Once your US company is formed, our friendly, experienced team in Europe and the USA takes care of every aspect of running it properly and keeping its taxes in order.
Ongoing support for your US company is billed by time spent (unless a flat fee was agreed in advance). Our standard hourly rates apply.
General client support and availability
You can reach us by email and phone during normal office hours.
Our client support team works both in Europe (London) and in the USA, so you can usually reach us during both European and American business hours.
Mail forwarding by email
Mail for your company that arrives at its registered address is opened and sorted by us. Junk mail is thrown away. Everything else is scanned and emailed to you.
Originals such as certificates and contracts are forwarded to you by post, or by courier if you prefer.
Please note that we can only accept and forward small parcels and packages for your company in exceptional cases.
Phone answering
If you have booked the add-on service for your US company, we give you a local US phone number with the area code of your company's registered address.
Calls are answered in your company's name during normal office hours (US time zones) by our US staff in the USA. Callers can leave a message for you, which we then forward to you by email.
Bank support
We help with any question about your business account, from making transfers to communicating with the bank or handling security checks.
US accounts work a little differently from European ones. Transaction codes like the European TAN system, for example, are not widely used in the USA. For this and any other question about your business account, we are always here for you.
Ongoing bookkeeping
The bookkeeping requirements for your company are comparable to those in Europe. The USA has no VAT, however, so there are no VAT returns. If your company is registered for local sales tax, it has to file regular sales tax returns (monthly, quarterly or annually, depending on the state and your revenue).
Mount Bonnell Advisors uses Quickbooks and Xero for your US company's ongoing bookkeeping. Both connect directly to your bank, so transactions flow into the system automatically and there is no tedious manual data entry.
Year-end accounts, tax returns and other IRS filings
Individual and corporate income tax returns for the previous year are generally due at the IRS by April 15; partnership returns (multi-member LLC, LP) are due by March 15. On our request, however, an automatic extension is granted: to October 15 for individual and corporate returns, and to September 15 for partnership returns.
Here is what each type of company has to file:
C Corporation
Learn more about the US corporation
From the books, we prepare a profit and loss statement (P&L) and a balance sheet.
Figures from these go into the federal corporate tax return, Form 1120, and the tax due is calculated.
If the company is based in a state that levies its own corporate income tax, a separate state corporate tax return is required as well. These vary from state to state.
The returns are filed online.
If 25% or more of the shareholders are not US taxpayers, the company must also complete Form 5472 for every related party that received payments. Filing this form late triggers an automatic penalty of $25,000 per form.
Limited Liability Company (LLC): single member
Learn more about the US Limited Liability Company
A single-member LLC is a so-called "disregarded entity": for tax purposes it is not a separate taxpayer and files no income tax return of its own. The member reports the LLC's income on their US income tax return (Form 1040, or Form 1040-NR for non-residents). If you would like to form a single-member LLC in Wyoming, we can handle the formation for you too.
If the LLC's place of business is in a state that levies income tax on top of federal tax, a state return must be filed there too.
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2016, an LLC with a single foreign owner is treated as a US corporation for the Section 6038A reporting rules. It must therefore keep records of its transactions with related parties and produce them to the IRS on request, even if it has no US customers, no US employees and no US place of business.
Foreign-controlled LLCs must also file a Form 5472 for every related party that received payments.
Limited Liability Company (LLC): multiple members
Learn more about the US Limited Liability Company
A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership but can elect to be taxed as a corporation, in which case it is taxed just like a C Corporation (see above).
Based on the books and a profit and loss statement, a partnership tax return, Form 1065 is prepared and filed.
As with a single-member LLC, each member reports their share of the LLC's income on their US tax return (Form 1040).
If non-US taxpayers hold 25% or more of the company (or are entitled to 25% or more of the profits), the company must also complete Form 5472 for every related party that received payments. Filing this form late triggers an automatic penalty of $25,000 per form.
Limited Partnership (LP)
Learn more about the US Limited Partnership
A limited partnership has general and limited partners and is taxed exactly like an LLC taxed as a partnership: the partners pay the tax, and the partnership files a partnership tax return.
As with the LLC, an LP must also file Form 5472.
US tax advice
We prepare your US tax returns and file them with the IRS, as described on our pages on your corporation's tax return, your LLC or LP tax return and your personal US tax return. Our team can also give you competent, practical answers to 90% of your tax questions.
For complex analysis of US tax law, we prefer to bring in US tax attorneys.
So if you need that kind of tax advice, we can put you in touch with our partner firm in the USA on request, and you can discuss your questions directly with them.
More often, though, clients prefer to talk the matter through with us; we then get the answers from our US colleagues and pass the outcome on to the client.
You decide which way works best for you, and we follow your lead.
Strategy and international tax questions
For international tax questions, tax planning and tax strategy around your US company, Sebastian Sauerborn is happy to help.
A phone appointment can usually be arranged within a week. Meeting in person is of course possible too.
Other client support
Clients regularly come to us with individual requests, far too varied to list on this page.
We are often asked, for example, to send invoices from the USA in the company's name, clarify operational matters or run errands. Wherever possible, we are glad to help with whatever you need. Just ask us.
Meeting in person in the USA and Europe
Meetings in person in the USA and Europe are almost always possible. Sebastian in particular travels a lot, though, so a little advance planning is needed.
Meetings can be arranged in London, Malta and Dublin just as easily as in major US cities.
What drives the time spent
The time involved depends first and foremost on the volume and complexity of the documents we work on. Preparing a tax return for a one-person business takes far less work than the same task for a mid-sized retailer.
Keep in mind, too, that the actual work on a return or official filing is not the only thing that takes our time.
Our team also spends time requesting information from you or your accountant at home, and sorting and checking your documents.
That time can rise dramatically if we try to reach you again and again without success, or if you send us incorrect or incomplete documents.
Please also be aware that we bill the time spent answering your emails. We are always glad to answer your questions, but if you ask a lot of them, you should be aware of the work involved and the costs that come with it.
What does the tax return for my US company cost?
Most clients typically pay a fee of between $2,000 and $3,000 per company for the annual financial statements and the preparation of the tax return.
This estimate is based on the typical workload and fees for the firm's clients. We bill all fees to the exact quarter hour, so the fee invoiced in your specific case could be much higher or much lower, depending on the volume of transactions, your industry and so on.
Please note that team members with different levels of qualification are involved in this work (see the hourly rate schedule). The costs shown here do not indicate how the hours are split between the different qualification levels.
Billing
All services we provide as part of the ongoing support for your US company are billed by time spent. Our standard hourly rates apply.
We also invoice you for any expenses incurred, such as postage and courier costs. You will receive regular invoices from us by email, addressed directly to your US company. You pay the amount due directly from your US business account.
For an overview of our service packages for businesses, see Services for Businesses; the engagement overview shows you how to become a client.