Once you are a US tax resident, your Italian SRL is most likely a CFC. GILTI taxes its excess earnings to you personally — at rates up to 37% if held individually.
GILTI exposure analysis and structuring for US-resident Italians who own Italian operating companies (likely CFCs).
Fixed fee defined case-by-case after a preliminary consultation, based on the number of CFCs involved, the perimeter of the engagement (CFC/GILTI assessment, restructuring, annual Form 5471 + GILTI inclusion) and the operational complexity. The preliminary consultation is a 45-minute paid online session ($250); the engagement letter with the agreed fee is signed before any chargeable work begins.
If you are a US tax resident (or US citizen) and own ≥10% of the Italian SRL, and US persons collectively own >50%, then yes — it's a Controlled Foreign Corporation under §957. Most family-held Italian SRLs with a US-resident shareholder qualify.
GILTI (§951A) taxes you on the CFC's 'global intangible low-taxed income' — essentially earnings exceeding 10% of the CFC's tangible business assets (Qualified Business Asset Investment). For most service-based Italian SRLs with low tangible assets, most net earnings flow through as GILTI.
Held individually: ordinary rates up to 37%. Held through a US C-Corp: §250 deduction reduces 50% of GILTI from C-Corp taxable income, yielding ~10.5% effective rate. Italian taxes paid by the CFC are partially creditable under §960 (80% of indirect FTC). High-tax-exclusion (HTE) election can exclude income from GILTI when foreign effective tax rate exceeds 18.9%.
Often yes. Holding the SRL through a US C-Corp can drop the GILTI rate from 37% to ~10.5%. The trade-off: the C-Corp itself pays 21% on its other income, and dividends to you suffer additional tax. Modeling the full lifecycle is essential before restructuring.
Yes, for every CFC interest, every year — even with no income. The omission penalty is $10,000 per form per year. The IRS automatically assesses this penalty when delinquency is detected. Catch-up filings under reasonable-cause provisions are possible but require proper procedure.
Possibly. If the CFC's effective tax rate in Italy exceeds 18.9% (90% of the US 21% corporate rate), you can elect to exclude that income from GILTI. Italian SRLs paying full IRES + IRAP often qualify, but the election is annual and must be carefully modeled with FTC implications.
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IIILEX International Consulting LLC is the Florida-based practice of Avv. Dott. Massimo Leonardi — Italian Attorney (Avvocato), Certified Public Accountant (Dottore Commercialista) and Statutory Auditor (Revisore Legale) with 30+ years of Italian practice. We work exclusively on cross-border matters between Italy and the United States.
IIILEX International Consulting LLC · 7901 4th St N STE 300, St. Petersburg, FL 33702 · us@3lex.us · +1 (786) 604-8764 · +39 335 344 9660