Form 5472 guide · checked 9 October 2026
Form 5472 for a US LLC owned from outside the US
If you live outside the US and own a single-member US LLC, this is the one federal filing you can't skip. It's short, free to file and can't be e-filed. Missing it costs $25,000.
Who has to file
A single-member LLC owned by someone who isn't a US person is a "foreign-owned US disregarded entity". Since 2017 it must file Form 5472, attached to a pro forma Form 1120, for every year it has a reportable transaction with its owner or a related party. Income doesn't matter.
Reportable transactions include:
- putting money into the LLC (capital contributions) or taking money out (distributions)
- paying the formation, state or registered agent fees yourself
- loans between you and the LLC
- the LLC paying you, or you paying it, for services or goods
In practice almost every owner-run LLC has at least one in its first year and most years after.
When it's due
15 April of the following year: 15 April 2027 for 2026. To get more time, send Form 7004 by the same date (to the same fax number or address below, not the usual 7004 address). That moves the deadline to 15 October.
How to file it, step by step
- Make sure the LLC has an EIN. You need it on both forms.
- Take a blank Form 1120 for the year. Write
Foreign-owned U.S. DEacross the top. Fill in only the company's name and address and items B (EIN) and E (date incorporated) on page 1. - Fill in Form 5472: Part I (the LLC), Part II (you, the 25% foreign owner), Part III (the related party, usually you again), and Part IV or Part V for the transactions. For contributions, distributions and formation costs, tick the Part V box and attach a short statement listing them.
- Sign and date the Form 1120 as the owner.
- Fax both forms to the IRS on 855-887-7737 (scan at 300 DPI or better), or mail them to:
Internal Revenue Service, 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201. - Keep the fax confirmation or postal receipt, plus records of every transaction, for at least 7 years.
You can't e-file Form 5472 for a disregarded entity, and you shouldn't use the mailing addresses in the Form 1120 instructions.
The fine
$25,000 per missing or substantially incomplete Form 5472, per year. If the IRS writes to you and you still haven't filed after 90 days, another $25,000 is added for each 30 days. First-time penalty relief doesn't apply. The only way out is to show "reasonable cause", which is much easier before the IRS contacts you.
What else your LLC may owe
Form 5472 is federal. Your state wants its own report or tax: Delaware $300 by 1 June, Wyoming $60 in your formation month, Florida $138.75 by 1 May, Texas a free report by 15 May, Nevada $350 in your formation month, and New Mexico nothing. Run the free checker to see your full list with dates.
When to get a professional
Use a US tax professional if the LLC has US staff, an office, stock in a US warehouse, a US agent, more than one owner, or if you've missed earlier years. Those cases can bring US income tax and other forms.
Sources: IRS Instructions for Form 5472 (rev. 12/2024), Form 1120, Form 7004.