According to US-Korea tax treaty - see for reference IRS publication 901 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf page 9
Income that residents of the Republic of Korea receive for performing personal services as independent contractors or self-employed individuals (independent personal services) in the United States during the tax year is exempt from U.S. tax if the residents:
Are in the United States for no more than 182 days during the tax year,
Earn income for those services that is not more than $3,000 during the tax year, and
Do not maintain a fixed base in the United States for more than 182 days during the tax year.
If they maintain a fixed base in the United States for more than 182 days, they are taxed on the income attributable to the fixed base.
See also withholding exemptions for personal services payments - on the page 47 IRS publication 515 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p515.pdf
Having EIN will not make any difference on withholding.
Let me know if you need any help.
Hello,
I am not working in the US and performing personal service.
My case is a Korean company which wants to sell package software to the US market.
Can you give me answer again?
I am not saying that you are working in the US...
but you do perform personal services and do sell your products in the US and do receive income from US sources.
You still have two issues - that are separate issues till some extend:
- withholding requirements - that are addressed in the publication 515
- tax liability - which might be based on US-Korea tax treaty.
But if you need to file an US tax return - you will need EIN.
Tax Preparer
Taxes, Immigration, Labor Relations