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.
My foreign-owned LLC had no sales yet. What business activity code goes on the pro forma 1120?
This was a pre-launch year for my SaaS LLC, so the company had expenses, bank movement, and owner funding, but zero customer revenue. When I looked at the Form 1120 instructions, the principal busines...
Single vs MFJ vs MFS Comparison (Ep. 55)
I need help with my filing status: Single vs MFJ vs MFS Comparison. What are the rules and how do I determine what applies to my situation?
My accountant filed Form 7004 for the LLC. Does that also extend my own 1040-NR deadline?
I am a Spanish founder with a foreign-owned U.S. LLC, and my accountant filed Form 7004 because the Form 5472 package was not ready by the spring deadline. At first I felt relieved, but then I realize...
There was no bank transfer, just an owner ledger offset. Can that still matter on Form 5472?
My Netherlands LLC owner account moves all year because sometimes I leave money in the company and sometimes I let the company cover costs that I would otherwise reimburse later. At year-end the accou...
We already filed Form 5472, but I just found a missed owner reimbursement. Do we amend immediately?
My accountant filed the pro forma 1120 and Form 5472 for my single-member LLC, and a month later I realized one owner reimbursement never made it into the books before the return went out. It is not a...
My LLC had no sales, only bank fees and owner funding. Do I still have a Form 5472 issue?
This was basically a setup year for my U.S. LLC. I am in Pakistan, opened the company, got the EIN, paid formation and banking costs, and moved about $6,500 from myself into the LLC so it could surviv...
I wired money into the LLC and later took some back out. How do I know if that was a loan or capital for Form 5472?
I am based in Brazil and funded my Wyoming LLC several times during the year because Stripe payouts were delayed. In total I put in about $32,000 and then took back roughly $11,000 over a few months o...
My LLC had transactions with me personally and with my Hong Kong company. Is one Form 5472 enough?
I own a Delaware LLC personally from the UAE, but I also have a Hong Kong company that provided development and admin support to the LLC during the year. The LLC received funding from me as the owner ...
My foreign owner paid the LLC's software stack on a personal card. Does that belong on Form 5472?
I run a New Mexico single-member LLC from India and most of the year was very lean, around $48,000 of revenue. To keep things moving, I paid several business bills personally, including AWS, Figma, Go...
I had a dual-status year, but my spouse is a U.S. citizen. Are we really blocked from filing jointly?
I moved into the United States during the year and would otherwise be dual-status, but my wife is a U.S. citizen and we normally think in terms of one household return. Then I read the dual-status rul...
I qualified for the closer connection exception, but I missed the Form 8840 deadline. Did I just lose it?
I am a UK founder with a Wyoming LLC and I spent 146 days in the United States during the year, so I was careful about staying under the 183-day actual-presence limit for the closer connection excepti...
Publication 519 says I need a statement to establish my residency termination date. What kind of details belong in that file?
I understand the broad concept that an earlier residency termination date needs more than just my own conclusion, but I have not yet seen a practical checklist for the statement the IRS wants. Publica...
Are there exemptions from the Substantial Presence Test for students, teachers, or diplomats?
I'm a foreign student on an F-1 visa studying in the U.S. and I also started an LLC on the side to do freelance software development. I've been here for 3 years now, so my total days easily exceed 183...
I thought my dual-status year would still get the standard deduction. Why does Publication 519 say no?
I had assumed the hardest part of a dual-status year would be splitting the income. After reading Publication 519 more carefully, I realized the restrictions may be the bigger surprise, especially the...
I was not a resident last year, but I may meet substantial presence next year. Does the first-year choice let residency start earlier?
I live in Thailand and travel in and out of the United States for business. I will probably meet substantial presence next year, but not this year. What caught my attention in Publication 519 is the f...
A medical issue kept me in the U.S. longer than planned. Is Form 8843 how I protect those extra days?
I live in Pakistan and had a year where I intended to leave the United States earlier, but a medical issue delayed my departure. I am now worried that the extra days could matter for substantial prese...
My foreign adviser wants a U.S. residency certificate fast. Why would Form 8802 need a signed return copy marked 'COPY – do not process'?
I live in Germany and my adviser abroad wants a U.S. residency certificate quickly for treaty paperwork. I found the IRS Form 8802 process note saying that if the return has not posted yet, I may need...
My adviser says the treaty tie-breaker may keep me treated as Spanish resident. Is Form 8833 the part that makes that official?
I live in Spain and run a U.S. LLC, but my travel to the United States this year was high enough that my adviser started talking about treaty tie-breaker rules. I understand the broad idea that a trea...
I left the U.S. in August but came back for a short December visit. Can my residency still end in August?
I am based in Malta and had a year where I spent the first eight months mostly in the U.S. before leaving. In December I came back for a very short visit, which now has me second-guessing whether my U...
I met substantial presence, but my first few U.S. days were still tied to France. Can those days stay outside the residency start date?
I live in France and ended up meeting the substantial presence test this year after more travel than planned. The confusing part is that my first few U.S. days happened while my apartment, work setup,...
I moved from Thailand to Portugal mid-year. Can the closer-connection exception still work with two foreign countries?
I started the year living and working from Thailand, then moved to Portugal in the summer and stayed there for the rest of the year. I also spent a few months in the U.S. spread across those periods, ...
Relay says the wire was sent, but the recipient bank wants trace proof. Is the tracking document basically the business version of an MT103 request?
I live in Turkey and use Relay for my U.S. LLC. A supplier says their bank cannot find the incoming international wire, even though Relay shows the payment as sent. I can see a payment history inside ...
Are international wire transfers over $3,000 reported to the government automatically?
I send and receive international wire transfers regularly through my foreign-owned LLC. Someone told me that any international wire over $3,000 is automatically reported to FinCEN. Is this true? I tho...
My bank rejected my LLC account application citing 'PATRIOT Act verification failure' — what does this mean?
I am a Nigerian citizen who formed an LLC in New Mexico. I applied for a business bank account at a large national bank and was rejected. The letter says they could not complete 'customer identificati...
My foreign company was already registered in a U.S. state before the 2025 BOI rule changed. If we missed the one-time deadline, where do we even start?
I live in Israel and our main company is formed outside the U.S., but it has been registered to do business in one U.S. state for some time. We were so focused on the headlines about domestic companie...
Relay says my international application may need a U.S. operating presence. What kind of fact pattern are they looking for?
I live in Malaysia and my Delaware LLC is fully active online, but the founders are all abroad. Relay's support content says some international applicants may need to show a U.S. operating presence an...
A vendor portal wants a formal bank letter, not screenshots. Is Mercury's bank letter the right fix?
I live in Hong Kong and use Mercury for my U.S. LLC. A large vendor portal rejected the screenshots I uploaded and specifically asked for a formal bank letter or official account document. I can see t...
My client says the international wire never arrived. Is a SWIFT receipt the first thing I should send?
I live in France and use a Mercury account for my Delaware LLC. A client says their international payment never reached my supplier, and now everyone is asking me for evidence that the outgoing wire w...
Amazon wants proof that my payout account belongs to the LLC. Is a Wise account-details document usually better than screenshots?
I am based in Vietnam and use a Wise business account for my Delaware LLC. A marketplace asked me for proof that the payout account belongs to the business, and my first thought was to just send scree...
FBAR Filing: FinCEN Report 114 for Foreign Bank Accounts (Ep. 38)
I have income from outside the U.S. and need guidance on: FBAR Filing: FinCEN Report 114 for Foreign Bank Accounts. What are my reporting obligations and how do I stay compliant?
Have a tax question?
ForeignLLCTax members can submit questions and get expert answers with IRS source citations. Join the community for $9.99/month.