Even when you owe little or no US tax, the paperwork is still mandatory, and some of it carries a penalty far larger than the tax would have been. Brio prepares and files your federal returns, your state filings, and the forms most non-resident owners have never heard of.
Free consultation first. We tell you what you must file before you pay for anything.
The part most owners get wrong
Plenty of non-resident LLC owners owe no US federal income tax. That is real, and it is common. What is also real: the IRS still expects paperwork, and the most expensive mistake we see is an owner who correctly worked out they owed nothing, and therefore filed nothing.
Taxes are not purely a federal matter either. States levy their own income taxes and franchise taxes on top of whatever happens at the federal level, and those obligations follow the state you formed in and the states where you have a real presence. Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual tax due June 1. California charges an $800 minimum annual franchise tax. Texas LLCs file a franchise tax report with the Comptroller, which is separate from anything filed with the Secretary of State.
Sales tax is a separate track again, with its own registrations and returns. We handle all of it in one place. If you want specifics for your own situation rather than general rules, start with the free tax consultation.
What's included
Before anything is prepared, we work out what you actually must file. Ownership structure, where the work happens, where your customers are, which states you have a presence in. Some owners need less than they expected. Some need more. You get the real list either way.
Whatever your structure requires: Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 for foreign-owned single-member LLCs, Form 1065 with a Schedule K-1 per member for multi-member LLCs, or a pass-through onto a US owner's personal return. Prepared, reviewed, and filed.
State income tax returns, franchise tax reports, and the annual obligations that come with your formation state. We track what your state charges and when it falls due. The state guides show how much the rules differ from one state to the next.
Multi-member LLCs with non-US partners generally have to withhold on foreign partners' effectively connected income and report it on Forms 8804 and 8805. The obligation sits with the partnership, not the partner, which is why it gets missed so often. Where it applies, we prepare it.
Federal deadlines, state deadlines, and franchise tax dates sit on different calendars. We track yours and tell you before they arrive. You can also check dates yourself with the US tax deadlines calendar.
Not a range, not a warning, not a nudge toward services you do not need. A number, the reasoning behind it, and a clear note on anything genuinely uncertain. If your answer is zero tax and two forms, we will say exactly that.
Tell us who owns the LLC, where you and your team are based, where your customers are, and what you sell. Fifteen minutes usually settles most of it. Book the consultation at no cost, before you commit to anything.
You get a written list of what applies: which federal forms, which state returns and franchise taxes, whether foreign-partner withholding is in play, and whether you are likely to need a personal Form 1040-NR. If you do, you will need an ITIN, and the IRS asks ITIN applicants to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks in filing season or from overseas, so we start that early.
Send us your books and supporting documents. We prepare the returns, walk you through anything that needs a decision from you, and file. You review everything before it is submitted.
Deadlines are tracked for the following year and you get reminders ahead of each one. For the full annual picture, our LLC annual compliance checklist lays it out.
Yes. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 attached to a pro-forma Form 1120, and it is required even with zero revenue. The penalty for missing it starts at $25,000. This is the most common and most expensive gap we fix. Whether you owe any actual tax is a separate question, and in many cases the answer is no.
A multi-member LLC files Form 1065 and issues a Schedule K-1 to each member. If any member is a non-US person, withholding on that partner's effectively connected income typically comes into play, reported on Forms 8804 and 8805. That withholding is the partnership's responsibility, so it needs to be handled at the entity level, not left to individual partners.
When you have US-source income that is effectively connected with a US trade or business, a personal Form 1040-NR may be required on top of the entity filing. Whether your activity is effectively connected depends on specifics we would rather look at than guess about, so bring it to the consultation.Filing a 1040-NR requires an ITIN, for which the IRS asks you to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks in filing season or from overseas, so start early if this looks likely. EIN vs ITIN vs SSN explains how the three numbers differ.
Yes. S-Corporation election is available to US citizens and residents only, and for some owners it meaningfully changes the tax picture. For US owners without an S-Corp election, LLC income generally passes through to the personal return. Which route makes sense depends on your income level and how you pay yourself, so it is worth a conversation rather than a rule of thumb.
In most cases, yes. Information returns like Form 5472 are required regardless of revenue, and many states charge their franchise tax or annual fee whether or not you traded. A dormant LLC is not a filing-free LLC. If the entity is genuinely inactive, tell us, and we will confirm the shortest list that keeps you compliant.
No, sales tax is a separate track with its own registrations, thresholds, and returns, and it is driven by where your customers are rather than where you formed. It matters most for ecommerce and marketplace sellers. We handle it separately through sales tax and reseller permits.
Most non-resident LLC owners owe less than they fear. The filings are still mandatory, and the penalties for skipping them are not small. Start with a free consultation and get the real list for your situation, with a flat annual fee for the work itself.
