Form 5472

What is Form 5472?

An information report of related-party transactions. A foreign-owned US disregarded entity generally files it when reportable transactions occurred. No revenue alone does not remove the requirement; missing a required filing can cost $25,000 or more.

If a non-US person owns a US LLC, the IRS wants to see what passed between the owner and the company each year: money put in, money taken out, loans, and anything else between the company and a related party. That report is Form 5472, and it is due by April 15 for the previous calendar year.

It is not a tax bill. A foreign-owned single-member LLC with no US income normally owes no US corporate tax at all. The filing is a report, and the obligation exists regardless of whether the company made a penny.

That is where it catches people. “My company had no income, so I have nothing to file” is the most expensive sentence in this subject. The money you transferred in to open the bank account is a reportable transaction. So is money you took out. A year with neither still has to be reported as a year with neither may qualify for an exception only if there were genuinely no reportable transactions, including formation or company costs paid by the owner. Ask for a review first.

The penalty for a late or missing Form 5472 starts at $25,000 per year, and after an IRS notice it can grow by a further $25,000 for every 30 days it stays unfiled.