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IRS Form 5472 and Form 1120: Guide for Non-Resident LLCs

If you are a non-resident alien who owns 100% of a U.S. Single-Member LLC, your company is treated by the IRS as a foreign-owned disregarded entity. You may owe $0 in federal income tax, but you have a strict annual informational reporting requirement.

⚠️ Mandatory $25,000 IRS Penalty: Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6038A, failure to file Form 5472 and Form 1120 on time, or submitting incomplete information, incurs an automatic statutory fine of $25,000 per violation, with additional $25,000 penalties every 90 days of continued non-compliance.

What Triggers a Form 5472 Requirement?

You must file Form 5472 if your foreign-owned LLC engaged in any reportable transaction during the tax year. Reportable transactions include:

Transferring money from your personal account into the LLC bank account (capital contribution).
Withdrawing money from the LLC bank account to yourself (owner distributions).
Loans made to or received from the LLC.
Payment of business fees or expenses by the foreign owner on behalf of the company.

Even if your LLC conducted zero sales, if you paid state formation fees or opened a bank account with initial capital, a reportable transaction occurred.

How to File Form 5472 & 1120

Prepare Form 1120: Fill out the header details with the LLC name, address, and EIN. Write "Foreign-owned U.S. DE pursuant to TD 9796" across the top.
Prepare Form 5472: Disclose the foreign 25%+ owner (Part II) and the total dollar amounts of money moved into or out of the entity (Part IV).
Submit via Fax or Mail: Foreign disregarded entities cannot e-file through standard consumer software. They must be submitted via specialized fax directly to the IRS Foreign Processing Unit in Ogden, UT.
Filing Deadline: Due April 15th following the close of the calendar tax year.

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