Form 5472: the filing a foreign-owned US LLC owes every year
A US LLC with one foreign owner usually owes no US income tax. It still owes this filing every year, and the penalty for missing it starts at $25,000.
Last checked October 27, 2026 · 3 min read
Who has to file
A US LLC with a single owner is, by default, a disregarded entity: for income tax, the IRS looks through it to the owner. When that owner is a foreign person, the rules treat the LLC as a corporation for one purpose, reporting on Form 5472.
So the LLC files a pro forma Form 1120, the US corporate return, with Form 5472 attached. The 1120 carries little more than the company’s name, address and a few identifying items. The substance is in the 5472.
Profit is not the trigger. A transaction between the LLC and its owner, or another related party, is. Almost every active company has one each year: the owner paying money in, taking money out, or paying the company’s costs.
What it reports
Form 5472 identifies the owner and lists the transactions between the LLC and its related parties during the year. For a foreign-owned LLC, the IRS counts more as a transaction than most owners expect.
- Money in
- Capital the owner contributes, including money paid in to cover the company’s costs.
- Money out
- Distributions to the owner, and payments between the LLC and the owner’s other companies.
- Formation and closure
- Amounts paid or received to form or dissolve the company, even when the owner paid them personally.
- Loans, sales and services
- Loans and interest, and goods or services bought from or sold to related parties.
When and how to file
- Due date
- With the pro forma 1120, by the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year ends: April 15 for a calendar year.
- Extension
- Six more months on Form 7004, filed by the original due date.
- Paper, not e-file
- A foreign-owned disregarded entity cannot file Form 5472 electronically. It goes by fax or by mail to the address in the instructions, with “Foreign-owned U.S. DE” written across the top of the 1120.
- EIN
- The LLC needs its own employer identification number to file. Without a US tax number of your own, that application goes outside the IRS online system and takes weeks, so it belongs at the start, not at the deadline.
What missing it costs
The penalty for not filing, or for filing a form that is substantially incomplete, is $25,000.
If the IRS writes to you and the form is still missing 90 days later, another $25,000 applies for every 30 days, or part of 30 days, that it stays missing.
The penalties do not depend on any tax being owed. A company with no US income can still be charged them.
Records to keep
The LLC must keep books that support what it reports: bank statements, invoices, and a record of every payment between the company and its owner. Keeping personal spending off the company account makes this simpler and keeps the line between owner and company clear.
Form 5472 is a US filing only. Where you live decides how the LLC’s profit is taxed, and your home country may have its own reports for foreign companies you own.
Sources
Checked against these sources on October 27, 2026. Rules change: check them again before you act.
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Questions, answered.
01My LLC made no money. Do I still file?
Usually, yes. The trigger is a transaction with a related party, not profit. If you paid money in to cover fees or took money out, you have one.
02Does the owner need an ITIN for Form 5472?
No. For a foreign-owned LLC the form asks for the owner’s foreign tax identification number, if there is one. Whether you need an ITIN is a separate question.
03I missed a year. What now?
File it. A late filing is better than none, but the penalty can still apply, and whether relief is possible depends on the facts. We look at the missed years before anything else.
The rule is the start. Your facts decide the rest.
Tell us where you live, where you earn and what you are setting up. We will go through how the rules apply to you on a call.