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.
I'm flying to the US for a few weeks to film sponsored content — does that change my LLC's US tax?
Normally I work from home abroad, but this year I'm spending a few weeks in the US filming sponsored deliverables and meeting brands in person. My foreign-owned LLC invoices the sponsors. Does physica...
My LLC has two foreign members and is taxed as a partnership — is it still FIRPTA when it sells?
Our US LLC is owned by two foreign people and we file a partnership return for it. We're selling the US property the LLC holds. Everything I read about FIRPTA assumes a single-member disregarded LLC. ...
I'm paying US-source income to a foreign-owned disregarded LLC — whose W-8 do I collect and who goes on the 1042-S?
From the other side of the table: my company is paying US-source royalties to a US LLC that is disregarded and owned by a foreign person. The LLC sent me a W-8 in the LLC's own name claiming a treaty ...
Is a 'quiet disclosure' safer than Streamlined — just amend and pay without the paperwork?
Someone told me I could just quietly file the amended returns and late FBARs and pay what I owe, without doing the whole Streamlined certification. That sounds simpler. Is a quiet disclosure actually ...
I'm 'selling' my clip library but the buyer pays me based on how much it gets used — is that still a sale?
A media company wants to buy my back-catalog of clips. The deal is labeled a sale, but the price is paid out over time based on how much they monetize the footage in the US. My foreign-owned LLC holds...
If I have a US trade or business through FBA, how much of my sales income is actually ECI?
Suppose I accept that my Amazon FBA activity gives me a US trade or business. Does that automatically mean all my sales profit is effectively connected income, or does it depend on where the sales are...
Does hiring a US-based employee turn my LLC's profits into ECI for me personally?
I'm a Spanish resident and my US LLC sells consulting and software services worldwide. While I worked alone from Spain, my understanding was that the income was foreign-source services income with no ...
I under-declared my import value last year — what is a customs prior disclosure?
Reviewing my own records, I realized I under-declared the value on several entries last year (I forgot to include assists). I haven't heard anything from CBP. Should I just fix it quietly on future en...
Sold and dissolved my foreign-owned LLC in March with zero revenue this year — do I really still file Form 5472?
My single-member US LLC (I'm the foreign owner) barely operated this year — no sales at all. In March I sold the business and started dissolving the LLC. Friends say with no revenue there's nothing to...
FBAR has a clear crypto answer — why is Form 8938 so murky for the same account?
After sorting out the FBAR question for our LLC's foreign exchange account, I tried to get an equally clean answer for Form 8938 and failed. One adviser says crypto on a foreign exchange is a specifie...
I sell online to customers in 40 states from abroad — do I really have to foreign-qualify in all of them?
My LLC sells digital and physical products online and I ship to customers in something like 40 states, all from outside the US. A scary article said I should register as a foreign LLC in every state I...
How do I map my monthly bookkeeping to Form 5472 — which transactions go on Part IV vs Part V?
I want my bookkeeping to flow cleanly into Form 5472 instead of scrambling at filing time. For a foreign-owned disregarded LLC, which related-party transactions go in Part IV (the monetary lines) and ...
Did the IRS really stop charging Form 3520 penalties in late 2024? Is it safe to file late now?
I owe a couple of late Form 3520 filings — one for a foreign gift, one for a trust year. My feed keeps surfacing posts saying the IRS ended automatic 3520 penalties at the end of 2024 and that late fi...
How do I register for sales tax with no US address or EIN — can I use Streamlined Sales Tax?
I've crossed the threshold in a few states and need to register for sales tax, but my LLC has no US mailing address and I don't have an EIN or SSN. Is there a way to register across multiple states at...
Foreign-corp branch vs US C-corp — which second-level tax is worse?
I'm deciding how to structure my US operations: run them directly through my foreign corporation as a branch, or set up a US C-corporation owned by my foreign parent. I understand the first level of t...
If the IRS assesses an FBAR penalty, do I fight it in Tax Court — and is it separate from Form 8938?
Two things I can't figure out about cleaning up old foreign accounts. First, if the IRS hits me with an FBAR penalty, is that a Tax Court case like an income-tax dispute? Second, I've also heard about...
Can First-Time Abatement remove the accuracy penalty on my CP2000?
My CP2000 added a 20% accuracy penalty on top of the extra tax. I've never had a penalty before, so can I just ask for First-Time Abatement to get it removed? If not, what's the right way to fight the...
I have a large seller note — what are the section 453A interest charge and pledge rule?
I sold a US business and I'm carrying a big seller note. Someone mentioned a section 453A 'interest charge' and a 'pledge rule' if I borrow against the note. When do those kick in, and what happens if...
My LLC is taxed as a partnership and paid foreign tax — who claims the FTC, me or the LLC?
I'm one of two members in a US LLC taxed as a partnership. The LLC earned some foreign income and paid foreign tax, reported on Schedule K-3. Does the partnership claim the foreign tax credit, or do I...
My property is in a disregarded single-member LLC — who is the 'transferor' for FIRPTA, the LLC or me?
I hold a US rental in a single-member LLC that's disregarded for tax. When I sell or exchange it, who counts as the transferor for FIRPTA purposes — the LLC, or me the foreign owner? It matters for th...
If I own US real estate directly and die, does FIRPTA become an estate-tax problem too?
I'm a non-US person holding US rental property in my own name (well, in a disregarded LLC). I get that selling triggers FIRPTA. But what happens if I die still owning it? Is there a separate US tax at...
If the IRS adjusts my related-party pricing, how big are the section 6662 transfer pricing penalties — 20% or 40%?
I want to understand the downside before it happens. If the IRS decides my intercompany prices were off and makes a section 482 adjustment, what penalty am I looking at? I see both 20% and 40% mention...
How is Form 1042 different from section 1446 partnership withholding and from the Form 5472 baseline?
I'm getting these tangled. My foreign-owned LLC already deals with Form 5472, and I've read about section 1446 withholding for partnerships. Now there's Form 1042 and 1042-S on top. Are these all the ...
Did the IRS accept my Form 8832? I got a notice and I'm working from a Spanish 'Formulario 8832'
I filed to change my LLC's classification and received an IRS notice, but I'm not sure if it means accepted or rejected. I prepared everything from a Spanish 'Formulario 8832' I found online. Is there...
Is Illinois really different on FBA inventory used only for marketplace orders?
Someone told me Illinois treats FBA inventory differently from most states — that inventory used only to fill Amazon marketplace orders does not create physical nexus there, unlike California or Penns...
What's the Form 706-NA deadline, and what are the spouse and charity traps?
If a nonresident with US assets dies, how long does the executor have to file Form 706-NA, and can you get an extension? I also want to know about two things I've heard are traps: leaving US assets to...
If a payroll provider files my LLC's W-2s late or wrong, is the LLC off the hook?
I run a foreign-owned LLC from Nigeria with three US employees, and we pay a well-known payroll service to handle literally everything — deposits, the quarterly returns, and the year-end W-2s. My assu...
What do Form 3520 and 3520-A penalties actually look like in dollars? Trying to size my exposure
I'm reconstructing several years of foreign trust filings I didn't know I owed — I moved to the US three years ago with a family trust in the background. Before I talk to a professional I want to unde...
My US LLC has an account at a foreign crypto exchange — does it file an FBAR?
The LLC (US-registered, foreign-owned, disregarded) keeps an account at a crypto exchange based outside the United States. The account holds only crypto — no fiat balances right now, though we have oc...
Selling my property LLC with 20% down and four annual payments — buyer says all the FIRPTA tax is withheld NOW?
I'm a foreign seller. My disregarded LLC holds a US commercial property, and the buyer and I agreed on an installment deal: 20% at closing, the rest over four years. I expected tax (and withholding) t...
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