SolutionHub provides bookkeeping, tax and business formation services for small businesses, individuals and foreign-owned companies.
Office
114 Essex St, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662Form 5472
A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 for every year it has reportable transactions with its owner, even with no income, and we prepare and send both.
Form 5472: the yearly filing most foreign founders miss
Forming a U.S. LLC from Turkey or anywhere else outside the United States takes a few days. The yearly IRS filing that comes with it is easy to overlook. A single-member LLC owned by a non-U.S. person has no regular income tax return of its own, so many owners assume there is nothing to file. The IRS sees it differently: the LLC must file a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, and the penalty for missing it starts at $25,000.
Our Form 5472 filing service takes care of that every year. We work out what your LLC has to report, prepare both forms from your records and file them with the IRS in the way the instructions require. We work from our office in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, and online with founders in Turkey and around the world, in English or Turkish. It is part of the U.S. tax services we provide for individuals and companies. If you want to see what goes on each part of the form first, read our line-by-line Form 5472 instructions.
Who must file Form 5472?
According to the Form 5472 instructions, a reporting corporation must file. That includes:
- a U.S. corporation that is at least 25% owned, directly or indirectly, by a foreign person, and
- a foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity: a U.S. LLC wholly owned by one foreign person.
For the second group, the LLC is treated as a corporation only for this reporting rule. It must file for every year it has a reportable transaction with a related party. A separate Form 5472 is required for each related party the company had reportable transactions with. Our guide to accounting and tax for foreign-owned LLCs explains how this fits with your other U.S. obligations.
What our Form 5472 filing includes
Reportable transactions
For a foreign-owned LLC, reportable transactions go beyond sales and purchases. They include money you put into the company, money you take out of it, loans between you and the LLC, payments the LLC makes on your behalf and amounts paid in connection with forming the LLC. We go through your bank statements and records, total each type of transaction and report it in the right part of the form. If your books are not in order, our bookkeeping services can put them in shape first.
Pro forma Form 1120 and filing
The pro forma Form 1120 is a short cover return: only the LLC’s name, address and a few identifying items on the first page are completed, and Form 5472 is attached to it. Foreign-owned LLCs do not file it at the regular IRS address. The instructions direct them to a dedicated IRS fax line or a special mailing address in Ogden, Utah. We prepare both forms, send them to you for signature, file them and keep the fax confirmation or mailing proof on record.
EIN and owner details
The LLC needs an Employer Identification Number to file. The owner’s foreign tax identification number is reported when one exists. If your company has no EIN yet, we can handle the EIN application for your LLC before the filing deadline.
Deadline and penalty
- Due date: with the pro forma Form 1120, by the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends. For a calendar-year LLC, that is April 15.
- Extension: Form 7004, filed by the original due date, sent to the same dedicated fax or mail address.
- Penalty: $25,000 under 26 U.S.C. § 6038A for each Form 5472 not filed when due and in the required manner. A substantially incomplete form counts as not filed, and failing to keep the required records carries the same penalty. If the failure continues more than 90 days after an IRS notice, another $25,000 can be added for each 30-day period.
You must also keep records that support what the form reports. Clean, reconciled books make that simple.
Form 5472 and your other filings
Form 5472 is usually not the only thing a foreign-owned LLC needs. If the LLC does business in the United States, you as the owner may also have to file a nonresident tax return on Form 1040-NR. If you are still choosing where to form, we can help you set up a Delaware LLC or a Wyoming LLC and keep it compliant from the first year. If you missed Form 5472 in a recent year, talk to us before the IRS does.
Get your Form 5472 filed on time
Send us your LLC’s formation documents, EIN letter and bank statements for the year, and we will tell you what needs to be reported and what it costs before any work starts. Book a free call about your Form 5472.
Key facts
What is at stake with Form 5472
$25,000
Penalty for each form not filed when due
$25,000
A substantially incomplete form counts as not filed, and failing to keep the required records carries the same penalty.
90 days
After an IRS notice, before penalties add up
90 days
If the failure continues more than 90 days after the notice, another $25,000 can apply for each 30-day period.
1 per party
A separate Form 5472 for each related party
1 per party
Every related party the company had reportable transactions with gets its own form.
- Owner contributions
- Distributions
- Loans to and from the owner
- Formation costs
How it works
Your Form 5472 in four steps
Step01
Requirement check
A free call to confirm the LLC must file and which related parties to report.
Step02
Quote and document list
One fixed price, paid in USD, and the records we need.
Step03
Forms prepared
Transactions totaled from your records and both forms reviewed with you.
Step04
Signed and filed
Sent to the IRS by fax or mail, with the confirmation kept on record.
Why foreign owners file Form 5472 with SolutionHub
Fixed, transparent price
One clear quote before we start, paid in USD by card or U.S. bank transfer.
English and Turkish
A dedicated specialist who explains each line, in the language you prefer.
Formation to tax in one place
LLC, EIN, bookkeeping and the yearly filing handled by the same team.
Same-day response
We answer new requests on the same business day, also from Turkey.
Frequently asked questions
Form 5472 is an IRS information return. It reports transactions between a reporting corporation and its foreign or U.S. related parties, such as its owner. A U.S. single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person is treated as a corporation for this purpose, so it must file Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120, even with no income.
A U.S. single-member LLC that is wholly owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 for any year it has a reportable transaction with a related party. Contributions from the owner, distributions to the owner and payments for the formation of the LLC all count. In practice, most foreign-owned LLCs have at least one reportable transaction every year.
Form 5472 is due with the pro forma Form 1120, by the corporate return due date: the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends. For a calendar-year LLC, that is April 15. An extension is available by filing Form 7004 by the original due date.
Foreign-owned single-member LLCs do not use the regular IRS filing address. The pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached is sent to a dedicated IRS fax line or a special mailing address in Ogden, Utah, listed in the Form 5472 instructions. We prepare the forms, have you sign them and send them for you.
The IRS penalty is $25,000 for each failure to file Form 5472 when due and in the required manner. A substantially incomplete form counts as a failure to file, and the same penalty applies for not keeping the required records. If the failure continues more than 90 days after the IRS sends a notice, an additional $25,000 can apply for each 30-day period. Filing on time with complete information is far cheaper than any penalty.
Yes. A foreign-owned single-member LLC must have an Employer Identification Number to file the pro forma Form 1120 and Form 5472. If your LLC does not have an EIN yet, we can apply for it as part of getting your company compliant.
Not exactly. The pro forma Form 1120 and Form 5472 are an information filing. They usually show no tax due. If your LLC earns income from a U.S. trade or business, you as the owner may also have to file a personal Form 1040-NR. We check both during the same review.