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I am Working in the US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts

“I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have foreign accounts” – this is the phrase that I often hear from various callers. Usually, these persons know very little about their US tax obligations and are concerned about their US tax compliance. Let’s analyze this phrase – “I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have foreign accounts” – and see if we can draw some general conclusions about the US tax obligations of such individuals.

“I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – L1 Visa

L1 visa is a a non-immigrant work visa which allows international companies that operate in the United States and abroad to transfer certain classes of employees from its foreign divisions to the US division for up to seven years. Some of clients eventually end up moving to H-1B visa before applying for US permanent residency.

“I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – US Tax Residency

If a person is working in the United States on L1 visa, a natural question arises about that person’s tax obligations in the United States; more specifically, whether such a person should file For m 1040-NR (as a non-resident) or Form 1040 (as a US tax resident). Since an L1 Visa holder is not a US citizen or a US permanent resident, the key issue here is whether this person satisfies the Substantial Presence Test.

If the Substantial Presence Test is not satisfied, then Form 1040-NR should be filed for US-source income only. However, if the Substantial Presence Test is satisfied, then this individual should file Form 1040 as a US tax resident.

“I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – Income Tax Consequences of US Tax Residency

If a person becomes a US tax resident under the Substantial Presence Test, he is required to report and pay US taxes on his worldwide income. This is the case even if a person is here just on L1 visa and he is not a US permanent resident. Also, a whole set of US laws comes into effect with respect to this person’s foreign income which may dramatically alter his tax situation.

For example, if an L1 individual satisfies the Substantial Presence Test, his foreign tax-exempt income may suddenly become taxable in the United States. This often occurs with respect to various “building” or “construction” accounts which are present in many countries (for example, Colombia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, et cetera). Moreover, new complexity will be added with PFIC treatment of certain investments in foreign mutual funds.

“I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – Foreign Accounts

The last part of the phrase – “I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – is related to the ownership of foreign accounts. If the L1 visa holder satisfies the Substantial Presence Test, he is required to report these foreign accounts to the IRS (and perhaps in more than one way) if the relevant balance thresholds are satisfied. The most important forms for reporting foreign accounts are FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) and IRS Form 8938. Other forms may also be applicable.

Undoubtedly, FBAR occupies the central place in foreign account reporting. This is the case not only because of the lower reporting thresholds, but also due to the draconian penalties that the IRS may impose for FBAR noncompliance.

“I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – A Dangerous Phrase that Requires Legal Help

Even from the very general description above, it becomes clear that this phrase – “I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – indicates a precarious legal situation that needs a detailed examination by an experienced international tax lawyer. The penalties for noncompliance are extraordinarily high making a professional analysis of this person’s situation almost obligatory.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Legal Help With Reporting of Your Foreign Accounts and Filing Delinquent Tax Forms

If this phrase – “I am working in US on L1 Visa and I have Foreign Accounts” – applies to your situation, contact Sherayzen Law Office for legal help. Sherayzen Law Office is a highly-experienced international tax law firm that has helped hundreds of US taxpayers around the world to bring their tax affairs into full compliance. We can help You!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

HSBC FATCA Letter

In a previous article, I explained why FATCA Letters mark a critical event for the voluntary disclosure process of a US taxpayer with undisclosed foreign accounts. While I mentioned that the content of a FATCA letter is usually more or less the same, I emphasized that the actual format of a FATCA letter may differ dramatically from bank to bank. With this article, I am starting a series of article devoted to various FATCA letter formats adopted by various banks around the world. Today, I wish to concentrate on the HSBC FATCA Letter.

HSBC FATCA Letter: General Format

HSBC FATCA Letter follows what I call a “reference format”. Unlike the “comprehensive format” usually followed by FATCA letters issued by Swiss banks, the reference format of the HSBC FATCA Letter means that the HSBC FATCA Letter is fairly concise but it references (hence the name) various forms that need to be completed by the HSBC customers.

Basically, this means that the HSBC FATCA Letter itself does not ask any questions, but it acts as kind of a checklist for various supplementary forms that need to be completed by the account holder in order to provide the bank with the information necessary for its own FATCA compliance. Failure to provide such information would result in the bank classifying the US taxpayer as a “recalcitrant account holder”.

An interesting aspect about the format that the HSBC FATCA Letter follows is that some (but not all) of the supplementary forms were developed and modified by the bank for the sole purpose of FATCA compliance. Thus, there are two types of supplementary forms that are referenced by HSBC FATCA letter: US standard forms (W-8, W-9, et cetera) and proprietary forms developed by the HSBC itself (SW, S1, S3, et cetera).

HSBC FATCA Letter: US Supplementary Forms

Similar to every FATCA letter issued by other banks around the world, HSBC FATCA letter references the main relevant forms developed by the US government – Form W8 (usually, W8BEN) and Form W9. Form W9 is of course the critical form that must be provided to a foreign bank in order to verify the US taxpayer’s social security number. Form W8, on the other hand, provides the critical information for the foreign bank for the purpose of tax withholding under relevant tax treaties. It also allows the bank to indirectly confirm the account holder’s non-US tax status.

HSBC FATCA Letter: Proprietary Forms Developed by HSBC

HSBC FATCA letter references a variety of forms developed or modified by HSBC according to FATCA requirements. The most common documents are S1, S2 and S3. Form S1 is basically asks for a government-issued ID establishing non-US status. Form S2 is a copy of Individual Certification of Loss of Nationality (again for establishing the Non-US Citizenship status) which is very relevant in the limited 9(though, rapidly growing) situation where a US taxpayer gives up his US citizenship.

Form S3 is one of the most important forms referenced by the HSBC FATCA letter. Officially titled as “Explanation of a US address and/or US Phone Number”, Form S-1 requires a fairly intrusive explanation of whether the account holder has US phone number and US telephone address, and why. What is very interesting about Form S3 issued by HSBC is that it requires the taxpayer to make a detailed determination whether the substantial presence test has been met. It even contains a fairly detailed explanation of the test itself.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Help with HSBC FATCA Letter

If you have undisclosed bank accounts with HSBC (whether Hong Kong, India, or any other country except the United States itself), you should immediately begin the exploration of your voluntary disclosure options before HSBC discloses your account to the IRS.

This is why you will need the professional help of Mr. Eugene Sherayzen, an experienced international tax lawyer who already has helped hundreds of US taxpayers around the world with respect to their US tax compliance. We can also help you!

Contact US to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation Now!

IRS Classification of Foreign Entities: “Per Se” Foreign Corporations

For the U.S. tax compliance purposes, it is very important to properly classify foreign business entities, because there are special IRS requirements associated with ownership of foreign business entities. For instance, a list of various tax forms is tied to particular classification (for example, certain U.S. taxpayers are required to file Form 5471 with respect to foreign corporations; a similar requirement (form 8865) would apply to certain filers with respect to a foreign partnership) and esoteric tax reporting requirements may need to be disclosed on your personal tax returns (such as subpart F income in case of Controlled Foreign Corporation).

The process of a foreign entity classification can be very complex.  In this article, however, I would like to discuss a shortcut available in certain situations  –“per se foreign corporations”. This term means the IRS decided to treat certain business entities as a foreign corporation irrespective of the taxpayer’s position.  For practical purposes, this means that, if your entity is on the list of the “per se corporations”, then it is a foreign corporation, there is no need to explore the issue further and “check-the-box” rules will not apply

Where to Look For the IRS List of Per Se Corporations

Once you are able to determine that you are dealing with a foreign entity and this entity is a business entity, you should check with the Treasury Regulation to see if this business entity is part of the long list of entities that the IRS considers as foreign corporations.  The list is detailed in Treas. Reg. §301.7701-2(b)(8).

List of Per Se Corporations

Treas. Reg. §301.7701-2(b)(8) classifies the following foreign entities as corporations (keep in mind that this may not be the most up-to-date list and you will need to check with the relevant updates of this regulation):

American Samoa, Corporation

Argentina, Sociedad Anonima

Australia, Public Limited Company

Austria, Aktiengesellschaft

Barbados, Limited Company

Belgium, Societe Anonyme

Belize, Public Limited Company

Bolivia, Sociedad Anonima

Brazil, Sociedade Anonima

Bulgaria, Aktsionerno Druzhestvo.

Canada, Corporation and Company

Chile, Sociedad Anonima

People’s Republic of China, Gufen Youxian Gongsi

Republic of China (Taiwan), Ku-fen Yu-hsien Kung-szu

Colombia, Sociedad Anonima

Costa Rica, Sociedad Anonima

Cyprus, Public Limited Company

Czech Republic, Akciova Spolecnost

Denmark, Aktieselskab

Ecuador, Sociedad Anonima or Compania Anonima

Egypt, Sharikat Al-Mossahamah

El Salvador, Sociedad Anonima

Estonia, Aktsiaselts

European Economic Area/European Union, Societas Europaea

Finland, Julkinen Osakeyhtio/Publikt Aktiebolag

France, Societe Anonyme

Germany, Aktiengesellschaft

Greece, Anonymos Etairia

Guam, Corporation

Guatemala, Sociedad Anonima

Guyana, Public Limited Company

Honduras, Sociedad Anonima

Hong Kong, Public Limited Company

Hungary, Reszvenytarsasag

Iceland, Hlutafelag

India, Public Limited Company

Indonesia, Perseroan Terbuka

Ireland, Public Limited Company

Israel, Public Limited Company

Italy, Societa per Azioni

Jamaica, Public Limited Company

Japan, Kabushiki Kaisha

Kazakstan, Ashyk Aktsionerlik Kogham

Republic of Korea, Chusik Hoesa

Latvia, Akciju Sabiedriba

Liberia, Corporation

Liechtenstein, Aktiengesellschaft

Lithuania, Akcine Bendroves

Luxembourg, Societe Anonyme

Malaysia, Berhad

Malta, Public Limited Company

Mexico, Sociedad Anonima

Morocco, Societe Anonyme

Netherlands, Naamloze Vennootschap

New Zealand, Limited Company

Nicaragua, Compania Anonima

Nigeria, Public Limited Company

Northern Mariana Islands, Corporation

Norway, Allment Aksjeselskap

Pakistan, Public Limited Company

Panama, Sociedad Anonima

Paraguay, Sociedad Anonima

Peru, Sociedad Anonima

Philippines, Stock Corporation

Poland, Spolka Akcyjna

Portugal, Sociedade Anonima

Puerto Rico, Corporation

Romania, Societate pe Actiuni

Russia, Otkrytoye Aktsionernoy Obshchestvo

Saudi Arabia, Sharikat Al-Mossahamah

Singapore, Public Limited Company

Slovak Republic, Akciova Spolocnost

Slovenia, Delniska Druzba

South Africa, Public Limited Company

Spain, Sociedad Anonima

Surinam, Naamloze Vennootschap

Sweden, Publika Aktiebolag

Switzerland, Aktiengesellschaft

Thailand, Borisat Chamkad (Mahachon)

Trinidad and Tobago, Limited Company

Tunisia, Societe Anonyme

Turkey, Anonim Sirket

Ukraine, Aktsionerne Tovaristvo Vidkritogo Tipu

United Kingdom, Public Limited Company

United States Virgin Islands, Corporation

Uruguay, Sociedad Anonima

Venezuela, Sociedad Anonima or Compania Anonima

 

Exceptions, Inclusions and Complications With Respect To the List of Per Se Foreign Corporations

In addition to the list of entities above, the regulations also provide various inclusions, exceptions, and complications.  For example, a Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Company (or any other company or corporation all of whose owners have unlimited liability pursuant to federal or provincial law) will not be treated as a corporation. The same applies to Sendirian Berhad of Malaysia and some companies in India.

On the other hand, the IRS regards the whole family of “Sociedad Anonima” entities are considered corporations, disregarding their variable capital provisions (such as, “Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable”).

The regulations further clarify the scope of terms such as “public companies” and “limited companies”.  With regard to Cyprus, Hong Kong, and Jamaica, the term “Public Limited Company” includes any Limited Company that is not defined as a private company under the corporate laws of those jurisdictions.  In all other cases, where the term Public Limited Company is not defined, that term shall include any Limited Company defined as a public company under the corporate laws of the relevant jurisdiction.

Furthermore, with respect to limited companies, a Limited Company includes companies limited by shares and companies limited by guarantee.

What if the company is named in a different but means the same thing as in the usual name? The regulations specifically state that “different linguistic renderings of the name of an entity listed in paragraph (b)(8)(i) of this section shall be disregarded”.  Treas. Reg. §301.7701-2(b)(8)(v).  For example, an entity formed under the laws of Switzerland as a Societe Anonyme will be a corporation and treated in the same manner as an Aktiengesellschaft.

Finally, very important complications may arise where a business entity is formed under the laws of more than one jurisdiction.  Detailed complex rules will determine whether such an entity should be treated as a corporation for U.S. tax purposes, in some cases over-ruling the classification patterns described in this essay.  This is a topic for a future article, though.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Legal Help With Foreign Business Entity Classifications

Classification of a foreign business entity for U.S. tax purposes is a very complex process.  This article only describes one of many variations and it does NOT constitute legal advice; only an international tax attorney looking at the specific circumstances of your case may determine how your foreign business entity should be classified.

If you have a foreign business entity and you are not sure how you should classify it and what will be the U.S. tax compliance consequences of such classification, contact Sherayzen Law Office. Our experienced international tax firm will analyze your business entity in detail,  help you find the correct classification (or adopt a classification that is likely to withstand an IRS challenge), and identify the necessary IRS tax reporting requirements.