If you are a foreigner with a single-member LLC in the U.S., there is a yearly obligation many people discover too late: Form 5472. It isn't a tax and, in many cases, you owe nothing with it. But failing to file carries a $25,000 penalty. Here is who must file, what to report, when and how, based on the official IRS instructions.
What Form 5472 is
Form 5472 is an information return. Its purpose is to let the IRS know about transactions between a U.S. company and its foreign owners or related parties. It doesn't calculate tax: it reports.
For years, a single-member LLC owned by a foreigner had almost nothing to file, because for tax purposes it is a "disregarded entity": it doesn't exist separately from its owner. That changed in 2017. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, the IRS treats these LLCs as a corporation, only for the purposes of this reporting obligation. That's why they must file Form 5472 as if they were a corporation, even though they remain disregarded for everything else.
Filing Form 5472 doesn't, by itself, mean your LLC owes U.S. tax. Whether it does is a separate question that depends on your activity and where your income is earned. For that, talk to an accountant.
Who must file
This guide focuses on the most common case among our readers: an LLC with a single owner who is a foreign person or company. In that case, the LLC must file Form 5472 every year in which it has transactions to report with its owner, and in practice it almost always does.
U.S. corporations that are at least 25% foreign-owned and foreign corporations doing business in the U.S. also file it, under their own rules. And if your LLC has several members, by default it is taxed as a partnership and has different obligations. In those cases, the single-member LLC filing we explain here isn't yours.
Which transactions to report
Form 5472 covers transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner or other related parties. The IRS instructions expressly include:
- Contributions of money you make to the LLC.
- Distributions, meaning money you take out of the LLC for yourself.
- Amounts paid or received to form or dissolve the LLC, for example if you paid the Florida filing fees out of your own pocket.
- Loans, payments for services, rent or other transactions between you and the LLC.
That's why the first year is almost never empty: someone paid for the formation, and the owner usually put the first money into the business account.
What exactly you file
The LLC files two forms together:
- A pro forma Form 1120. It is the corporate tax return, but in this case you only complete the LLC's name and address and two items on the first page. Across the top you write "Foreign-owned U.S. DE."
- Form 5472, attached to it, with details of the LLC, its owner and the year's transactions.
The form asks for the LLC's EIN, so you need one. If you haven't applied yet, we explain how in our guide on how to open a Florida LLC as a non-resident. For the owner, you enter their U.S. tax number if they have one; if not, a reference ID number is used instead, so you don't need an ITIN just for this. See our ITIN guide.
If the owner has a tax ID in their country of residence, the form asks for that too; if not, you enter "None."
When it is due
Form 5472 is due on the same date as the Form 1120 it is attached to. If your LLC uses the calendar year, as is usual, the deadline is April 15 of the following year. For tax year 2026, that means April 15, 2027.
If you need more time, you can file Form 7004 by that date to get an automatic 6-month extension, to October 15. The instructions also ask you to write "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" across the top of Form 7004.
Note that the extension gives you more time to file, not to pay. A foreign-owned LLC's pro forma 1120 usually has nothing to pay, but if you, as the owner, must file and pay personal U.S. taxes, that is a separate return with its own deadlines.
How to file
This is the part that surprises people most: an LLC with a foreign owner can't file Form 5472 online. The IRS instructions give two routes, and they aren't the same as for a regular Form 1120:
| Route | Where | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Fax | 855-887-7737 | At 300 DPI or higher. Keep the transmission confirmation |
| Internal Revenue Service, 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201 | Use a tracked service and keep proof of the mailing date |
The same fax number and address are used for the Form 7004 extension. These details come from the Form 5472 instructions (December 2024 revision): check them against the current version before sending.
The records you must keep
Beyond filing the form, the LLC must keep records sufficient to show that what it reported is correct: bank statements, invoices, contracts and support for every transaction with its owner. Failing to keep them can also trigger the $25,000 penalty.
The simplest way to comply is to have a bank account just for the LLC and never mix it with your personal money. If you don't have one yet, our comparison of banks for non-residents can help you choose.
The penalties
These penalties apply even if your LLC owes no tax at all. That's why Form 5472 is probably the obligation you most need to remember. If you didn't file in past years, don't ignore it: talk to an accountant about how to get compliant.
Common mistakes
- Assuming that if the LLC had no income, there's nothing to file. What counts is transactions with the owner, and there almost always are some.
- Trying to file online or sending it to the general Form 1120 address. It goes by fax or mail to Ogden.
- Filing Form 5472 without the pro forma 1120, or the 1120 without "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" across the top.
- Leaving fields blank. A substantially incomplete form counts as not filed.
- Mixing personal and LLC money. It makes it harder to know what to report and weakens your records.
- Confusing it with the Florida annual report. They are separate obligations, with different agencies and different deadlines. Both are yearly.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file if my LLC had no income?
Probably yes. The obligation depends on transactions between the LLC and its owner, such as contributions, withdrawals or formation costs, not on having income. If there truly were no transactions in the year, check with an accountant.
Do I need an ITIN to file Form 5472?
No. If the owner has no U.S. tax number, the instructions allow a reference ID number instead. The LLC does need its EIN.
Does filing Form 5472 mean I pay U.S. tax?
Not by itself. It is an information return. Whether you or your LLC owe U.S. tax depends on your activity and where the income is earned: that's a question for an accountant.
Can I file it myself?
It's possible, since the IRS publishes the form and its instructions. But with a $25,000 penalty for an error or omission, most foreign owners prefer to have an accountant prepare it, at least in the first year.
What if I didn't file in previous years?
The sooner you deal with it, the better. An accountant can help you assess how to catch up and what options exist with the IRS in your situation.
Next step
Form 5472 completes the cycle of obligations for a foreign-owned LLC: forming the company, getting the EIN, opening the account, filing the Florida annual report and, every year, Form 5472. If you'd like a professional to handle it, inMiami.ai is building a network of independent accountants in Miami who work with foreign owners, in English and Spanish.