What to file as a non-resident alien single owner of a U.S. LLC in Wyoming?

Question

I'm an Russian citizen, living in Russia and I own a LLC in Wyoming. I am the only owner of this LLC (single member managed LLC). I use this company to accept international payments through 2checkout.com(US) and Paypal on my website. I transfer all the received money to my Payoneer account (US). I'm selling web services only through my website to all-world. I've never visited the US before—the company was formed over the internet through a registered agent. I don’t have an office in the US and real bank account.

Am I engaged in a trade or business in the United States?

Are the payments received from buyers outside the United States Effectively Connected With U.S.? Or I need to have US customers for business effectively connected with US.

Do I have to fill 1040NR form with my details only and leave the rest blank? If yes, then when?

Do I have to fill Form 5472 + Form 1120-F? If yes, then when?

Do I have to fill Schedule C form ? If yes, then when?

Answer 1

As a rule of thumb, any US person has at least two kinds of reporting obligations with the IRS.

1. Information Reporting
2. Tax Reporting

Based on your question, we know that (1) you are a non-resident alien (2) without any substantial presence in the US on an individual level. However, (3) you are the owner of an LLC, and that's where the fun starts, because (according to the IRS):

"A person means an individual and legal entities including, but not limited to, a limited liability company..."

Therefore, you are a US person and fully obliged for information & tax reporting related to the LLC. (If your LLC made revenue that is eligible for taxation is another question and not to be discussed here)

In order to fulfil your reporting obligations, the following high-level process may be of help:

1. Apply for EIN by submitting form SS-04 via fax (without EIN, you can't file LLC-specific information)
2. Electronically File FBAR for LLC with EIN as an identifier (hefty penalties are due if you don't do this)
3. EITHER file 'pro forma' form 1120 together with form 5472 via fax (source) OR schedule an ITIN application with any CPA - in my case, they took the EIN from step (1) and used it to submit a "zero-income" tax return based on form 1120

1-2 month later, you should have an ITIN, an EIN as well as an FBAR filing confirmation email. From that point on, you can use your ITIN to e-file zero-income tax returns for future years in a matter of minutes using services as, for example, Sprintax.

As to when exactly you are required to file, it's safe to go with the annual reporting deadline (April 15 this year). Lastly, failure to do any of the above may not result in immediate penalties as it may be safely assumed that the IRS has bigger fish to fry. However, keep in mind that your business is technically operating out of compliance until you fulfil all your reporting obligations.