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.
If I only sell through marketplaces in California, do I need my own seller's permit in 2026?
All my California sales go through Amazon and eBay. Do I still need to register for my own seller's permit in California?
If we elect to treat my nonresident spouse as a resident, do we get the standard deduction automatically?
I am a U.S. resident married to a nonresident spouse in Spain. We are considering the resident-spouse joint-return election because our U.S. income is about $132,000 and my spouse only has around $18,...
If my company was formed outside the U.S. and registered into a state, do I still file BOI in 2026?
My operating company is a Cayman entity that registered to do business in Florida last year. Does FinCEN's 2025 rule change still require BOI in 2026?
My software ignored Form 8801 because I do not owe AMT this year. Is that a mistake if I paid AMT before?
I paid AMT in a prior year because of timing issues, but the current-year return does not generate AMT. My software is acting like that means the topic is over and no form is needed. A different advis...
We already filed an amended joint return for a bigger refund. Can Form 8379 still be added after that?
I am from Australia and our original joint return understated withholding. We already filed Form 1040-X to increase the refund, and only after that did we learn my spouse had an old debt that may abso...
Did the old TCJA individual tax rates snap back in 2026?
I read that TCJA provisions were sunsetting at the end of 2025. Did individual rates revert to pre-TCJA levels for 2026, or did OBBBA change that?
We are not divorced yet, but we have lived apart for more than a year. Does that satisfy the separation-of-liability rule?
I am a Canadian founder and my spouse and I have been living in different homes since last spring. We are still legally married, but the relationship is over and we have separate finances. The IRS iss...
My spouse stayed nonresident abroad all year. Can I file head of household in the U.S. if our child lived with me here?
I am from Mexico, now a U.S. resident, and my spouse remained abroad the whole year with no resident election made. Our daughter lived with me in Texas for most of the year while my spouse handled fam...
The offset notice says the refund went to my spouse's old state tax debt. Does Form 8379 still apply when the debt is at the state level?
I am from Ireland and my spouse had an old state income tax issue from before we were married. We filed a joint federal return this year and expected a refund of around $4,900. Treasury then issued an...
I moved to the U.S. midyear and became resident by year-end. Can my spouse and I skip the dual-status return and file one full-year joint return instead?
I am originally from Brazil and moved to California in July for a startup role. By year-end I was a U.S. resident for tax purposes, but for the first half of the year I was clearly nonresident and ear...
We spent money before launch on travel, branding, and legal setup. How much can be deducted now and how much has to be amortized?
Our company spent several months preparing to launch and racked up costs for branding, market research, travel, legal setup, and early admin work before we actually began operations. I assumed most of...
I moved mid-year and had a qualifying home office in both places. Can I use the simplified method for both homes?
I used one apartment as my home office from January through July and then moved to a new apartment where I immediately set up another qualifying office. My instinct was to just use the simplified meth...
I qualify for a home office. Is the simplified method just lower paperwork, or does it change the economics too?
I am self-employed and use a dedicated room in my apartment for my U.S. LLC. I qualify for the home office deduction, but I cannot tell whether the simplified method is just a convenience option or wh...
My K-1 has QBI info, but how do I know whether to use Form 8995 or Form 8995-A?
I received a K-1 from a U.S. partnership and the attachment includes QBI information, W-2 wages, and UBIA figures. That made me assume Form 8995-A is always required whenever a K-1 shows all those det...
My old U.S. business shut down last year, but the new return still shows a QBI loss carryforward. Is that possible?
I am from India and had a U.S.-connected business that generated a loss in one year, then shut down. In 2026 I have a different business activity and my preparer says the old QBI loss still has to be ...
I paid AMT a few years ago because of timing items. Can Form 8801 help me now even though I owe no AMT this year?
I am from Canada and in a prior year I had AMT because of timing-related items tied to investments and depreciation. This year my return does not seem to create AMT, but my preparer says I may still n...
I already paid foreign tax and thought that solved everything. Why am I still being told to look at AMT and an AMT foreign tax credit?
I am a U.S. person living in France and most of my tax planning has centered on the ordinary foreign tax credit. I assumed that once the foreign tax credit was large enough, the U.S. side was basicall...
I have no U.S. wages, only ECI on 1040-NR. Is my first estimated tax payment really not due until June 15?
I am from South Africa and file Form 1040-NR because of U.S.-connected business activity. I have no W-2 wages and no withholding at all. The business only pays contractors and collects service revenue...
My advisory firm is profitable now. At what point does the consulting-SSTB rule start shrinking QBI?
I am from the U.K. and run a consulting and advisory practice through a U.S. pass-through structure. The business is finally having a good year, and my taxable income may land somewhere around $225,00...
I have a U.S. LLC but I do all consulting work from Spain. Does that income count for QBI if it is not ECI?
I am a Spanish consultant with a Wyoming LLC. The company earns around $86,000 a year from mostly U.S. clients, but I do all of the actual work from Madrid and do not travel to the United States. My p...
My net worth is far below $2 million and my tax has always been low. Do I still need Form 8854 when I expatriate?
I am from Mexico and I expect to fall well below the covered expatriate thresholds. Because of that, I assumed Form 8854 would not matter for me. Then I saw references saying the form is required even...
I am leaving the U.S. permanently next month. Do I need a sailing permit, and is Form 1040-C just an early tax return?
I am from Turkey and have been in the United States on a long professional assignment while also owning a small U.S. LLC. I am now leaving permanently in about three weeks. Someone at work mentioned a...
If I gift assets before expatriating and bring net worth below $2 million, does that automatically keep me out of covered expatriate status?
I am from Israel and I am reviewing a possible expatriation from long-term resident status. My current net worth is slightly above $2 million. A planning adviser floated the idea of making gifts befor...
We could file dual-status, but my spouse is a U.S. resident. Should we consider the joint election instead?
I am from Japan and had a move year that probably makes me dual-status. My spouse is a U.S. resident for the whole year. One adviser says to keep the return dual-status because it is technically accur...
I became a U.S. resident mid-year and now have contract income with no withholding. Do the normal estimated tax due dates still apply?
I am from the Netherlands and became a U.S. resident during 2025. After the move I stopped being paid through payroll and instead started billing clients through my U.S. LLC. There is no U.S. withhold...
The CP2000 is partly right, but it also ignored credits and another deduction. Do I send Form 1040-X with the response?
I am from Taiwan and the IRS CP2000 correctly found one omitted income item, but the proposed tax is still too high because the notice ignored a foreign tax credit adjustment and a related deduction t...
What are the penalties for incorrect information returns under IRC 6721 and 6722?
My foreign-owned LLC issues 1099 forms to U.S. contractors. I filed some of them with incorrect TINs and missed the deadline for others. What penalties apply under IRC 6721 and 6722, and are there dif...
My employer paid tax to the foreign country, but none of it was U.S. withholding. Can I treat it like federal withholding on Form 1040?
I am from Spain and became a U.S. resident while still receiving compensation from a foreign employer. The employer withheld Spanish income tax, and I initially assumed it could go on the withholding ...
Can I still claim a foreign tax credit on salary that I already excluded under Form 2555?
I am a French founder who used Form 2555 for part of my salary while living abroad, but I also paid French income tax on that same compensation. The French tax is large enough that it feels wrong to l...
Our home-country audit changed the final tax bill for 2023. Do we always have to amend the U.S. return, or can Schedule C on Form 1116 handle it?
I am from India and became U.S. resident in 2024, but the issue now is older foreign tax. Our Indian tax advisor finalized a 2023 audit and the final tax is different from what we originally accrued f...
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