US Tax Advisor specialized on non US residents.

[Tasgall Wallace]

Hi all,

i am thinking about opening a LLC in Delaware or Wyoming as a non US resident. It seems that there are a lot of advantages however the whole TAX situation is not really clear and may be a bit complicated to fully understand.

To make a long story short, what i am thinking is to open an LLC together with a business partner, we also want a real bank account there (not just an online one) and we are ready to visit the US and open it in person.

The situation gets a little complicated when it comes to:

- EIN ?
- Virtual Office (probably needed for the bank account) ?
- What kind of tax filing we nee to prepare on a yearly bases?
- What kind of accounting books/docs do we need to keep?
- Is the virtual office going to affect our US tax?
- The taxes in our country of residence are pretty much sorted out, we only need to receive a monthly payment as consultants + dividends (for my understanding a LLC has no dividends however in Delaware an LLC can sign with any title)

Since we are talking about the IRS, i want to do everything as it should be done and i am looking for some advice.

If you know any US tax consulting firm that could help, please let me know!

Thanks!

 

[Martin Everson]

Do you mind sharing some of the advantages you see with us?⁠ ns2

 

[Tasgall Wallace]

Delaware and Wyoming have 0 personal taxes for non US citizens, the profit of an‌ LLC is considered as individual income and thus 0 taxes.
In addition, having a US‍ company goes a long way when you have to discuss with potential new partners.

 

[Loisir]

Hi , it is 0 Taxes when no substance is found in the US (‌ Client etc...) and then the LLC is a pass trough meaning yes ok 0% tax‍ in US but it will count as income in your residence country so under a⁠ tax point of view its not.

Regarding if having a us company goes a long⁤ way with prestige, i can agree for C-Corp not for US llc with non us⁣ persons.

At Least Us LLC grant you certain anonymity.

 

[Martin Everson]

Oh boy sounds like he definitely needs a US tax advisor to make him see‌ sense. So any of the big four accounting firms KPMG, Deloitte, EY or PWC should‍ be sought.

Furthermore entwining your tax affairs with US is stupidity and naivety if you⁠ don't live there.

 

[jackfrost]

Passthru LLC does not fly with partners anyways. "Aliens" as the most intelligent (multiple by‌ -1) country in the world likes to name non-residents cannot be part (except for shadow‍ shares) in a US LLC with US partners depending on tax election status.

 

[jackfrost]

can only confirm. stay as far⁤ away from needing to file a US tax return as possible especially if you are⁣ lucky enough to not be a US citizen

 

[Tasgall Wallace]

The way it's taxed in my country depends on how it's declared, dividends here are basically⁢ not taxed. An LLC can't issue dividends however you don't need to call it LLC︀ (at least in Delaware).

With an LLC in the US you mange to pay close︁ to 0 taxes, you company data will not be easily accessible to other countries (good︂ luck putting pressure on the US) and it's a really stable country... no need to︃ change it every 3/4 years.

I just need somebody to help me understand how to︄ make sure i give Uncle Sam what's owed without any sort of f**k up 🙂

 

[jackfrost]

Nobody here will tell you in detail. The tax code for this is very long‌ and full of loopholes for both sides. In order to net get fucked by uncle‍ sam US effective connected income is the keyword centering about a lot of things like⁠ US clients, working on US soil, how many days a year you spend in the⁤ US, how much income that LLC does in general and how much of it is⁣ from US based sources and so on. It is a very slippery slope.

And again⁢ if you are looking to have investors LLC will not do that trick. You would︀ likely need a C corp election or the IRS will retro actively declare you one.︁

US is far from stable especially for non residents but the one good thing is︂ tax is a very loose issue in the US...

 

[tomboy]

1. Yes, you must have an EIN if you want to open a bank account
2. You can just use your registered agent address, you don't need a virtual office
3. Form 1120 - U.S. corporation income tax return and Form 5472 Information Return of a︈ 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business︉
4. you do not need to maintain books - no accounting is required. however, keep︊ trace and proof of all expenses etc... just like in every country
5. the virtual︋ office, as it's only a mailing address, will not affect the US tax

if you︌ want to do everything as it should be done, then, just get a good CPA.︍ it's not complicated - I suggest you find one in your place of residency, always︎ easier to handle and can help for both accounting.

 

[jackfrost]

You can open bank accounts (Chase) without an EIN. You will not get a credit‌ card though. That will require an EIN. Chase opened an account for me (private) with‍ Google FI bill on a friends apartment without an issue. The guy was not sure⁠ first and called compliance and they green lit it on the fly. They wanted the⁤ premier / sapphire though and 75k deposit.

I walked right into a Chase on a⁣ NYC trip.

 

[exprtadvisrdev]

@tomboy already told you almost everything but one thing I would like to say is:‌ check if you will be taxed as a disregarded entity when the LLC has more‍ than one partner because if I'm not wrong they removed that since 2017 when they⁠ updated the form 5472 but I could be wrong.

Anyway is better to talk with⁤ a tax advisor.

 

[tomboy]

I strongly disagree with you.
Though, it's true⁢ that any U.S bank will open a private account for anybody walking into a branch,︀ it is not possible to get a corporate account without a EIN. if you don't︁ have an EIN or an SSN you just can't open a bank account in the︂ US wether or not you get physically there.
Without EIN/SSN you can't file return and︃ therefore you can't pay tax.
EIN is a must, no way around.

 

[jackfrost]

I was specifically talking private account and yes that you can get without an EIN/SSN‌ but no cards.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

For private accounts, you can also get credit cards. See the discussion over here:
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/us-llc-us-creditcard-advice-non-resident.29770/

 

[jackfrost]

Yeah i did hear and read about some banks offering secured entry level cards and‌ specifically allowing you to build a credit score over time to then get you a‍ real card if you are a non resident and dont have an ssn/ein.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Yes. Or you could just get an Amex with a $10k credit limit right away.‌ Just read the thread.

 

[Tasgall Wallace]

@jackfrost
@tomboy
and all the others that replied to this thread.

Thank you very much‌ for your contribution, for what i could gather there is margin for a stable set‍ up. Could you recommend a US Tax Advisor/Consultant that could guide me thru the loopholes?⁠ I want to be sure everything is done as it should be, otherwise i'll keep⁤ the current *random_offshore_country* setup as long as it lasts.

I am not sure if this⁣ goes against the forum rules, but if you have some recommendation, please share (even in⁢ private message).

@JustAnotherNomad thank you for the link to the other thread, this is definitely︀ what i'm aiming for

 

[Deepbarrels]

If you are looking to have new partners as new⁤ shareholders, then you should opt for a C-Corp instead of a LLC.

Well the issue then is to find a payment processing platform such as stripe︀ that works with your non-US, non-Canadian, non-European offshore corporation. I haven't found one yet.