to California customers are still small. W...
What is the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) and who does it affect?
Our company is a U.S. subsidiary of a large foreign multinational. Our CFO mentioned we might be subject to something called BEAT — the Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax. I looked it up and it seems very co...
My single-member LLC made no money this year. Do I still need to file taxes for it?
I'm a British citizen who formed a single-member LLC in Delaware through Firstbase about 8 months ago. I haven't launched my product yet so the LLC has $0 in revenue. Do I still need to file anything ...
People told me Texas has no state income tax. Why am I now hearing about franchise tax filings?
I am in India and registered a Texas LLC for a productized consulting business. Revenue is around $140,000 and all payments come from U.S. customers, but I perform the work from India. I chose Texas b...
I chose New Mexico for low maintenance, but my clients are in California. Did I solve the wrong problem?
I am in Hong Kong and formed a New Mexico LLC because I kept hearing it was easier to maintain than Delaware or California. So far that part seems true. The issue is that my freelance design clients a...
My Delaware LLC had almost no activity. Do I still owe the Delaware annual tax?
I am based in Spain and formed a Delaware single-member LLC last year for a software product that has barely launched. There was maybe $3,000 of test revenue and a few owner-funded expenses, but no pa...
My German SaaS LLC has U.S. customers and a U.S. freelance closer. Did I create ECI?
I live in Berlin and own a Wyoming single-member LLC that sells workflow software to U.S. companies. Revenue is now about $240,000 per year. I write the code and manage the company from Germany, but I...
I formed a Delaware SaaS LLC with Stripe Atlas from India. If I have no U.S. office, is Form 5472 my only filing?
I am based in Bangalore and formed a Delaware single-member LLC through Stripe Atlas in early 2024 for a B2B SaaS product. We are around $90,000 ARR, with about 70% of customers in the U.S. and the re...
I spent 150 days in the U.S. this year. Can Form 8840 save me from being taxed as a resident?
I'm a Canadian who spends winters in Florida and summers in Canada. This year I was in the U.S. for about 150 days. I understand there's a substantial presence test that could make me a U.S. tax resid...
What is the FDII deduction and can my U.S. corporation benefit from it?
I own a U.S. C-corporation that sells software licenses to customers all over the world. About 60% of our revenue comes from foreign customers. Someone mentioned that there's a deduction called FDII t...
What is IRC 6038A and why does my single-member LLC have to file Form 5472 with a $25,000 penalty?
I'm an Indian citizen living in Mumbai. I formed a single-member LLC in Wyoming two years ago for an online consulting business. I just learned about IRC 6038A and Form 5472 from a tax forum. Apparent...
What are the key differences between Subpart F income and GILTI?
I'm trying to understand the difference between Subpart F and GILTI. They both seem to tax CFC income currently to U.S. shareholders. If GILTI was supposed to be a catch-all for everything not already...
What is a year-end tax planning checklist for foreign LLC owners?
The end of the tax year is approaching and I want to make sure I have covered all important tax planning items for my US LLC. As a foreign owner, I know there are unique considerations beyond what dom...
How does my foreign-owned LLC decide if a worker is an employee or independent contractor?
I have a foreign-owned LLC and I'm working with several people in the U.S. — a web developer who works from home on their own schedule, a virtual assistant who works set hours, and a marketing consult...
We discovered our filed Schedule K-2 was incomplete. Do we correct just the schedule, or does the amended-return package have to carry the whole explanation too?
I am part of the tax team for a U.S. person that files Form 8865. After filing, we realized one international item relevant to Schedule K-2 and K-3 was omitted. The partnership facts themselves did no...
I deducted foreign income taxes years ago instead of claiming the credit. Is it really still possible to amend after more than three years?
I am a U.S. person based in the UAE and found out that in an older year my adviser treated foreign taxes as an itemized deduction rather than using the foreign tax credit. The original return is well ...
I contributed appreciated software IP to a foreign partnership. Is Schedule O the main Form 8865 schedule I should expect?
I am a U.S. founder who transferred software-related intangible property into a foreign partnership in exchange for a partnership interest. The transfer was made as part of a restructuring and the ini...
My foreign tax was refunded after I already claimed the credit. Do I just adjust this year's Form 1116, or do I need to amend prior years too?
I live in Canada and in 2026 I received a partial refund of Canadian tax that I had previously claimed as a foreign tax credit on my U.S. return. The refund relates mostly to my 2024 U.S. tax year. I ...
If I elect resident treatment with my U.S. spouse, do I stop filing Form 1040-NR completely for that year?
I am a nonresident from Spain married to a U.S. resident. During 2025 I had about $36,000 of foreign freelance income and a small amount of U.S.-source consulting income. My spouse had around $112,000...
We badly overpaid corporate estimates. Can Form 4466 still get a quick refund if the return is almost ready?
Our U.S. corporation had a much lower fourth quarter than expected, and now it looks like we overpaid federal estimated tax by roughly $28,000. The final return is nearly done, but our CFO mentioned a...
Several U.S. owners are Category 1 filers. Can only one of us file the actual Form 8865?
I am one of three U.S. persons who together control a foreign partnership in the UAE. Each of us appears to fit the Category 1 rules, and no one wants to file three full copies of the same Form 8865 p...
My Schedule K-3 shows several foreign tax categories. Can I still combine everything onto one Form 1116 to keep the return manageable?
I am a U.S. individual investor in a foreign-focused partnership, and my Schedule K-3 includes passive category items, general category items, and a small amount that looks treaty re-sourced. I also h...
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