FileAbroad

Foreign partnership consultation

Own or Joined a Partnership Abroad? Map the Entity, Ownership, and Transactions Before You File.

A local partnership or LLC label does not automatically select Form 8865—or any U.S. form. The answer depends on the entity documents, U.S. classification, ownership and attribution, contributions, distributions, liabilities, transactions, books, and filing year. In a paid consultation, I map those facts, identify the reporting questions that need work, and define the preparation or specialist scope that should come next.

Start My Foreign Partnership Intake

The preliminary intake is free. Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form.

30 minutes · Directly with Chip

The consultation

What we'll review

The consultation focuses on the facts that determine what needs further attention.

Entity and U.S. classification

The foreign legal form, governing documents, number of owners, member liability, election history, and economic relationship that must be established before selecting partnership, corporation, disregarded-entity, or other U.S. treatment.

Ownership and filing categories

Direct, indirect, and constructive interests in capital, profits, losses, deductions, and management, tested by date against the fact patterns for Form 8865 Categories 1 through 4 and any filing exception.

Contributions and ownership events

Cash, services, appreciated property, loans, guarantees, acquisitions, dilution, redemptions, dispositions, and percentage changes—including facts that may require contribution, section 721(c), or event reporting.

Partner economics and books

Distributive shares, guaranteed payments, distributions, capital accounts, outside basis, liabilities, foreign taxes, currency, and the financial records needed to support the partner return and any international schedules.

Connected filings and next scope

Prior filings, lower-tier entities or investments, Form 8938 and partner-return coordination, possible partnership-level U.S. filings, correction questions, and whether FileAbroad can accept the work or a specialist is needed.

After the call

What you leave with

By the end of the consultation, you should understand the issues that need attention and the next practical step.

  • A classification-first map of the entity, owners, years, and transactions that control the U.S. analysis.
  • The possible Form 8865 category, partner-return, basis, foreign-tax, and connected-reporting questions that need further work—without presuming a form from the local label.
  • A focused records list for governing documents, ownership changes, contributions, distributions, liabilities, books, foreign taxes, and prior filings, with secure-document instructions after intake.
  • Whether the next step appears to fit FileAbroad’s separately scoped preparation, requires prior-year review, belongs on another consultation path, or needs an international-partnership, legal, or valuation specialist.

You are not required to hire FileAbroad for preparation after the consultation.

Scope

What the consultation does not include

The consultation is a review and scoping session. It does not include preparation or filing of a tax return, FBAR, information return, amended return, or Streamlined submission.

It also does not create an open-ended support engagement. Additional research, document review, preparation, or follow-up work is included only when it is specifically agreed or purchased.

FileAbroad does not provide legal advice or tax litigation services.

The process

How it works

  1. 1

    Start the intake.

    Tell me the broad facts of your situation without uploading sensitive tax documents through the public form.

  2. 2

    I review the inquiry.

    I personally review the intake to determine whether a FileAbroad consultation appears appropriate.

  3. 3

    Book the consultation.

    If the situation fits, you'll receive the next step for scheduling the 30-minute paid consultation.

  4. 4

    We review the situation together.

    We use the call to identify the relevant filing questions, missing information, and practical next step.

  5. 5

    Preparation is separate.

    If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, the scope and price are confirmed before that work begins.

Before you book

Questions we'll use to map your foreign partnership

What is the entity’s exact legal name, country and date of organization, legal form, number of owners, governing agreement, and member-liability structure, and has any U.S. entity-classification election been filed?
For each relevant date and year, who directly or indirectly owned the capital, profits, losses, deductions, voting or management rights, and liquidation value, and are any owners related to you or each other?
What cash, property, services, loans, or guarantees did you or related persons contribute, and what distributions, draws, repayments, ownership changes, acquisitions, redemptions, or dispositions occurred?
What local returns, trial balances, financial statements, capital accounts, debt schedules, foreign-tax records, partner allocations, and lower-tier entity or investment records are available, and in which currencies?
Which U.S. returns, Forms 8865 or 8938, partner income schedules, classification elections, or other international forms were previously filed, and are any years missing, inconsistent, under notice, or approaching a deadline?
What should I send before the consultation?

Start with the public intake and describe the broad facts of your situation. Do not send Social Security numbers, tax returns, bank statements, or other sensitive tax documents through the public intake form. If documents are needed later, I will provide secure upload instructions.

Will you tell me exactly what I need to file?

The consultation is designed to identify the filing issues that need attention and the information required to determine the next step. Some questions can be resolved during the call; others may require records, additional research, or preparation work outside the consultation.

Do I have to hire FileAbroad afterward?

No. The consultation stands on its own. If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you can decide whether to proceed after the scope and price are confirmed.

Can you review documents during the consultation?

Limited document review may be possible when agreed in advance, but the consultation is not a substitute for a full document review or tax-preparation engagement.

Related paths

If this is not the right starting point

Form 8865 and foreign partnership ownership

Review the records-first framework for ownership, events, books, and possible Form 8865 reporting.

Business abroad consultation

Use the broader entity path when the U.S. classification is unknown or several foreign entities need to be triaged together.

Foreign corporation consultation

Use the corporation path only after the classification facts point to corporate treatment and shareholder reporting.

Self-employed abroad consultation

Use this path when the central issue is an individual’s business income, self-employment tax, or totalization position.

Form 8938 and FATCA guide

Review the separate specified-foreign-financial-asset framework that can apply to a foreign partnership interest.

Start here

Tell me what's going on.

You don't need to know which form, filing procedure, or service you need. Start with the broad facts, and I'll review whether a FileAbroad consultation is the appropriate next step.

Start My Foreign Partnership Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form or ordinary email.