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Advisory for Indian entrepreneurs doing business in United States.

United States is the key market that attracts startups, ecommerce and brick and mortar business alike. US is the largest business partner of India. Doing business in US comes with lot of regulatory challenges. Add to it, the complexity of the Indian laws – FEMA and International Tax.

We are very uniquely placed to advise in both the jurisdictions and to help navigate through the complex laws.

US has plethora of options with respect to jurisdictions – decision regarding which State to incorporate? Legal structure to choose – like LLC (with option to be taxed as proprietorship, C Corporation, or even partnership) or Companies or C Corp as it is popularly called. Whether you are just targeting the huge market or are planning to raise funds for your startup, we are there to help you. We can help you with –

Selecting jurisdiction to incorporate.
Type of entity LLC / INC and incorporation. Advising on banking, payment processing options, etc. Assisting in getting ITIN.
Setting up bookkeeping whether in QBO, Freshbooks, Xero or any software of your choice. Setting up integrations with stipe, paypal, bank feeds, etc. depending upon the software choosen.
Helping in processing payroll through service provider like GUSTO / ADP etc.
Helping in determining sales tax obligation. Helping in getting registrations and fulfilling monthly filing with help of services like Avalara, Taxjar, etc.
Powerful financial reporting with monthly financial statements, expense overviews, or any other customized report and actionable insights.
Tax Preparation, filing and year round advisory support. Tax season minus the stress.

On the India side, we can help the startup / entrepreneur in

Choosing the investee entity and fulfilling corresponding obligations under FEMA. Helping with regular compliances and filings under Overseas Direct Investment Regulations.
Helping with complex international tax regulations of Indian jurisdiction. Specifically advising on transfer pricing for internal sale of goods or services between Indian and US associate enterprises and place of effective management rules.
Tax planning and structuring.

We have served numerous startups and ecommerce business and traditional brick and mortar companies venturing in US. Speak to us… We can help you too.

Advisory for foreign entrepreneurs doing business in US

Are you a foreign resident and planning to do or doing business in United States? Do you need a company structure for selling your Tech, Saas, or Service or online Products on amazon or other platform without need for any physical presence. Or you intend to hire staff, store inventory and have physical office in US.

US offers numerous options. A single member LLC offers best of both worlds. A pass through entity structure with Limited Liability and also exemption from Federal and State Income Tax on Income which is not Effectively connected to conduct of Trade or Business in US (a complex term which should be properly understood). A C Corp (an Incorporated Company) is recommended for businesses intending to hire employees or have physical presence or planning to raise funds. A C Corp is considered to be resident of US and is liable to tax on it’s income. US has flat 21% Corporate tax rate.

A foreign owned entity has complex reporting requirement irrespective of whether it has to pay taxes or not. There are specific informational returns like Form 5472 to be filed before designated date every year irrespective of whether the income of the entity is taxable in US or not. Non compliance is very costly. There are heavy penalties starting from $25000 per default.

We can help you in –

Selecting suitable entity structure and incorporation.
Bookkeeping and financial reporting. Periodical profitability, insights, etc.
Annual compliances. Preparing and filing tax returns and tax advisory. Helping in annual franchise state tax obligations. Filing of proforma 1120 and forms 5472 or your regular C Corp returns.
Assisting in discharging sales tax, payroll obligations with help of integrated solutions like Gusto, ADP, Avalara, Taxjar, etc.
We also cater to multi member foreign owned LLCs (treated as partnership with foreign persons) which have complex reporting requirement and withholding requirement.

We have assisted entrepreneurs from France, South Africa, UAE, Canada and all around the world. We can also help you too. Drop us a mail or leave us your contact details.

International tax for US Citizens or Green Card Holders

US is one of the only two jurisdictions in the world which taxes it’s citizens/ green card holders on worldwide income irrespective of the fact that they live outside US and have a tax home outside US. As a US citizen or green card holder, you have obligation to file tax as a resident and pay tax on your worldwide income. Most of the US double taxation avoidance treaties (DTAA) exclude US citizen from accessing the treaty benefits. You have certain mitigation tools like Foreign Tax Credit or Foreign Earned Income Credit which may soften the blow. However, if you own business then you may also have Self Employment Tax (FICA) payment obligation. If you own more than 50% of foreign partnership or C Corp or are an officer in any of the foreign corporation, you may have very detailed filing requirement in form 5471. We would not be exaggerating if we call form 5471 as one of the most complex piece of tax form in the history of US taxes. Apart if you own foreign assets or have signatory authority over foreign accounts or are jointly holding foreign financial accounts, deposits, depository accounts with a non resident, you have filing obligations under FATCA (form 8938) as well as FBAR (Fincen 114 which is a separate informational return filed on Fincen website).

We have helped numerous US citizens and green card holders every year in fulfilling their tax obligations. We have also helped them in structuring their affairs to minimize the tax obligations. For US citizens in India, we have expertise in understanding implications of both the jurisdictions and are uniquely placed to advise with our personalized service. Drop us a mail. We will be happy to discuss your situation.

Indian & Foreign students in US

Students get special treatment in US tax code and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (like with India). Students exclude their stay when on student visa for them to be counted as residents of US. Certain treaties (like India US treaty) accord special status to students. Accordingly, students file their returns as non residents and pay tax on their income from US (effectively connected income). The status changes once the student gets regular work permit (H1). We file taxes for many students for their income from US. We also help them once their status changes to H1. Speak to us if you have any such requirement.

Streamlined Offshore filing for US Citizens living abroad

US citizens and green card holders are treated as residents by US and taxed on their world wide income irrespective of the fact that they live outside US or have tax home outside US. This is a very far reaching obligation which makes them residents of dual countries. Many US citizens or Green Card Holders are not aware of such obligations. For them, US has a special program called Streamlined Offshore filing procedures which helps them to become compliant with US laws. Under the scheme, a US citizen (provided he or she fulfills certain conditions) staying overseas can file three years of past due returns (with taxes to be paid) along with 6 years of FBAR filings and certify non-wilfull conduct for not filing the tax returns in past. He gets immunity from penalties and past non compliance.

This is a very attractive window available to become compliant with US tax laws. We have helped many of India based and overseas staying US Citizens and Green Card Holders to become compliant. We can help you too. Speak to us to discuss your situation.

Services for Indian Diaspora in US

We have been serving numerous Indians living in US for their tax filings, book keeping needs or structuring their Indian assets, investments and helping them to be compliant in both jurisdictions. We are uniquely placed in understanding implications of unique transactions like capital gains, gift, inheritance, partnership business, equity investments, etc. in India and their implications on their US tax return and reporting requirements. We help in structuring the transaction to minimize it’s overall impact. We shall be glad to understand your situation and explore possible solutions.

Specially for Indian Entrepreneurs

India has complex (and we would say to some extent archaic) foreign exchange regulations. There are many do’s and don’ts. The overseas direct investment regulations under FEMA govern foreign investments by Indian residents outside India. We have advised numerous businesses with their ODI adventures and have helped them to comply with RBI regulations.

Apart from FEMA, India has aggressive Income Tax legislation which needs to be taken care of. POEM rules (Place of Effective Management), Transfer Pricing regulations (for transactions between related Indian entities and foreign entities) and TP compliances are a burden on otherwise budding businesses looking to scale up outside India.

Our unique understanding of International tax and regulatory provisions for both the jurisdictions (and both are equally complex) places us in much better position than advices rendered by each individual consultants / domain specialist in SILOS. The strong foundation and sound advice goes a long way in building successful business.