Arthur Bishop6 said:So you can only file this by September 30th? After that, the door just slams shut? I don't get it.
Wait, what do you mean "until September 30th"? 😕 I haven't even signed up yet, so I haven't dug into all the fine print, but my gut tells me once you're registered, you just submit all your refund requests through the portal.
Look, it’s just a service... and every single country decides its own rules for refunds. The IRS doesn't have anything to do with this side of things. From what I gathered about the seminar, the turnaround for getting your money back is anywhere from 2 to 6 months, depending on which country you're dealing with.
In theory, yeah. To be honest, I haven't really sat down to dig through the whole process yet, but I’m planning to get my act together and wrap my head around it by the end of the year 😁 Here's the link: http://www.irs.gov/vat-regulations-usa...
Look, if the boss gets an invoice with Italian VAT on it, it’s not going on the local sales tax forms or the VAT return because, well, you didn't pay American sales tax on it. You just book that receipt straight to expenses. If you want to actually get that money back from Italy, you'll have to look into their specific refund process—every country does things differently. You can find all the details on how to claim foreign tax refunds over on the IRS website.
There are actual instructions for every single one of those forms there, so just print them out and keep them on your desk so you don't have to hunt for them later.
Here’s the breakdown of what the guidelines say regarding the tax filing:
2.2. Services Received Services provided by a legal or individual entity registered for tax purposes in another European Union member state are considered services received by a legal or individual entity registered for tax purposes in the United States, provided that the recipient is liable to pay the sales tax in the United States pursuant to Section 75, Subsection 1, Item 6 of the Value Added Tax Act.
So, which tax ID are you actually putting on the invoice? The US one or the one from that other country? If it's an American tax ID, I’m thinking you go ahead with the sales tax because once that company registered as a taxpayer here in the States, they can claim it as an input credit on their tax forms. But if it's a foreign ID, then you just stick to the usual routine. I haven't double-checked the fine print, so don't quote me on this, but that's how I see it playing out. Have you tried calling the IRS to clear it up?
dustyscout8 said:Thanks, ruggedmaker2. We actually went directly to a manager at the local IRS branch to get some clarity, but she was completely clueless. She just pointed us toward an email address for the Chief Advisor at the Department of the Treasury. Naturally, they shot back saying we have to submit a formal written request to the IRS and pay the $6.75 processing fee first. Apparently, you can't even get a straight answer without cutting them a check. It’s ridiculous—we paid the filing fees for one of those inquiries seven months ago, and we’re still sitting here waiting on a response. It seems their only priority is making sure you pay up.🙂
I’ve never heard of them charging fees for basic info. 😲We just deal with the IRS through email all the time and it doesn't cost us a dime. Just the other day, I actually got a formal written opinion from the Department of the Treasury regarding income tax, and I didn't have to pay a single cent.😕
dustyscout8 said:Does anyone here have any insight on this, or perhaps there’s already been an inquiry regarding it? I am wondering if companies can still claim input VAT on their business invoices for expenses incurred from July 1, 2013, onwards. ?
Thanks in advance🙂
If you're paying corporate income tax, you can claim those R2 invoice credits immediately starting July 1st.
northernseal12 said:We’re running a construction job at a site here in the States—standard stuff, we’re claiming the sales tax on materials from our incoming invoices. We report everything to the client, who happens to be an individual, isn't a resident of the US, and is currently based in Canada. I noticed there’s a specific line on the tax forms for services provided to entities without a domestic seat (those VAT-exempt transactions). Does that actually apply to my situation?
Nope, that sale is taxable because you're billing a private individual. You can't just dump it under exempt transactions. That person is your end consumer, so you have to charge them our standard sales tax.
My developer still hasn't fixed the acquisition tracking on my end, so for now, I'm just dumping everything into some miscellaneous IRS bucket... but they really need to get their act together and sort it out. It got me wondering, though—how are the rest of you guys handling this mess?
Can someone please tell me—do you guys actually log invoices for assets acquired from the USA directly into the asset register? Or do you just keep them in a separate tracking log for overseas acquisitions?
The Federal Reserve keeps all the records on how those garnishments actually went down. You should go ahead and request an official confirmation from the Federal Reserve. Once you get that, you’ll see the exact breakdown—exactly how much was principal, how much was interest, and all that other junk. They do charge a fee for that paperwork, though I can't tell you the exact price off the top of my head.
They didn't say a word about it. Is there some rumor flying around already? The consultants basically just admitted that both the laws and the IRS tax code are written in total gibberish. They told us we could give them a call whenever we need a hand navigating the mess.
One thing they did bring up was that even the folks over at the IRS are scratching their heads over certain construction services. She mentioned how it clashes with zoning laws and those building permit regulations (🤔 I think that’s what they’re called). Apparently, some of it just doesn't square with the current tax code.
But look, we don't touch construction work, so that whole area is a bit of a black hole to me. I couldn't really follow all the technicalities. I'm guessing anyone actually working in that field is going to have to go hat in hand and beg the IRS for a formal opinion.
By the way, is anyone here having to register for sales tax purposes over in Austria? I need to start digging into how that works once I get back from vacation, just so I have a general idea of where to start.
I don't know what to tell you. Sometimes things just happen, and there isn't much anyone can do about it. It’s just how the world works. Life's messy like that. ruggedmaker2 says: Don't forget to grab some kind of proof that these guys are actually tax-paying entities over in Canada. Since you’re the one handling the transfer, you need hard evidence they’re registered for VAT. You can't just run them through the IRS database because they aren't part of the USA. Look, what they do on their end—whether they actually settle up the VAT or not—is none of your business. Just cover your own tracks.
Just got back from a seminar, still feeling that post-conference brain fog, so I figured I’d jump in here and add my two cents. Like ruggedmaker2 said, you’ve gotta have actual proof that they’re registered with the IRS. You can't just take their word for it. So, I’m sitting in this seminar today, right? And get this—one of the speakers actually has the nerve to claim that the evidence has to be "reasonable." Like, excuse me? What does that even mean in practice? Total nonsense. 😕It’s the truth. Plain and simple. Honestly, they still haven't even figured out what they actually want from us. It’s a total mess. Are we talking about some official confirmation from the IRS? A copy of their final ruling? Who knows anymore. They’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. All I know is that whatever this ends up being, it better be legitimate and make sense, because I am not playing these games.
I don't even know where to start with this one. Honestly, I’m just sitting here staring at my screen wondering how we even got to this point. It feels like everything is just sliding sideways lately, doesn't it? You try to do things the right way, follow the rules, play the game, and then—bam—the rug gets pulled out from under you anyway. It’s exhausting. Just constant, grinding exhaustion. I was grabbing a coffee downtown the other day—just a quick caffeine fix before starting the workday—and watching people rush around, and all I could think was, "Does anyone actually have a clue what's going on?" Probably not. We're all just winging it. Anyway, that's just my two cents. Don't mind me. kaže: If we’re talking about services—you know, that B2B side of things—then yeah, it works. It holds up.
Spot on. Even when you're just talking about services, that tax liability follows you—it’s the same deal with B2B deals involving third countries. It doesn't matter how you slice it; the IRS is going to want their cut.
Arthur Bishop6 said:I need some help figuring out this EORI number situation. Who actually needs one? For example, if a small business picks up goods coming in from Mexico, do they have to have an EORI number? Basically, does every single individual or company importing stuff from European Union countries need to be registered?
Thanks.
I already gave you an answer over in the customs thread, but fine, I'll repeat myself here. If you're just handling acquisitions or deliveries within the European Union, you don't need an EORI number—you'd likely just need a VAT ID.
Daniel Martinez9 said:If the garnishment is specifically against cash, your boss could technically pay you in cash (that's legal enough)... but... the collector can expand the garnishment to your wages, so you might only get some peace for a few months... Advice: Banks issue loans to cover garnishments at the total amount owed... it's smarter to take a loan with 8% interest and pay it off slowly rather than having a frozen account and getting crushed by 14.5% interest...
That "cash in hand" thing? It’s over. New income tax regulations kicked in back on July 5th. Your salary has to hit your checking account now. The only things they might still hand you in cash are non-taxable stuff, like per diems or travel reimbursements. But that net pay? It has to go straight to the bank. No exceptions.
ruggedmaker2, you don't get to call this a three-way deal because Canada isn't even in the European Union. You’re basically just sourcing high-quality stuff from Germany and shipping it over to Canada.
When you're pulling goods out of Germany, you've got to deal with the headache of VAT and prepayments hitting you all at once in the same accounting period. Then, when you export those goods to Canada, you get a pass on the VAT side of things—as long as you have your customs declarations and proof that the shipment actually cleared the European Union.
Article 6 of the Value Added Tax Act lays out exactly who qualifies as a taxable person under the law. If memory serves, they didn't change much from the old version either. It’s always the same old song and dance with these regulations.
Patrick Peterson49 said:Man, you gotta be kidding me, that makes zero sense 🤷
If the customer or service recipient is the one on the hook for the sales tax, the vendor has to mark the invoice with "reverse charge" or just write out "tax liability transfer"
So if I'm shipping goods to a business in the USA, they’re the ones responsible for the tax—per Section 79, Article 7, I’ve gotta put "reverse charge" on there...
Same thing happened when I was bringing in supplies from Italy lately—both my suppliers labeled everything as reverse charge on their invoices
Meanwhile, I’ve been bringing in stock from Canada and Austria, and not a single one of them uses reverse charge. Not even close. Here’s what I’m looking at: The Canadian invoice says: VAT not charged based on Section 1, Article 46 of the US Tax Code. And The Austrian one reads: Intra-community tax-free delivery.
So, I finally got some feedback from the IRS regarding the reverse charge situation. It was just a quick verbal heads-up for now, but I sent off an official email, so I’m waiting on the formal paperwork to hit my inbox. Apparently, they told me the same thing they told Voyageur—for those standard goods delivery invoices under Section 41, you don't apply the reverse charge. That only kicks in for specific service-based invoices.
Heh, well, I guess I'm officially one step closer to actually understanding this tax nightmare 😁
Or you could just have them wire the money into an account where you’re officially listed as a proxy. Like, if a parent opens a checking account in their own name, gives you power of attorney over it, and then they make the deposit there. I'm not even 100% sure if the bank would play ball with that, I'm just throwing ideas at the wall here.
Look, if a company doesn't play by the rules, they’re going to get slapped with massive penalties the second they get caught. Even the laws governing debt collection have their own teeth when it comes to criminal penalties.
Nicole Lee6 said:So, I’m looking through my seminar notes—just some quick scribbles I jotted down; The minimum amount for a VAT refund depends on the filing period; -for a period between 3 months and 1 year, the minimum is $400 -for a full calendar year, the minimum is $50
However, I have a nagging feeling they were specifically talking about foreign nationals requesting refunds here in the States. They mentioned certain sections of the regulations governing this, but I didn't manage to write down which ones specifically.😢 It's entirely possible that for refunds from other states, you'd need to contact their local authorities directly...
But none of this matters until that new portal on our tax agency's site actually goes live for submitting claims (the VAT refund system)—unless, of course, that's already up and running.🤔
Also, it was mentioned that for things like fuel receipts, you'll likely need to provide copies of any invoices exceeding $250.
P.S. How should a sole proprietor record a fuel receipt from a neighboring state where VAT is shown? Should it be booked under revenue or as an expense, and do you report the total amount or just the base price without the VAT? This is assuming they aren't planning to claim a VAT refund.
Anyway, I checked in with the IRS. Turns out, if there’s even a minimum threshold for these things, it's up to each individual state or country to set the rules. Like, before I go chasing a tax refund from somewhere like Canada, I actually have to look up how Canada handles their own business first. But hey, no rush. I've got nothing but time... I'll probably get around to it by the end of the year. 😁