Tax obligations for companies that are legally constituted within the United States territory, constitute a highly important factor, since keeping taxes up to date clearly exempts them from responsibilities and extremely delicate legal charges, therefore, understand what the responsibilities are. tax is something that businessmen should be aware of.
The State Income Tax: is the state income tax which may vary depending on the state in which the company is registered. Therefore, before opening and registering a company on American soil, it is necessary to analyze the tax conditions of the state in which you want to operate
However, it is necessary to indicate that it is not mandatory to hire or have an accountant who is in charge of carrying out and presenting the accounting of a company, brand or business, since the law or regulations of the United States do not indicate it as mandatory, so that is understood, and in practice it is allowed that this accounting be presented by whoever wants to do it, but clearly this refers to a greater responsibility, since, the accounting of a company is such a delicate factor that in itself it can carry legal consequences if it is not done correctly, which can also cause large fines, which can be avoided, if from the beginning it is done with the expertise and suitability that this requires.
In order to contextualize the tax regulations a bit within the United States territory, it is necessary to indicate that the United States allows companies to operate within its country where their owners do not necessarily and the physical companies themselves reside in its territory, that is, companies registered in the United States, non-residents in that country, which then must be bound by US tax law in the categories of: Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Sales Tax, Tax Withholding, Annual Report or Franchise Tax.
Factors such as the corporate structure of the companies (LLC or Corporation), the type of sector or industry to which it belongs due to its economic activity, and the state in which it is registered, will be elements with a high incidence to the time to file taxes. It is worth mentioning that, like companies registered in the United States, but not resident in North American territory, companies that physically operate in the United States are also governed or regulated by current tax laws, then we will detail which are the five categories of taxes listed above, which are considered highly relevant for businessmen in general.
- The Federal Income Tax: it is the federal income tax applied within the US national territory, which must be paid to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) due to the benefits of the company. It is worth clarifying that the law indicates that, if there is a distribution of benefits to shareholders, it is necessary or mandatory to declare the amounts that they will receive. After receiving the dividends, non-residents will pay 30% of said income as natural persons.
This tax reports a novelty since 2018, and that is, the benefit of C CORP companies must be taxed at 21% and not in stages, as was used to do before.
In general, it is paid annually between the months of January and March, but in some specific cases, a proportional quarterly payment can be made, companies that are framed as a limited liability company (LLC for its acronym in English), do not require paying this tax at the business level. The collection will be made at the individual level, after the profit (which in that category is divided 100% among the partners).
- The State Income Tax: is the state income tax which may vary depending on the state in which the company is registered. Therefore, before opening and registering a company on American soil, it is necessary to analyze the tax conditions of the state in which you want to operate, and the possibilities or benefits of other states, in order to make the best decision adapted to the needs of the growing company and potential entrepreneur.
- Sales Tax: The Sales Tax is also a tax that varies according to state laws. It is the tax that the consumer pays when buying consumer goods and the type of product on which it is applied varies according to local legislation.
Now the Sales Tax is applied in the following way: for a US$100 item in a state that collects 7% Sales Tax, the seller must collect US$107 when marketing the product. This is because it is up to you to include the value of the tax, in this case US$7, in the final price of the product.
- Tax Withholding: it is worth mentioning that this is not an additional tax, but the collection of income tax that is done in advance, throughout the year. Although the income statement is annual, the Tax Withholding payment must be made every three months.
This tax works as a guarantee that at the end of a fiscal year when filing the tax return the amount owed will be paid, obtaining a refund for what has been paid in excess.
This withholding may vary between 10% and 37% of the profits for the period, depending on the corporate structure of the company and the tax situation of each partner.
- Annual Report or Franchise Tax: this is the annual statement that every US company must submit. Varies the name (Annual Report or Franchise Tax) and the amount depending on the state and the corporate structure (LLC or Corporation)
Generally, the payment of this tax is made during the so-called Tax Season, when companies file their tax returns with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), a period that usually occurs between the first half of January and the second half of April.
It is worth mentioning that everything indicated here is simply a short summary statement, with which what is intended is to list in a simple way the taxes for the most representative companies or those of greatest use within the United States territory, but clearly each One of them involves a true analysis under the gaze of an expert in tax legislation that clearly determines what taxes and under what dates these payments must be made, which will inevitably lead to a true state of tax legitimacy, under the parameters of compliance. and good management of your company.