Hi,

Does anyone know if you can open up an LLC in the US with one partner as a legal alien and the other based in Australia.

Also I understand the partner living in Australia could not claim a salary as he does not have a SSN, would he be able to take a dividend - or how else could he get his profit?

Thanks

Why would the Australian not be able to be compensated for being a partner and working in the LLC? They are working in Oz, not the US, even though it is a US limited liability company.

From a tax perspective there's no issue with a partnership having a non-resident alien partner. The NRA partner will file a nonresident US tax return to report his/her share of the partnership profits. Check with an attorney in your state to make sure there's no issue in having a foreign owner of a LLC.

I agree, I was not sure why we were told the Australian would not be able to get a salary and they were not sure about the dividends, they said the rule is you have to have a visa and SSN to draw a salary in the US. We've put a call into someone else to see what they say.

Thanks for the info - so the Australian would say take his profit of $1000 and would then file a nonresident tax return (assume annually) and be told what to pay, it would not be the company who would have to pay the tax on his behalf.

Right- the partnership itself does not pay income tax. The individual partners have the liability.

Who told you that in the first place and who is the 'else' are you calling?

A lawyer and accountant, we have found a corporate lawyer who does international businesses now, so we will be meeting with him.

There may also be some reporting requirement if your company is more than 25% owned by a foreign national. The LLC has to report this I think. Form 5472 I believe.

Thanks for all the replies and helpful information, it's much appreciated.