How to Legally Hire & Pay International Contractors from Your US LLC (The W-8BEN Guide)
How to Legally Hire & Pay International Contractors from Your US LLC (The W-8BEN Guide) Scaling a business means you cannot do everything yourself. Eventually, you will need to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) from the Philippines, a software developer from India, or a graphic designer from Europe. Since you have a US LLC and a Mercury or Wise business bank account, sending them USD is technically easy. But legally? It is a compliance minefield. The IRS strictly monitors money leaving the United States. If you simply wire $2,000 to a foreign freelancer without the proper documentation, the IRS can hold your LLC liable for a massive 30% withholding tax. In this guide, we will break down exactly how to document, hire, and pay foreign contractors while keeping your business 100% audit-proof. The 30% IRS Withholding Trap By default, the IRS assumes that anyone your US LLC pays for services is a "US Person" subject to income tax. If you do not explicitly prov...