What is the difference between Form 5471 and Form 5472?

November 14, 2026 · 1 min read

Form 5471 generally concerns certain U.S. persons’ roles or ownership in foreign corporations. Form 5472 generally reports specified related-party transactions by certain foreign-owned U.S. reporting corporations or foreign corporations engaged in a U.S. trade or business.

What to check

Form 5471 has multiple filer categories and exceptions. Form 5472 has its own reporting corporation definition, transaction tests and exceptions, and includes foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entities for applicable purposes. A group may have separate filing reviews for different entities.

Example

A foreign parent funds its U.S. subsidiary, which also owns a foreign corporation. The U.S. entity reviews the parent transaction for Form 5472 and its role or ownership in the other foreign corporation under Form 5471.

Before you proceed

Map the entities and direct or indirect ownership.
Check Form 5471 filer categories for the U.S. person.
Check Form 5472 entity and transaction requirements for the reporting corporation.

Can a Form 5471 filing automatically replace Form 5472?

The Schedule M exception requires a qualifying U.S. person controlling the foreign related corporation to report all covered transactions for the year. The exception is unavailable to foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entities.