What is Form 5472?

How it works

Form 5472 was historically a corporate compliance form for 25%-foreign-owned US C corporations. Since regulations finalised in 2017, the rule extends to foreign-owned single-member US LLCs disregarded for federal tax purposes — the structure most non-resident founders use. Even with zero income, zero employees, and zero US activity, an LLC owned by a non-US person now files annually.

Mechanically: the disregarded LLC files a "pro-forma" Form 1120 (US Corporate Income Tax Return) with only the company name, address, EIN, and items 1A, 1B, 1D, 1E, 1F filled in. Form 5472 attaches to it. The 1120 itself reports no income — the LLC is still disregarded for tax — but the 1120 wrapper exists solely to deliver the 5472 to the IRS.

What you report on the 5472: reportable transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner — capital contributions, capital distributions, loans in either direction, interest, fees, services. Transaction amounts go in dollar buckets. Bank transfers from the owner's personal account into the LLC's account are routinely missed and routinely fined.

Deadline: 15 April for calendar-year LLCs (same as Form 1120). Extension to 15 October available via Form 7004.

Examples

• French founder's Wyoming LLC, zero income. Set up the LLC in 2024 to receive future SaaS revenue, no transactions yet. He still files Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 every year because the LLC exists. The capital contribution of $1,000 at formation is a reportable transaction in year one.
• Brazilian consultant's Delaware LLC, $50,000 revenue. Receives $50,000 from Brazilian clients into the LLC's Mercury account. No US-source income, no US trade or business. He still files 5472 reporting the $50,000 flowing through (intercompany services or distributions, depending on classification) and the year-end capital distributions to himself.

Common mistakes

• Assuming "no income = no filing". Wrong. The 5472 is an information return on the existence and intercompany transactions of the LLC, not on its profit.
• Missing capital flows. Wires from the owner's personal account to the LLC's account count as capital contributions. Wires the other way count as distributions. Both are reportable, and both are easy to overlook because they don't show up on a P&L.
• Filing without an EIN. A foreign-owned LLC with no US-person responsible party still needs an EIN before it can file. Apply on Form SS-4 by fax — the online IRS application is unavailable to non-resident applicants.
• Treating the LLC as a corporation by default. The 1120 attached is a pro-forma — the LLC remains disregarded for tax. Marking it as a regular C-corp on the 1120 changes the entity classification and creates a much bigger problem (full corporate tax filings, double taxation on distributions).