: Offshoring work and tax dilemma My friend in USA who is a US citizen wants to hire her cousin from her native country and will be paying the relative as independent contractor. Dilemma: She does not have a registered

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Generally for tax questions you should talk to a tax adviser. Don't consider anything I write here as a tax advice, and the answer was not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

Does IRS like one payment method over other or they simply don't care
as long as she can show the receipts?

They don't care as long as she withholds the taxes (30%, unless specific arrangements are made for otherwise). She should withhold 30% of the payment and send it to the IRS. The recipient should claim refund, if the actual tax liability is lower.

It's only consulting work at the moment, so most of the communication
is done over phone. Should they start engaging in written
communication to keep records of the work done?

Yes, if she wants it to be a business expense.

Is it okay to pay in one go to save money-transferring fees? Can she
pay in advance?

Again, she can do whatever she wants, but if she wants to account for it on her tax returns she should do it the same way she would pay any other vendor in her business. She cannot use different accounting methods for different vendors.

Basically, she has not outsourced work in previous years, and she
wants to avoid any red flags.

Then she should start by calling on her tax adviser, and not an anonymous Internet forum.