What are the proper requirements for hiring an overseas virtual subcontractor. How do I determine those without an expensive legal consultant?

You can live wherever you want and have a business wherever you want. Especially with an LLC. The IRS doesn't care because with an LLC, the profit flows through the business to it's Members, to the extent of their basis. So if you own 75% and another Member owns 25%, then the profits are distributed that way and reported on the "K-1" with the federal return. LLC's pay no federal income tax as it is al allocated to the Members. The only issue is at the state level wherever you live. If you meet the residency test for that State (which you can find online), then that is where your state taxes - if any - would be calculated and paid based on your K-1 return. You certainly wouldn't want it to appear you have a CA residence with their tax level! I would suggest that you establish residency wherever you live. I too have a virtual mailbox AND live outside of the country. Doesn't affect my LLC in the states at all. Feel free to reach out if you need further help.

NIcole is right. When I first started my business I thought I was saving money by doing my own bookkeeping. It took me much longer than it would take a bookkeeper - all time that I was not spending on marketing or billable activities. And in the end I made errors which made the initial work of the bookkeeper longer. I now have a consistent routine. My bookkeeper picks up all my material monthly and does my books in less than 2 hours. Very worthwhile.

There shouldn't be any tax consequences for the founders if you've made 83b elections--the election meant you paid tax already on the full value of the stock at the time of the election (presumably zero) even though it was subject to future forfeiture. If you sell newly-issued stock there should be no tax impact. If you sell your own common stock, you'd pay tax on the gain, but I doubt that is what you mean here. Of course, you should not take the free advice dispensed on Clarity and consult your own tax preparer--this is not tax advice.

Regarding US taxation of internet sales. Since you are a foreign entity or person (in regard to the US), and there is an income tax treaty between Canada and the US, you will not be liable for US federal income tax on internet sales unless you have a “permanent establishment” in the US with which the internet sales income is effectively connected. So as long as you do not have a warehouse, physical store, sales office, etc... in the US you don't have to file US returns or remit tax to the US. Amazon should be charging to the customer and withholding any sales tax due to a state in which your products are sold. If you sell through other merchants or directly you may have to deal with this yourself. Regarding incorporation Incorporation is almost always a good idea from a liability standpoint as it prevents a judgement for damages from taking all your property and limits the collection to what is owned by the business, With the facts you have given I would suggest incorporating in Canada unless you have a business reason to establish a physical presence in the US. This will eliminate US taxes and related compliance costs. Once you establish a US presence you will need to begin filing returns in the US even if you are running a net operating loss. If there is no benefit to having a physical presence in the US then the related compliance costs and tax would be an unnecessary expense. Feel free to setup a phone call if you would like to chat for a bit regarding the matter. Thanks

Same as any other entity (or person). Entity pays taxes in it's domicile jurisdiction. Best you talk with a tax preparer in your home country to ensure you have all the details. And... If you're a US citizen + your SAAS company is generating massive cash, likely best to organize your entity in a low tax jurisdiction, like Bermuda which is home to Google, Intel, Verizon, etc. And... best wait till Trump's new tax bill passes. If he has his way, corporate taxes may drop to a point low enough to keep your business in the US.