LLC abroad: am I self-employed? Does FEIE cover SE tax?

1) **Yes, you are still self-employed.** Because your LLC is a "disregarded entity," the IRS ignores the legal structure for tax purposes. The revenue is treated as earned directly by you. Since you are performing the work, the income is "earned income" subject to Self-Employment (SE) tax. To avoid SE tax on this structure, you would typically need to incorporate (S-Corp or C-Corp), but that introduces other complexities. 2) **Correct.** The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) only applies to income tax. It does not reduce or eliminate the 15.3% SE tax. Without a totalization agreement, you are generally required to pay SE tax to the US on all net self-employment earnings. 3) **Usually not at low profit.** While an S-Corp allows you to split income between salary (subject to SE tax) and distributions (not subject to SE tax), distributions are not "earned income" and cannot be excluded via the FEIE. Furthermore, the administrative costs (payroll, Form 1120-S, potential foreign reporting requirements) often outweigh the tax savings until your profit significantly exceeds a "reasonable salary" for your services.