Check-the-Box Rules for Foreign Businesses

Summary

This practice note discusses the check-the-box rules as they apply to foreign businesses. To alleviate some of the U.S. federal income tax and reporting obligations, taxpayers will often look to the entity classification election regime under the so-called Check-the-box (CTB) regulations found in Treas. Reg. § 301.7701-1 through -3 (CTB rules). Practitioners can use these rules as a shield or a sword to alter the manner in which U.S. federal income tax laws apply to foreign businesses, by changing the U.S. federal income tax status of an entity.