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.
As a Canadian founder, can I rely on the treaty if I visit U.S. customers a few times a year?
I am a Canadian founder with a Delaware LLC selling annual B2B SaaS contracts. Revenue is about $310,000 and most customers are in the U.S. I do product and support from Toronto, but I also travel to ...
What is the $10,000 penalty for failing to file Form 5471?
I am a U.S. person with ownership in a foreign corporation and I also own a foreign LLC that does business in the U.S. I did not file Form 5471 for my foreign corporation. What penalties am I facing a...
Can I run GitHub Sponsors and consulting through the same foreign-owned LLC?
I am a maintainer in the UK and I have a Delaware LLC that I use for open source consulting. GitHub Sponsors is growing and should be around $18,000 this year. I also sell some private support and a f...
Understanding W-2, W-2G, and 1099 Forms: Income Reporting Basics (Ep. 11)
I'm new to U.S. taxes and need to understand: Understanding W-2, W-2G, and 1099 Forms: Income Reporting Basics. Can someone explain this in straightforward terms?
Stripe and PayPal keep asking for tax status on my LLC. Should I be giving W-9 or W-8 paperwork?
I am a Brazilian founder with a New Mexico single-member LLC selling a small SaaS product. Gross receipts are around $65,000 and I use both Stripe and PayPal. I do not have a U.S. SSN or ITIN, but the...
Form 8938 FATCA: Foreign Financial Assets Reporting Introduction (Ep. 39)
I have income from outside the U.S. and need guidance on: Form 8938 FATCA: Foreign Financial Assets Reporting Introduction. What are my reporting obligations and how do I stay compliant?
What are the anti-inversion rules under IRC 7874 and how do they affect foreign-owned structures?
I've been reading about corporate inversions — companies moving their tax domicile overseas to reduce U.S. taxes. We are a foreign company considering acquiring a U.S. target, and our advisors warned ...
How does the IRS late payment penalty work and does it apply to foreign LLCs?
My foreign-owned LLC had some effectively connected income (ECI) and owed tax, but I did not pay by the deadline. How is the late payment penalty calculated? Is there interest on top of the penalty? I...
What is Previously Taxed Income (PTI) and how does IRC 959 work for CFC distributions?
My CFC has been operating for several years and I've been including Subpart F and GILTI income on my U.S. tax return. Now the CFC is about to distribute a large dividend. My understanding is that I sh...
What is a Section 338(g) election and when is it used for foreign acquisitions?
Our U.S. parent is acquiring a foreign target company by purchasing all of its stock. Our M&A advisor mentioned we should consider a Section 338(g) election to treat the stock purchase as an asset pur...
What is Form 8288-A and why haven't I received my copy yet? It's been 3 months since closing.
I sold a property back in November through my foreign-owned LLC. The title company told me the FIRPTA withholding was submitted to the IRS, but I still haven't received Form 8288-A. My tax preparer sa...
Who counts as a 'beneficial owner' for BOI reporting — just me or also my spouse and business partners?
I am a South Korean citizen and I co-own a U.S. LLC with my wife (also Korean) and a Canadian business partner. We each own one-third. My wife handles the finances but is not listed on any formation d...
Does my foreign-owned LLC qualify for any BOI reporting exemption?
I have a foreign-owned LLC that earned about $200,000 last year. I have no U.S. employees — I work alone from France. I heard that some companies are exempt from BOI reporting. My registered agent cha...
Foreign Tax Credit Introduction: How to Avoid Double Taxation (Ep. 21)
I'm trying to maximize my tax credits: Foreign Tax Credit Introduction: How to Avoid Double Taxation. How do I calculate and claim these credits correctly?
Does my state have additional AML requirements beyond the federal ones for my foreign-owned LLC?
My foreign-owned LLC is registered in New York. I know about the federal BSA/AML requirements from FinCEN. But someone mentioned that New York has its own AML rules that are even stricter than the fed...
General Business Credit Introduction: Form 3800 Overview (Ep. 24)
I'm trying to maximize my tax credits: General Business Credit Introduction: Form 3800 Overview. How do I calculate and claim these credits correctly?
Our adviser says foreign taxes in the section 951A basket do not carry over. Is that actually different from normal Form 1116 carryovers?
I am a U.S. shareholder in a foreign operating company, and this year our international package includes foreign taxes connected to section 951A category income. I am used to hearing that unused forei...
Our foreign partnership keeps local books in euros. Does Form 8865 Schedule L really need U.S.-GAAP-style balance sheets translated into dollars?
I am a U.S. Category 1 filer for a foreign partnership based in Spain. The partnership's accounting system is local, in euros, and the year-end books do not look like a U.S. tax balance sheet package....
My foreign taxes are under the simplified limit, but I also have an unused carryover. Can I skip Form 1116 this year?
I am a U.S. taxpayer in the UK and my current-year passive foreign taxes are low enough that I might qualify for the simplified credit without Form 1116. The wrinkle is that I still have an unused for...
If I had no gross income but still need to file as a nonresident, do I really send only Schedule OI and an exclusion list?
I am from Japan and had a year where my U.S.-connected activity created filing questions but no gross income after the relevant exclusions. My adviser said I may still need a Form 1040-NR filing, but ...
Our income was seasonal. If we use the annualized method, do we have to attach Form 2220 even if the IRS could compute the penalty?
I run a U.S. corporation that earns most of its revenue in the holiday season. The early quarters were weak and the fourth quarter was enormous, so the standard installment pattern does not reflect th...
Our transfer adviser keeps mentioning Schedules G and H on top of Schedule O. Is that because this may be section 721(c) property?
I am a U.S. person who transferred appreciated operating assets into a foreign partnership as part of an internal group restructuring. The transaction was planned as tax-deferred, but now our reportin...
Our C corporation received dividends from a foreign subsidiary. Does that just go on Schedule C like an ordinary domestic dividend?
I manage a U.S. holding company that owns an operating subsidiary in Europe. During 2025 the foreign subsidiary paid a dividend of about $480,000 to the U.S. company. We also have some domestic portfo...
I am traveling constantly and may be abroad near the deadline. Can a U.S. agent sign my Form 1040-NR for me?
I am a founder from Argentina who spent most of the year moving between countries. My Form 1040-NR will be ready on time, but there is a decent chance I will be in transit and unable to sign physicall...
My foreign tax changed only because of exchange rates, and the dollar difference is tiny. Can I avoid amending old U.S. returns?
I am a U.S. person in Japan and my Japanese tax liability did not really change in local currency, but when the final payment was translated into dollars the amount differed from what we accrued earli...
When paper-filing Form 1040-X for a 1040-NR amendment, do I really attach a whole corrected 1040-NR behind it?
I am a founder from Brazil and need to amend my 2024 Form 1040-NR because we found an omitted Form 1042-S and also need to revise the foreign tax credit. I was expecting Form 1040-X to be just a cover...
Our consulting corporation wants a fiscal year ending September 30. Are we blocked because the company is a personal service corporation?
I own a consulting corporation with two cofounders, all of us active in the business, and almost all the company's income comes from advisory work. We are based partly in Canada and partly in the U.S....
I increased my stake in a foreign partnership from 9% to 11%. Does crossing 10% alone trigger Category 4 filing?
I am a U.S. person investing in a foreign venture partnership. My direct interest was about 9% and I bought a small additional piece that took me to roughly 11%. Nothing else changed operationally, an...
I only own the foreign partnership interest constructively through another U.S. person. Can I skip the full Form 8865 if that person files it?
I am treated as an indirect owner of a foreign partnership through a U.S. company in which I own shares, but I do not hold the partnership interest directly. The direct U.S. owner plans to file Form 8...
Our software pulled in a prior-year foreign tax credit carryover, but I do not see Schedule B attached. Is that a problem?
I am a U.S. citizen living in the UK, and this year's Form 1116 includes a carryover from a prior year where the passive basket was limited. The tax software reflected the amount on line 10, but when ...
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