One filing library
Every Form 5472 answer, filed in the right place.
Guides and articles now live together. Start with the broad rule, go deeper when your facts demand it, and filter the full library by the question in front of you.
Filing index
Organized by the decision you are making
- 01Essentials6
- 02Deadlines & corrections7
- 03Transactions & records10
- 04Ownership & tax forms10
- 05International & state guides9
Start here
Three questions that unlock the rest.
New to the filing? Read these in order before you move into a narrower topic.
Complete library
Find the answer you need.
Guides give you the broad rule. Articles go deeper into a specific filing decision.
42 resources
Essentials
Who files, what the forms do, and how the filing works.
6 entries
- Guide5 min
Do you need to file Form 5472 if your LLC made no money?
Yes — and here's exactly why. The IRS treats your initial capital contribution as a reportable transaction, so zero revenue is not zero filing.
Read guide - Guide3 min
Form 5472 IRS fax number and mailing address
The IRS fax number for Form 5472 is +1-855-887-7737 (Ogden PIN Unit). Paper mail goes to 1973 Rulon White Blvd., M/S 6112, Ogden, UT 84201. E-filing is not available for foreign-owned disregarded LLCs.
Read guide - Guide5 min
Snapfile vs other Form 5472 filing services — comparison
How Snapfile ($89 including fax) compares against 5472Direct ($199 + $49 fax), Form5472.online ($399), Simple5472 ($179), and hiring a US CPA ($500–$2,000) for a foreign-owned single-member LLC.
Read guide - Article7 min
First-Year Form 5472 for a New Foreign-Owned LLC
A new foreign-owned US LLC can need Form 5472 before earning revenue. Learn which formation, funding, and owner-paid transactions to capture in year one.
Read article - Article7 min
How to Fill Out Form 5472 for a Foreign-Owned LLC
A practical, part-by-part Form 5472 walkthrough for a foreign-owned US single-member LLC, including the pro forma 1120 and Part V statement.
Read article - Article6 min
What Is Form 5472? A Plain-English Guide
Form 5472 reports transactions between certain foreign-owned US entities and related parties. Learn who files, what is reported, and why no tax can still mean a filing.
Read article
Deadlines & corrections
Extensions, late returns, penalties, and fixing a filed return.
7 entries
- Guide6 min
Form 5472 deadlines and extensions
The April 15 deadline, the automatic six-month Form 7004 extension, and the date that actually matters when the IRS counts a fax as 'on time'.
Read guide - Guide9 min
How to catch up on missed Form 5472 filings (DIIRSP)
The IRS's official catch-up program for foreign-owned LLCs, step by step. What it covers, what it doesn't, and what to attach.
Read guide - Guide8 min
The $25,000 Form 5472 penalty, decoded
Where the number comes from (IRC §6038A), when the IRS actually assesses it, and the three ways to avoid or reduce it.
Read guide - Guide7 min
What happens if you miss the Form 5472 deadline
The $25,000 penalty, how the IRS actually enforces it, and the catch-up path that almost always avoids it.
Read guide - Article7 min
Final Form 5472 When Closing a Foreign-Owned LLC
Closing a foreign-owned US LLC can create a final Form 5472 filing. Learn how to capture distributions, debts, owner-paid costs, and dissolution activity.
Read article - Article6 min
Form 5472 for a Short Tax Year
An LLC formed late in the year may have a short first Form 5472 period. Learn how to identify the period, capture transactions, and prepare the filing.
Read article - Article5 min
How to Correct a Filed Form 5472
A practical, source-based guide to reviewing and correcting a Form 5472 error without confusing a correction with a late original filing.
Read article
Transactions & records
Owner transfers, related parties, exchange rates, and supporting records.
10 entries
- Guide7 min
What counts as a reportable transaction on Form 5472
A plain-English list of what the IRS wants disclosed in Part IV — including the categories most non-US founders miss.
Read guide - Article6 min
Form 5472 Exchange Rates: Converting Amounts to USD
Learn how to document spot or yearly-average exchange rates, avoid inverted calculations, and support U.S.-dollar totals on Form 5472.
Read article - Article5 min
Form 5472 for Multiple Related Parties: How Many Forms?
Form 5472 generally requires a separate form for each related party with reportable transactions. Learn how to count and reconcile the forms.
Read article - Article6 min
Form 5472 for Noncash Property Transfers
Noncash transfers with a foreign owner can require Form 5472 disclosure. Learn how to document property, rights, services, and value estimates.
Read article - Article6 min
Form 5472 for Related-Party Services and Management Fees
Learn when cross-border management and service fees may belong on Form 5472, which records to keep, and why ECI is a separate question.
Read article - Article6 min
Form 5472 Part V Statement: Example and Checklist
See an illustrative Part V statement for a foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity, with the fields, totals, and records needed to support it.
Read article - Article6 min
Form 5472 Recordkeeping Checklist for Foreign-Owned LLCs
Build a Form 5472 file that traces related-party totals to bank records, invoices, loan schedules, owner details, and exchange rates.
Read article - Article5 min
Form 5472 With No US Bank Account
No US bank account does not automatically remove Form 5472 filing. Learn which owner-funded transactions still matter and what records to keep.
Read article - Article6 min
Form 5472: Customer Payments vs Foreign-Source Income
Customer revenue is not automatically reported on Form 5472. Separate unrelated sales, owner transfers, income sourcing, and ECI analysis.
Read article - Article6 min
Owner Loans, Contributions, and Reimbursements on Form 5472
Learn how to organize owner funding, withdrawals, loan payments, and reimbursements for a foreign-owned U.S. LLC’s Form 5472.
Read article
Ownership & tax forms
Entity structures and the forms that are often confused with Form 5472.
10 entries
- Guide6 min
Form 5472 vs Form 1040-NR: what foreign LLC owners actually need
The two forms get confused constantly. Here's which one you owe, when, and what happens if you file the wrong one.
Read guide - Guide6 min
How to get an EIN for your US LLC without an SSN
The full SS-4 workaround for non-resident owners — what to write in field 7b, how to fax it, and how long it really takes.
Read guide - Guide7 min
Single-member vs multi-member LLC: what changes for foreign owners
Adding a second owner flips the LLC from a disregarded entity to a partnership — Form 5472 stops, Form 1065 + Schedule K-1 + 1042 withholding start. Read this before you add a co-founder.
Read guide - Guide5 min
What is a pro forma Form 1120? (And why your LLC has to file one)
Foreign-owned disregarded LLCs can't file Form 5472 on its own — the IRS requires it attached to a mostly-blank Form 1120. This guide explains why, what to fill in, and what to leave blank.
Read guide - Guide8 min
Wyoming vs Delaware LLC for non-US founders
Forming the LLC is the easy part. Picking the right state for a non-US owner changes your filing obligations, your privacy, and your annual fees.
Read guide - Article7 min
Does a Foreign-Owned US LLC Pay US Tax?
A foreign-owned single-member LLC may not pay federal income tax as a separate entity, but its owner can owe US tax. Form 5472 is a separate information filing.
Read article - Article5 min
Form 5472 for Multiple LLCs Owned by One Foreign Person
One foreign owner with several U.S. LLCs usually needs an entity-by-entity and related-party-by-related-party Form 5472 analysis.
Read article - Article4 min
Form 5472 vs. Form 1120-F for a Foreign-Owned LLC
Form 5472 discloses related-party transactions; Form 1120-F reports a foreign corporation’s U.S. income and tax. Both can appear in one structure.
Read article - Article5 min
Form 5472 vs. Form 5471: Which One Applies?
Form 5472 usually looks at a U.S. entity with foreign ownership; Form 5471 looks at certain U.S. persons connected to a foreign corporation.
Read article - Article5 min
Form 5472 When a Foreign Company Owns the U.S. LLC
How a foreign corporate parent changes the ownership disclosures, identifiers, related-party count, and filing analysis for a U.S. LLC.
Read article
International & state guides
Guidance for founders abroad and LLCs formed in popular states.
9 entries
- Guide6 min
Delaware LLC Form 5472 filing guide
Delaware LLCs owned by foreign founders still owe Form 5472 to the IRS every year. Here's what that requires, how it differs from Delaware's own franchise-tax filing, and what it costs.
Read guide - Guide6 min
Form 5472 for Canadian founders of US LLCs
Canadian residents who own a US single-member LLC face Form 5472 filings with the IRS each year. The Canada-US tax treaty doesn't waive the obligation — this guide explains what you owe.
Read guide - Guide6 min
Form 5472 for German founders of US LLCs
German residents owning a US LLC must file Form 5472 with the IRS annually, separate from any German tax obligations. The Germany-US tax treaty doesn't waive it.
Read guide - Guide6 min
Form 5472 for Hong Kong founders of US LLCs
HK-resident owners of US LLCs owe Form 5472 to the IRS each year. Offshore profits exemption in HK doesn't waive the US information return — here's what you actually owe and where.
Read guide - Guide7 min
Form 5472 for Indian founders of US LLCs
How Indian tax residents report their US LLC to both the IRS (Form 5472) and the Indian Income Tax Department — and how the India-US tax treaty affects neither obligation.
Read guide - Guide7 min
Form 5472 for UK founders of US LLCs
How HMRC residency, UK self-assessment, and the US-UK tax treaty interact with the Form 5472 obligations of a foreign-owned US single-member LLC.
Read guide - Guide5 min
New Mexico LLC Form 5472 filing guide
New Mexico LLCs are free to form and have no annual report. But foreign-owned NM single-member LLCs still owe Form 5472 to the IRS. Here's how the state's no-fee advantage interacts with the federal obligation.
Read guide - Guide9 min
The foreign-owned US LLC tax filing checklist
Everything a non-US owner of a single-member US LLC has to file in a given year — federal, state, FBAR, BOI — on one page, with what each one is and isn't.
Read guide - Guide6 min
Wyoming LLC Form 5472 filing guide
Wyoming is the most popular US LLC state for foreign founders. Here's what Form 5472 looks like for Wyoming LLCs — what you file, when, and why Wyoming's tax advantages don't waive the IRS obligation.
Read guide
Reference desk
Five terms worth knowing.
- Form 5472
- An IRS information return used to report certain transactions between a reportable US entity and a foreign or domestic related party.
- Pro forma Form 1120
- The corporate return cover sheet that a foreign-owned disregarded LLC attaches to Form 5472.
- Disregarded entity
- An entity that is generally not treated as separate from its owner for federal income-tax purposes.
- DIIRSP
- The IRS procedure commonly discussed for certain late international information returns submitted with a reasonable-cause statement.
- Related party
- An owner or another person or entity connected to the reporting entity under the relationships described in the Form 5472 rules.
These are general definitions. Check current IRS guidance and your own facts before deciding how to file.