My U.S. LLC is owned from abroad and has never filed anything. Where does that leave me?

A foreign-owned single-member LLC has an annual reporting obligation even with no tax to pay, and the penalty for missing it starts at $25,000 per year. Until the filing is made, the year the IRS would normally stop being able to look at stays open. There are established routes for filing late, and which one fits depends on the facts and on whether the failure was reasonable in the circumstances.

Do you work with U.S. companies, or only foreign-owned ones?

Both. The practice specialises in inbound work, meaning companies owned or operated from outside the United States, and also prepares business returns for U.S. companies, including those beginning to trade across a border.

Do you do bookkeeping or payroll?

No. We do not keep books, produce monthly management accounts, run payroll or file payroll returns, and we do not issue audit or review opinions. That work is referred out, and we are happy to make the introduction.

We formed through an online incorporation service. Is something wrong?

Not necessarily wrong, but those services form the entity and stop there. What is regularly missing afterwards is the annual information return, the treaty documentation for payments leaving the United States, and the transfer pricing record for anything charged between related companies.

§00Business Tax Matters

The filings a company cannot skip.

Name: Gulzari CPA — Kissimmee office
Address: 1101 Miranda Lane, Suite 128, Kissimmee, FL, 34741, US

Business tax for companies with a foot in the United States: what is owed, what has to be filed and when, and what each return has to be supported by if anyone ever reads it closely. Prepared from our office in Kissimmee, for companies across Greater Orlando and for owners abroad.

Run the exposure check

Company intake

What this covers

Six things a cross-border company is judged on.

Foreign-owner disclosure

Form 5472 and the annual cycle

A foreign-owned U.S. company reports its transactions with its owner and with connected businesses every year. The penalty for not doing so starts at $25,000 and repeats. We run the calendar, the records it depends on, and the return it attaches to.

Company intake

Entity choice

A U.S. corporation, not a branch

A foreign company trading directly in the United States files as a foreign corporation and can owe branch profits tax on top of the corporate tax. A U.S. corporation is usually the cleaner holder of the business: one federal rate, ordinary returns, dividends governed by the treaty.

Structure options

U.S. business income

Is the income connected to a U.S. trade or business?

The answer decides whether profits are taxed on a net basis at corporate rates or withheld at a flat rate at source, and it turns on what the business actually does here: people, inventory, agents, contracts.

Exposure surface

Treaty positions

Withholding, W-8BEN-E and treaty claims

The 30% default on U.S.-source payments is a ceiling, not a fixed cost, where a treaty applies and the claim is documented before the payment is made. The paperwork has to exist first; it cannot be assembled afterwards.

Treaty mechanics

Related parties

Transfer pricing between your own companies

Charges between a parent and its U.S. company have to look like charges between strangers, and have to be documented as such. This is the part a small group is most likely to have skipped entirely.

How it is documented

U.S. companies

Ordinary business returns

Corporate and pass-through returns for U.S. companies, including those starting to sell, hire or invest across a border. The cross-border question usually arrives before anyone thinks to ask it.

Ask about your company

“I've been using Gulzari CPA for our company's tax returns and couldn't be happier. They are incredibly fast and efficient, making a complex process feel seamless. What I appreciate most is their ability to react to changes on the fly as our business evolves. Highly recommended for any business owner looking for a pro-active partner!”

Haskel ChuaGoogle · every review →

§01Common questions

Asked before every engagement.

The full list, including the work this firm refers out, is on the questions page.

Read every question

My U.S. LLC is owned from abroad and has never filed anything. Where does that leave me?: A foreign-owned single-member LLC has an annual reporting obligation even with no tax to pay, and the penalty for missing it starts at $25,000 per year. Until the filing is made, the year the IRS would normally stop being able to look at stays open. There are established routes for filing late, and which one fits depends on the facts and on whether the failure was reasonable in the circumstances.
Do you work with U.S. companies, or only foreign-owned ones?: Both. The practice specialises in inbound work, meaning companies owned or operated from outside the United States, and also prepares business returns for U.S. companies, including those beginning to trade across a border.
Do you do bookkeeping or payroll?: No. We do not keep books, produce monthly management accounts, run payroll or file payroll returns, and we do not issue audit or review opinions. That work is referred out, and we are happy to make the introduction.
We formed through an online incorporation service. Is something wrong?: Not necessarily wrong, but those services form the entity and stop there. What is regularly missing afterwards is the annual information return, the treaty documentation for payments leaving the United States, and the transfer pricing record for anything charged between related companies.

Gulzari CPA LLC is a firm of U.S. Certified Public Accountants. It is not a law firm and does not practice law. No communication with this firm creates an attorney–client relationship. Where legal counsel is required we coordinate with your attorneys.