How Indian Startup Founders Can Avoid IRS Trouble While Working With US Clients
How Indian Startup Founders Can Avoid IRS Trouble While Working With US Clients If you're an Indian founder working with US clients, sending invoices in USD, or getting paid through Stripe, PayPal or Wise, congratulations. You’re already operating on an international level. But there’s one thing most Indian founders have NO idea about: You can get into tax trouble with the IRS even if you have never visited the US. And no, this isn’t fear-mongering. It’s how US tax laws work for foreign service providers. Why Indian founders end up on the IRS radar Founders think: “I’m not a US citizen” “My company is Indian” “I don’t live in the US” So why would the IRS care? Because when you receive payments from a US business, the US company must file compliance forms. If your paperwork is missing, incomplete, or wrong, they can freeze payments or charge withholding tax. This is why so many Indian founders suddenly get emails from their US clients asking for: W-8BEN W-8BEN-E EIN FATCA classifica...