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.
Why does one 'membership interest sale' have three possible US tax outcomes?
I'm negotiating to sell my stake in a US LLC, and every adviser answers my tax questions with 'it depends on the classification.' The contract is a standard membership-interest purchase agreement eith...
My LLC is the payroll employer now — does backup withholding also run through the LLC?
Founder in Vietnam with a US LLC that recently became an employer (we file Form 941 for one employee). Two related things came up the same week: a US marketplace we sell on asked us to re-certify our ...
Now that my LLC has an employee, does anything change about Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120?
Polish founder, foreign-owned single-member LLC, filing Form 5472 with the pro forma 1120 every year since formation. We hired our first US employee last month and suddenly there's a whole new univers...
Does putting my US property in an LLC make FIRPTA go away?
Before I buy US real estate as a foreign person, I want to set it up right. A lot of formation services imply that holding the property in a US LLC means no FIRPTA when I eventually sell, because the ...
There's no court case directly on Amazon FBA, so how confident can I be about the US tax answer?
Everything I read says there's no published court case that decides whether Amazon FBA creates a US trade or business. So how am I, a foreign LLC owner, supposed to make a decision? Is the 'FBA invent...
I tracked crypto basis in one big pool across wallets — what is the Rev Proc 2024-28 fix?
For years I tracked the LLC's crypto cost basis 'universally' — one spreadsheet pool across three self-custody wallets and two exchange accounts. Now I am reading that broker basis reporting is accoun...
Is my foreign employer pension really a foreign trust that needs Form 3520? I just moved to the US
I relocated to the US this year for my startup. Back home I have an employer-sponsored retirement plan and a government-encouraged savings account, both built up over a decade of salary deferrals. My ...
The W-8 hasn't arrived yet but I need to pay my foreign payee now — should I just over-withhold at 30%?
I have a US-source payment due to a foreign payee, but the valid W-8 still hasn't come back. I don't want to hold up the payment, and I'm tempted to just withhold the full 30% now and let them sort ou...
LLC sold, final returns filed — how do I actually close the EIN and stop the state filings?
The sale is done and I've filed (or scheduled) the final federal returns for my foreign-owned LLC. Now I want a clean break: no IRS account lingering, no surprise state franchise-tax bills two years f...
Which forms do the buyer file for FIRPTA, and what's the deadline I should be watching?
I'm the foreign seller and I want to know what the buyer (or the closing agent) is actually supposed to file for the FIRPTA withholding and by when. People mention Form 8288 and Form 8288-A but I don'...
Beyond the platform withholding, what does my foreign-owned creator LLC actually have to file with the IRS?
I think I understand the withholding side now. But what does my foreign-owned US single-member LLC actually file each year? I keep seeing Form 5472, pro forma 1120, and 1040-NR mentioned and I'm not s...
Amazon spread my FBA inventory across several states without telling me — am I now exposed in all of them?
I started FBA expecting my stock to sit in one or two warehouses, but Amazon distributed it across many states for faster shipping, and I only found out from a report. Does that mean I now have tax ex...
I already file Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year — doesn't that cover any withholding reporting too?
My foreign-owned single-member LLC files the Form 5472 plus pro forma 1120 package annually like clockwork. I made a US-source payment to a foreign person this year. Since I'm already reporting relate...
I never filed Form 3520 for old trust transfers — hasn't the three-year audit window closed by now?
Years ago, after I had already become a US person, I contributed to a foreign trust and never filed Form 3520 — honestly, I didn't know the form existed. Those tax years are now more than three years ...
LLC formed in Wyoming, employee working from Ohio — which state gets the payroll registrations?
My LLC is registered in Wyoming (I'm based in South Korea, no US office). Our first employee is fully remote and works from her home in Ohio. Wyoming has no income tax, which is partly why I formed th...
I funded my new LLC by sending it Bitcoin — does that go on Form 5472?
Instead of wiring cash, I capitalized my single-member US LLC by transferring BTC and a little ETH from my personal wallet to the company wallet. No sale happened — just moving coins I already owned i...
My US LLC does routine production for my foreign company — is cost-plus or CPM the right method?
Flip side of the importer question: here my US LLC actually makes/assembles goods for my foreign affiliate on a routine basis. It's contract-manufacturing style work, not designing or owning anything ...
Two-member foreign-owned LLC sold its assets and is winding down — what goes in the final Form 1065 package?
Our US LLC is taxed as a partnership with two foreign members. We sold the business assets this year and are closing everything down. I know a final Form 1065 is due, but I keep seeing references to f...
I paid an LLC expense from my personal foreign account, then the LLC reimbursed me — what records does section 6038A want?
This happens a lot: I, the foreign owner, pay a vendor or a subscription from my personal account abroad because it's easier, and later the LLC reimburses me (or doesn't). There's no formal agreement....
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...
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