Investing in and/or Owning Your Own Business
There are many advantages to you investing in a foreign corporation or starting a foreign corporation of your own.
One of the advantages is that you are generally not taxed on the profits until you either take the earnings as a dividend or in the form of a wage. Even then you may escape tax on the income because of the Foreign Tax Credit or the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.
If you are an officer, director, or more than a 10% stock holder of a foreign corporation, you are required to attach an additional set of forms to your tax return. The amount of information that you must supply on these forms depends on the amount of your ownership in the corporation and your position with the company.
Failure to file this form can result in a variety of fines and penalties that can reach anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dollars. You must file this form even if the corporation does not do business or make a profit. In some countries, it is customary to own personal assets in a corporation. These corporations do not conduct business and exist solely to own personal assets. These corporations must still be reported to the IRS by filing Form 5471.
We live in an increasingly globally contected society. The United States has entered into treaties with many countries to exchange information, including corporate registrations.
Download the following forms and email them to accounting1@ustaxinternational.com
Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
Contact Us
For clients located in Costa Rica, U.S. Tax International is conveniently located in Rohrmoser, just a few blocks north of the United States Embassy. We can be reached at the phone numbers below or by e-mail at contact@ustaxinternational.com.