Form 5472 for a foreign-owned US LLC: what to report, and by when
If you're not a US person and you own a single-member US LLC, it files Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 for every year money moves between you and it, the year you form it included.
It's due 15 April, goes by fax or post, and missing it costs $25,000, even when the LLC owes no tax.
You formed a US LLC from abroad, you sell to clients outside the US, and you owe no US income tax. You still owe the IRS a form every year: Form 5472, attached to a one-page pro forma 1120. Miss it and the penalty is $25,000. Here's who files, what goes on it, and how to send it, from the IRS instructions revised in December 2024.
Key takeaways
- A single-member US LLC owned by a non-US person files Form 5472 for any year money moves between owner and LLC.
- Formation money counts. A new LLC files for its first year even with no sales.
- It goes with a pro forma Form 1120: name, address, EIN, one box, and "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" on top.
- Due 15 April for a calendar year, or 15 October with Form 7004.
- No e-filing: fax to 855-887-7737 or post to the IRS in Ogden.
- The penalty is $25,000 per year, and $25,000 more every 30 days once 90 days pass after an IRS notice.
Who must file Form 5472?
For tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2017, Treasury Regulation 301.7701-2(c)(2)(vi) and 1.6038A-1(c)(1) treat a single-member LLC owned by a foreign person as a corporation for Form 5472 only. Answer three questions.
One owner abroad, and money moving between you and the LLC.
Form 5472 reportable transactions, item by item
Pick a payment and see whether it goes on the form, and where.
Part IV of Form 5472 lists money transactions with the related party, line by line; Part V, for a foreign-owned LLC only, covers formation, contributions and distributions, as Treasury Regulation 1.6038A-2 sets out. One Form 5472 per related party.
Formation money, money in, money out: all reportable.
How to fill in the pro forma 1120 and Form 5472
| Where | What you write |
|---|---|
| Top of the 1120 | "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" |
| 1120, name and address | The LLC's, as on its EIN letter |
| 1120, item B | The LLC's EIN |
| 1120, item E | "Initial return" in the first year; "Final return" when you close |
| 5472, line 3 | Tick: the reporting corporation is a foreign-owned disregarded entity |
| 5472, line 1j | Tick in the first year the LLC files |
| 5472, line 1o | The countries where it does business; not "worldwide" |
| 5472, line 4b | Your US number if you have one, else your foreign tax ID, else "None" |
| 5472, Parts IV, V and VII | The year's transactions with you, and the questions in Part VII |
Nothing else on the 1120 is filled in, as the Form 5472 instructions explain. An incomplete Form 5472 counts as not filed.
A one-page 1120: name, address, EIN and one box.
Form 5472 due date, extension and penalty calculator
The form is due the 15th day of the 4th month after year end, under the Form 1120 instructions, and Form 7004 adds six months. Under section 6038A(d)(1) and (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, the penalty is $25,000, then $25,000 for each 30 days, or part of 30 days, after 90 days from notice.
15 April, or 15 October with Form 7004.
How to file Form 5472: fax or post
Fax or post only. A foreign-owned LLC can't e-file.
Form 5472 penalty: how it adds up
The penalty is for not filing, filing late, or filing an incomplete form, and for not keeping the records. It's $25,000 for each year, and each related party needs its own form. If the IRS writes and the form is still missing 90 days later, another $25,000 follows for each 30 days, with no cap.
The way out is reasonable cause, shown in writing, and filing as soon as you find the gap. The years also stay open: the IRS can assess tax linked to the information until three years after it receives the form.
$25,000 a year, then $25,000 every 30 days after a notice.
Form 5472 records and the EIN
- Bank statements, invoices and a log of every transfer to and from you
- They can stay abroad if you can produce them within 60 days of a request
- Translations within 30 days if asked
- The LLC needs its own EIN for item B
- Form SS-4: "Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity, Form 5472" on lines 9a and 10
- No SSN or ITIN needed: write "foreign" on line 7b
Records can stay abroad if you can produce them in 60 days.
Do you owe US tax on a foreign-owned LLC?
Usually not. As IRS Publication 519 explains, a non-resident pays US income tax only on US-source income and income effectively connected with a US trade or business. Selling services from abroad to clients abroad is neither, so there is no 1040-NR to file. Form 5472 is an information return: it reports, it doesn't tax.
No US business, usually no US income tax for you.
Form 5472 questions, answered
Who must file Form 5472?
Does a foreign-owned LLC with no income file Form 5472?
What is the Form 5472 due date?
Can I e-file Form 5472 for my LLC?
What is the penalty for not filing Form 5472?
What goes on the pro forma 1120?
Can you prepare Form 5472 for me?
Changelog
- 11 November 2026: first published.
- 13 November 2026: official sources linked inside the text.
A US LLC with Form 5472 handled every April.
Form 5472 preparation is US$179 a year on any US LLC we form.