Hello XXXXXX,
When you pay a foreign contractor for work they performed for you, as long as the work was performed entirely in the foreign country, then the foreign person is not liable for any tax here in the United States. That being the case, you are not required to withhold any taxes or send them any forms.
As long as you have documentation of the money you paid to these individuals, such as a cancelled check, bank record of a wire transfer, etc., you will be able to claim this deduction without any problems. All deductions that you claim do not necessarily require a form 1099 or similar documentation to be deductible. As an example, if you hired an independent contractor here in the US to do work for you, and that contractor also had his own corporation established, then the payments you made to him would not require that a 1099 be issued, but you can still deduct the payments. All you really need to have is an invoice from the foreign source showing the details of and charges for the services they performed and a record of your payment.
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Thank you Dev
Accountant
25+ years tax consulting. Specializing in returns for US citizens living abroad