US LLC for French residents: what the IRS and the French tax office each expect

A US LLC is legal for someone who lives in France, and opening one takes a few days. What takes longer to understand is that two tax systems look at the same company, and they do not see the same thing. The IRS usually ignores a single-member LLC and looks through it to you. The French tax office generally treats it as a company in its own right. This guide sets out both sides, with the official sources, so you know what to file in each country and which questions to put to your French adviser.

In short:

• In the US: your single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year it has a transaction with you (the money you put in counts). You personally file a Form 1040-NR only if you carry on business in the United States or had US tax withheld.
• The treaty: according to the French tax doctrine, a single-member US LLC cannot claim the France–US tax treaty itself. Only you, its owner, can, if you meet the conditions as a French resident.
• In France: the Conseil d'État decided on November 12, 2025 that an LLC can be treated as equivalent to a French SAS, and therefore liable to corporate tax because of its legal form. France does not follow the US "disregarded" view.
• The consequences to check with a French adviser: where the business is actually run, how the money you take out is taxed, and the anti-avoidance rules of articles 155 A and 123 bis of the French tax code.
• The LLC's US bank account: the official form 3916 provides for accounts on which you hold a power of attorney, including accounts held by a company. A missing declaration costs €1,500 per account.

---

The US side: what the IRS expects

From the US point of view, the picture is simple, and it is the same wherever you live.

• Your LLC is a disregarded entity. A US LLC with one owner is "disregarded as an entity separate from its owner" by default. It pays no US corporate income tax.
• It still files Form 5472 every year with a reportable transaction. Because it is owned by a foreign person, it is treated as a corporation for this one purpose. It files Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120, by fax or mail, by April 15. Our line-by-line guide shows every box, and the penalty for a missing year is $25,000.
• A personal Form 1040-NR only in some cases. If you work from France for clients anywhere, with no office, employee or dependent agent in the United States, you are generally not engaged in a US trade or business and have no US personal return to file. See the 1040-NR guide.
• With US clients and platforms, you give a Form W-8BEN in your own name, not a W-9. The W-9 instructions say a foreign owner of a disregarded entity "must complete an appropriate Form W-8 instead". Details in the W-8BEN entry.

What about the France–US tax treaty?

The French tax doctrine answers this directly. The section of the BOFiP on US partnerships (BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20, § 20) notes that the United States ignores a single-member LLC for tax, and concludes that such an LLC, "n'étant pas un sujet d'impôt aux États-Unis, […] ne peut bénéficier des dispositions de la convention". In other words, the LLC itself cannot claim the treaty. Only its sole owner can, "s'il remplit lui-même les conditions prévues par le texte", in particular as a resident within the meaning of article 4.

In practice, the treaty protects you as a French resident, not your LLC as a company.

---

The French side: how France sees your LLC

France classifies the LLC by comparing it with French companies

France does not ask how the IRS treats the LLC. The French courts first identify which type of French company the foreign entity most resembles, "au regard de l'ensemble des caractéristiques de cette société et du droit qui en régit la constitution et le fonctionnement", and then apply French tax law to that type. This two-step method comes from the Conseil d'État's Artémis decision of November 24, 2014.

On November 12, 2025, the Conseil d'État applied it to an LLC (decision no. 502894, Carmejane LLC). The case concerned a California LLC with two members, whose liability was limited to their contributions and whose operating agreement gave them wide freedom. The court held that:

• limiting the members' liability to their contributions is a decisive criterion, not a secondary one;
• the flexibility of an LLC's management does not prevent it from being treated as a company with share capital;
• the LLC "doit être regardée comme assimilable à une société par actions simplifiée de droit français", and was therefore liable to French corporate tax (impôt sur les sociétés) "à raison de sa forme sociale".

Each LLC is still examined on its own operating agreement and state law, but the direction is clear: where the US sees a transparent entity, France is likely to see a company.

What that can mean for you

The decision does not say that every LLC owned by a French resident owes French corporate tax. It sets the starting point. From there, several questions depend on your facts, and they belong with a French tax lawyer or chartered accountant (avocat fiscaliste, expert-comptable):

1. Where is the business actually run? French corporate tax applies to the profits of businesses carried on in France (article 209 I of the French tax code), for example through a permanent place of business, a decision-making centre or a complete commercial cycle in France (BOI-IS-CHAMP-60-10-10). A one-person LLC run from your home office in France is the typical case to analyse.
2. How is the money you take out taxed? If the LLC is treated as a company, what you withdraw is not simply "your" profit in French eyes. It has to be characterised (salary, dividends or other income) under French rules.
3. Article 155 A. Amounts received by an entity established outside France for services rendered by a person domiciled in France can be taxed in that person's name, in particular when they control the entity (BOI-IR-DOMIC-30). A consultant invoicing through their own US LLC falls squarely within the question.
4. Article 123 bis. A French resident who holds at least 10% of an entity outside France subject to a privileged tax regime, and whose assets consist mainly of securities, receivables, deposits or current accounts, can be taxed each year on its profits, even if nothing is distributed (BOI-RPPM-RCM-10-30-20-10). An LLC that pays no US tax and keeps mostly cash needs to be looked at under this rule.

These points are not reasons to avoid a US LLC. They are the questions to settle before you start, or as soon as you can if you already have one.

---

The form not to forget: declaring the LLC's US bank account

French residents must declare, with their income tax return, the accounts opened, held, used or closed abroad during the year, on form 3916 (official notice).

For an LLC's account, the relevant case is the power of attorney. The notice says that if the person filing "est le bénéficiaire d'une procuration sur un compte bancaire […] ouvert à l'étranger", they must also complete section 6, using 6.2 when the account holder is a legal entity ("si le titulaire est une personne morale"). As the manager of your LLC, you can operate its US account.

The cost of forgetting is set out in the same notice: €1,500 per undeclared account (€10,000 when the country has no administrative assistance agreement with France, which is not the case of the United States).

---

Who does what

We prepare the US side and give your French adviser the figures they need: the LLC's income and expenses, the Form 5472 transactions and the balance sheet.

---

Official sources

• Conseil d'État, November 12, 2025, no. 502894, Carmejane LLC: an LLC treated as equivalent to a French SAS.
• BOFiP BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20: France–US treaty and single-member LLCs (§ 20).
• BOFiP BOI-IS-CHAMP-60-10-10: territorial scope of French corporate tax.
• BOFiP BOI-IR-DOMIC-30: article 155 A.
• BOFiP BOI-RPPM-RCM-10-30-20-10: article 123 bis.
• Notice of form 3916: declaring foreign accounts.
• Instructions for Form 5472 and Form W-9: the US side.

---

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to own a US LLC while living in France?

Yes. Nothing prevents a French resident from forming or owning a US LLC. The questions are about tax: how France classifies the LLC, where its profits are taxed, and what you must declare in France.

Does the France–US tax treaty protect my LLC?

Not the LLC itself. The French tax doctrine (BOFiP, BOI-INT-CVB-USA-10-20, § 20) says a single-member US LLC cannot claim the treaty because it is not a taxpayer in the United States. You, as its owner and a French resident, can claim it if you meet its conditions.

Is my LLC transparent for French tax, like in the US?

Not necessarily, and probably not. Since the Conseil d'État's decision of November 12, 2025, an LLC whose members have limited liability can be treated as equivalent to a French SAS and be liable to corporate tax because of its form. Have your operating agreement and situation reviewed by a French adviser.

Do I need to declare the LLC's US bank account in France?

The official form 3916 covers accounts on which you hold a power of attorney, including accounts held by a legal entity (section 6.2). As the person who operates the LLC's account, you should look at it every year with your income tax return. A missing declaration costs €1,500 per account.

Do I still have to file Form 5472 if France taxes the LLC?

Yes. The US filing obligation does not depend on what France does. As long as the IRS treats the LLC as a foreign-owned disregarded entity, it files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 for every year with a reportable transaction.