An LLC can serve as a vehicle for selling on Amazon (FBA), but it does not release you from anything: if you are a tax resident in Colombia, the DIAN looks at your income, your assets abroad and the controlled foreign entities regime; the Banco de la República looks at the registration of your investment; and in the US there are federal and state obligations, including sales tax. Ligal, with former-DIAN lawyers and accountants, organizes the Colombian side and tells you what you should confirm with a professional in the US, without promising results.
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In Colombia, an individual is a tax resident if he or she stays in the country for more than 183 calendar days within a period of 365 consecutive days, among other conditions (Tax Statute, art. 10), and residents are taxed on their Colombian-source and foreign-source income (art. 9). If you are a resident, what your LLC earns selling on Amazon does not fall outside the Colombian radar: it depends on how the income is classified and how it is received. The controlled foreign entities regime (ECE, arts. 882 to 893) covers companies, trusts, funds and other foreign entities controlled by residents, with or without legal personality and whether or not they are transparent for tax purposes (art. 882, par. 1), but it attributes to the resident only passive income (dividends, interest, intangibles, disposal of assets that generate passive income, real estate; art. 884), and it presumes active income when active income is 80% or more of total income (art. 885). An LLC that sells product with real operations generates, in principle, active income, but the qualification, the place of effective management (art. 12-1) and what happens when you withdraw profits are analyzed case by case. In addition, interests, accounts and inventory abroad form part of your net worth and may oblige you to file the annual return of assets abroad when their value on January 1 exceeds 2,000 UVT, itemizing them individually if they exceed 3,580 UVT (art. 607).
On the exchange-control side, Decree 1068 of 2015 defines as Colombian investment abroad the shares, quotas, rights or other interests in the capital of companies or any type of business located outside Colombia, acquired by a resident, without requiring authorization (arts. 2.17.2.4.1.1 and 2.17.2.4.1.3). Registration is made under article 2.17.2.5.1.1, as amended by Decree 1044 of 2026 (Official Gazette 53,580 of August 6, 2026): a registration declaration of the initial or additional investments, of their changes and of their cancellation is filed with the Banco de la República, and, when the investment is made in foreign currency, the exchange declaration for its channeling through the foreign exchange market serves as the registration declaration. That is why it matters how the money flows between you and the LLC. In the US, for its part, the Supreme Court of that country (South Dakota v. Wayfair, June 21, 2018) eliminated the physical-presence requirement for a state to require a remote seller to collect sales tax, and Amazon states that, as a marketplace facilitator, it calculates, collects, remits and refunds sales tax on third-party sales shipped to states that have that legislation; whether the seller has its own registration or filing obligations, and in which states, is defined by each state and must be confirmed by a professional in the US. We do not give sales tax figures by state here. For the detail of each piece, see declaring a US LLC before the DIAN, the ECE regime and registering the investment before the Banco de la República.
Keys to selling on Amazon with an LLC from Colombia
Ligal organizes the structure from the Colombian side, calculates what must be declared and registered and points out what you should confirm with a professional in the US, without promising results.
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We confirm whether you are a tax resident, how the LLC is set up (single member or several, who manages it and from where) and what risks the place of effective management raises. The treatment in Colombia depends on this.
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We trace how money gets from Amazon into the LLC's account and how it reaches you: contributions, withdrawals, payments for services or other transfers. Each flow has a different tax and exchange-control treatment.
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Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores reconstruct the LLC's accounting, apply the ECE regime where appropriate, calculate the credit for taxes paid abroad and prepare the income tax return and the assets abroad return.
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We determine whether the investment is deemed registered through the exchange declaration or whether the registration declaration is missing, and we leave the supporting documents for each contribution organized.
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We give you the list of what you should confirm with an accountant or lawyer licensed in the US (the LLC's federal obligations, sales tax by state, Amazon accounts and documents) so that both sides are coordinated.
Selling on Amazon from Colombia with an LLC crosses tax, exchange-control and accounting matters. At Ligal the same team assists you, from diagnosis to the return.
Director · Tax lawyer, former DIAN
Leads the legal strategy: defines the Colombian treatment of the LLC, the effective-management risk and the order of the obligations before the DIAN and the Banco de la República.
Accountant · Quantification and traceability
Reconciles the LLC's accounting with the income tax return, calculates income, credits and assets, and keeps the supporting documents for each transfer.
Public accountants
Prepare the accounting support and the technical analyses that underpin the return and the registration.
As a tax resident, your foreign-source income is taxed in Colombia (E.T. art. 9) and assets abroad are reported (art. 607). The fact that the money stays in the LLC's account does not avoid the analysis under the ECE regime or the reporting.
Paying personal expenses from the LLC's account or contributing without supporting documents complicates traceability, the exchange registration and your defense if the DIAN asks questions. Every transfer must have its document.
The interest in the LLC is a Colombian investment abroad that must be registered (Decree 1068 of 2015, art. 2.17.2.5.1.1). If the contribution was made in foreign currency through the foreign exchange market, the exchange declaration serves that function; if not, the registration declaration must be filed.
With the economic nexus that the Wayfair ruling allows and inventory in Amazon warehouses, a state may expect you to register and file, even if Amazon collects and remits part of the tax. Confirm it with a professional in the US before selling, not afterwards.
Before opening the seller account, it is advisable to settle four things: whether you are or will be a tax resident in Colombia, how the LLC will be set up and managed, through which accounts and in what way the money will move between Amazon, the LLC and you, and who will keep the accounting. This determines the income tax return, the assets report, the registration with the Banco de la República and the task list on the US side. If you are already selling, the same exercise is done with the history and whatever is missing is regularized. Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, a tax lawyer and former DIAN official, leads the strategy together with accountant Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores (public accountants). The team, with lawyers, accountants and direct experience inside the DIAN, handles real cases of audit, planning and structures with foreign entities.
Keep in mind: each case depends on your residency, the structure and the flows. Ligal evaluates the situation and defines the strategy without promising results. On the US side we point out what to confirm, but advice on US law belongs to a professional licensed there.
Director
Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto
Tax lawyer · Former DIAN
Every flow of money and every structuring decision changes what you must declare and register. We evaluate your case within one business day. Use the form or open Diagnosis.
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TodayWe review your residency situation, the LLC's formation documents, the accounts used and the transfers made or planned among Amazon, the LLC and you.
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One business dayWe specify what applies in the income tax return, in the report of assets abroad and in the registration with the Banco de la República, and what you must confirm on the US side.
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ImmediateWe define the structure, the order of the obligations and who prepares each document, and we regularize whatever is pending.
Frequently asked questions
In general terms: (1) in Colombia, if you are a tax resident, you are taxed on your Colombian-source and foreign-source income (E.T. arts. 9 and 10), the ECE regime is analyzed for the LLC's passive income (arts. 882 to 893), net worth and assets abroad are declared (art. 607, above 2,000 UVT) and the credit for taxes paid abroad is applied when appropriate (art. 254); (2) before the Banco de la República the investment in the LLC is registered (Decree 1068 of 2015, art. 2.17.2.5.1.1); and (3) in the US there are federal obligations of the LLC and state sales tax, which a professional there must confirm. How much is paid depends on your residency, the structure and the flows. Ligal can review your case.
Colombian investment abroad, that is, interests in the capital of companies or businesses located outside Colombia acquired by a resident, does not require authorization, but it does require registration with the Banco de la República (Decree 1068 of 2015, arts. 2.17.2.4.1.1, 2.17.2.4.1.3 and 2.17.2.5.1.1). What changes are the obligations: tax obligations in Colombia, exchange-control obligations and those specific to the US. If Amazon or other platforms impose requirements on foreign sellers, that is confirmed with them. Ligal reviews the Colombian side.
It can happen under the controlled foreign entities regime, which attributes to the resident who controls the entity the passive income (dividends, interest, intangibles, disposal of assets that generate passive income, real estate) in the year in which the entity obtains it (E.T. arts. 882 to 893), but does not attribute active income. Article 885 presumes active income when active income is 80% or more of the total. Whether the LLC's activity qualifies as active and how Colombia treats its profits when you withdraw them are case-by-case analyses; see the ECE regime and dividends and withdrawals from an LLC.
It should not be assumed. Whether an LLC is transparent (disregarded) or has elected to be taxed as a corporation is a classification under US law; the ECE regime covers entities with or without legal personality, whether or not they are transparent for tax purposes (E.T. art. 882, par. 1). In addition, if the LLC is in practice managed from Colombia it may be considered Colombian because of its place of effective management (art. 12-1), with other consequences. The treatment is defined case by case.
In general, the income tax return with the income that applies (including, where applicable, the passive income attributed under the ECE regime) and the annual return of assets abroad, mandatory for those who hold assets abroad whose equity value on January 1 exceeds 2,000 UVT, with individual itemization of assets above 3,580 UVT and the rest aggregated by jurisdiction (E.T. art. 607). Assets in foreign currency are estimated in national currency at the market representative rate of their initial recognition, less payments measured at the same rate (art. 269). Which assets your LLC has (accounts, inventory, interests) and how they are valued is reviewed together with the accounting.
The interest in the LLC is a Colombian investment abroad (Decree 1068 of 2015, art. 2.17.2.4.1.1), which is registered through a registration declaration of the initial or additional investments, of their changes and of their cancellation. If the contribution was made in foreign currency through the foreign exchange market, the exchange declaration serves as the registration declaration; if no foreign currency was channeled, registration is made under the procedures established by the Banco de la República (art. 2.17.2.5.1.1, as amended by Decree 1044 of 2026). When the LLC is liquidated or its ownership changes, that is also registered. For the detail, see registering the investment before the Banco de la República.
It depends on the nature of each transfer: capital contribution, return on the investment, payment for goods or services or another type. The exchange-control regime defines which transactions must be channeled through the foreign exchange market and which not, and that classification is reviewed transfer by transfer, with its supporting documents. What does happen is that, for investments in foreign currency, the exchange declaration of the channeling serves as the registration declaration (Decree 1068 of 2015, art. 2.17.2.5.1.1). Before moving money it is advisable to define the flow.
Sales tax is a state tax, not a federal one, on sales to final consumers. Since South Dakota v. Wayfair (US Supreme Court, June 21, 2018), a state may require a remote seller to collect it without the seller having a physical presence, based on its economic or virtual presence. Amazon states that, as a marketplace facilitator, it calculates, collects, remits and refunds sales tax on third-party sales shipped to states with that legislation. Whether the seller retains registration or filing obligations in any state, or on sales outside Amazon, is defined by each state. We do not give figures by state: confirm them with a professional licensed in the US.
According to the IRS, a single-member LLC owned by a foreign person (foreign-owned disregarded entity) must file Form 5472 together with a pro forma Form 1120 when it has reportable transactions with a related party; the IRS states a penalty of US$25,000 for failing to file it on time. In addition, the IRS notes that a foreign person who operates a business in the US that sells merchandise is, in general, considered engaged in a trade or business in that country, and that the profit from selling inventory there is income connected with that activity, taxed after deductions. How this applies to your LLC is determined by a professional in the US; Ligal coordinates the Colombian side.
It is regularized in an orderly way: first the years and the transfers are reconstructed; then it is determined which income tax, assets abroad and exchange registration applied; afterwards we assess how to file or correct what is pending and what consequences each path could have. Doing it before the DIAN or the Banco de la República ask questions allows you to choose. Ligal's diagnosis is free and is answered within one business day.
There is no single answer: it depends on where your operation is, your residency, the volume and the tax and exchange-control impact of each option. A Colombian SAS is taxed as a domestic company and the LLC is analyzed under the foreign rules we describe above. See LLC vs SAS in Colombia, where they are compared in detail.
Ligal is a firm specialized in tax, customs, exchange-control and criminal tax law. Under the direction of Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, a tax lawyer and former DIAN official, together with Jeysson Pulido, accountant, and LIGAL Auditores (public accountants), we combine the legal reading of the structure with the exact calculation of what must be declared and registered. Our work is backed by 5.0 / 5 on Google with 36 reviews: https://share.google/VVzMvULrOj8Mj52Au. The team handles real cases of audit, planning and structures with foreign entities. We do not provide advice on US law. No result is guaranteed.
Free. Tell us about your residency situation, how the LLC is or will be set up and how the money will move. We evaluate the obligations and the paths.