US tax for an owner abroad · A term for founders abroad
What is Form 6166?
US residency certificate. The IRS letter certifying a person or company is a US resident for a tax treaty; a foreign-owned single-member LLC can't get one.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 45 of 105 in the glossary, filed under F.IRS: instructions for Form 8802
Form 6166, for a founder abroad.
Form 6166 certifies US tax residence, so a foreign payer or tax office can apply a treaty rate. It's requested on Form 8802, with a user fee of $85 for an individual and $185 for anyone else.
The IRS says a disregarded entity isn't a US resident under treaty residence rules, and treaty benefits go only to an owner who is. So a single-member LLC owned by a founder abroad can't be certified. A Delaware C-Corporation, which is a US resident, can.
Sources: IRS: instructions for Form 8802.
What founders ask next.
- Can my foreign-owned LLC get a US tax residency certificate?
- Not as a single-member LLC: it's disregarded, and its owner isn't a US resident. A US C-Corporation can request one on Form 8802.
- A client abroad wants a tax residency certificate. What do I give them?
- Usually your own country's certificate, since you're the taxpayer behind a disregarded LLC. Ask your adviser at home.
03 · See also
- US tax for an owner abroadTax treatyAn agreement between the US and another country that lowers withholding, decides which country taxes what, and relieves double taxation.Read the term
- US tax for an owner abroadDisregarded entityA single-member LLC the IRS ignores for income tax, treating its income as the owner's; it still files Form 5472 if the owner is foreign.Read the term
- US tax for an owner abroadPass-through taxationTax treatment where a company pays no income tax itself and its profit is taxed to its owners, as with an LLC or a partnership.Read the term
- US tax for an owner abroadEffectively connected incomeIncome connected with a US trade or business, which the US taxes a foreign person on at ordinary rates; pay for work done abroad usually isn't ECI.Read the term
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