Form 5472 for Non-Resident LLCs: How to File and Avoid the Penalty

If you own a single-member US LLC and you're a non-resident, you have to file Form 5472 with the IRS once a year, along with Form 1120. Even if the company didn't earn a cent. This article covers who has to file, the deadlines, how to send the paperwork from the CIS, and what to do if you've already missed the deadline.

Step 01Check whether you need to file Form 5472

Here's the typical setup: you formed an LLC in Delaware or Wyoming to use Stripe or Shopify, you're the only owner, and you're neither a US citizen nor a US resident. For tax purposes, this kind of LLC is a disregarded entity - a "pass-through" company that doesn't pay income tax itself. But when it comes to reporting transactions with its owner, the IRS treats it as a corporation. That's where the requirement to file Form 5472 along with a pro forma 1120 comes from.

What triggers the filing isn't income - it's a transaction between the LLC and you. If there was even one such transaction during the year, you have to file. Here's what counts as a transaction with the owner:

• you contributed money to the LLC's capital - even a token $1;
• you took money out of the LLC for yourself (a distribution);
• you lent money to the company or borrowed from it;
• you paid for the company's formation, registered agent, or domain out of your own pocket;
• the LLC bought goods or services from you, or sold them to you.

The IRS instructions also specifically mention the costs of forming and dissolving a company. So even an LLC formed in December that never took a single payment almost always has to file for its first year: after all, somebody paid for its formation.

Step 02Know the deadlines and the Form 7004 extension

Form 5472 is attached to the pro forma 1120 and is due on the same date as that return. For an LLC on a calendar year, that's April 15 of the following year. For 2026, the deadline is April 15, 2027.

Running out of time? File Form 7004 by April 15. It gives you an automatic 6-month extension, to October 15. In Part I, line 1, enter the form code for Form 1120, and write Foreign-owned U.S. DE across the top of the page.

Here's a detail that trips up a lot of people: for this type of LLC, Form 7004 isn't sent to the usual address listed in the 7004 instructions. It goes to the same fax number or address as Form 5472 itself. The IRS instructions for Form 5472 say so explicitly.

If you're reading this in late October 2026, the extended deadline for 2025 has already passed. Step 05 explains what to do in that case.

Step 03Fill out the pro forma 1120 and Form 5472

It sounds intimidating, but the pro forma 1120 is an almost blank form. According to the IRS instructions, you only fill in the LLC's name and address, plus items B and E on the first page. Write Foreign-owned U.S. DE across the top. You can't do any of this without the company's EIN, so make sure you have the number on hand ahead of time.

Form 5472 itself takes more work:

1. Part I - the LLC's details. Be sure to check line 3: that's what marks the company as a foreign-owned U.S. DE.
2. Part II - the owner's details. For this type of LLC, the owner goes in the lines for the 25% foreign shareholder. Line 4b(3) is your foreign tax ID number (FTIN, such as a Russian INN), if you have one. Only enter an SSN or ITIN if you actually have one.
3. Part IV - monetary transactions with the owner: loans, interest, purchases, and sales.
4. Part V - for a disregarded entity, you check this box if there were other transactions, such as capital contributions and withdrawals. Attach a separate written statement describing these transactions to the form.

Lines 4b(2) and 8b(2) may call for a reference ID number - an internal number you assign to the owner yourself. Latin letters and digits only, no spaces or special characters, up to 50 characters. Use the same number year after year.

Step 04Send the forms by fax or mail

You can't e-file Form 5472 for a disregarded entity. TurboTax and similar software won't help here. That leaves two options, both listed in the IRS instructions.

Option 01. Fax

Number: 855-887-7737, with a scan resolution of at least 300 DPI. From the CIS, the easiest way is an online fax service: upload the PDF, enter the number, and get a delivery report. Keep that report - it proves your filing date if questions come up later. Check pricing and availability in your country directly with the service: terms change often.

Option 02. Mail

Foreign-owned LLCs have a special address - the regular addresses from the 1120 and 7004 instructions won't work:

Internal Revenue Service, 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112 Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201

Use a courier service with tracking and keep the receipt. Regular international mail from the CIS is unpredictable right now, and mailing a package by April 15 isn't the same as getting it delivered. If you're short on time, fax is the safer bet.

It's a single package: the pro forma 1120, with Form 5472 and the Part V statement attached. If there are several related parties, you fill out a separate 5472 for each one.

Step 05Missed the deadline: penalties and reasonable cause

Now for why this form is so scary. The penalty for not filing on time is $25,000. The same amount applies if the company failed to keep the required records. A half-completed form counts as not filed.

If the IRS sends you a notice and you don't fix things within 90 days, another $25,000 is added for every 30 days of delay, for each related party. There's no cap on these penalties, and each missed year is counted separately.

What to do if the deadline has already passed:

1. Don't wait for a letter from the IRS. Correcting things on your own before the IRS contacts you is viewed much more favorably. There are Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures for exactly this, but even they don't guarantee you'll avoid a penalty.
2. File the missing forms with a written reasonable cause statement - a valid excuse. Explain what happened, when you learned about the requirement, and what you did to fix it. Include supporting documents.
3. If a penalty has already been assessed, request abatement with Form 843, attaching the notice, the late form, and your explanation. The deadlines in the notice keep running in the meantime.

Be realistic. The IRS generally doesn't accept ignorance of the law as reasonable cause. Pointing to an agent or accountant who never told you about the form sometimes works, but there are no guarantees. According to tax advisors, First-Time Abatement, the simplified penalty relief for first offenses, usually doesn't apply to Form 5472.

Step 06Decide whether to file yourself or hire an accountant

You can handle it yourself if you had only a few transactions: you contributed capital, paid for the formation, and took money out a couple of times. That's 1-2 evenings of reading the instructions and filling out the forms, plus sending the fax.

An accountant is worth it if:

• you have several LLCs, or several owners and related companies;
• there were loans or non-monetary transactions, or you used personal property for the business;
• you missed the deadline or have already received a letter from the IRS;
• you're not sure your LLC is actually a disregarded entity and not, say, a corporation by election.

At the time of writing, prices vary widely. Online services charge from $198-300 for a standard single-member LLC package of Form 5472 + pro forma 1120. On Fiverr, you'll find packages ranging from $750 for one form to $2,250 for five forms with a reasonable cause letter. US CPAs answering questions in directories quote a range of $500-1,500 per year. Before you pay, ask whether faxing, the Part V statement, and filing Form 7004 are included.

Be especially careful with dirt-cheap $50 offers: if the form has a mistake, it's your company that gets penalized, not the contractor.

SummaryForm 5472 checklist

• A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident with at least one transaction with you during the year has to file - even with zero income.
• The deadline is April 15. Running late? File Form 7004 by April 15 to extend to October 15.
• Pro forma 1120: name, address, items B and E, and Foreign-owned U.S. DE written on top.
• Form 5472: check line 3 in Part I, owner in Part II, transactions in Parts IV and V, plus the Part V statement.
• Send it only by fax to 855-887-7737 or by mail to Ogden, UT. Keep proof of submission.
• Missed the deadline? File the forms yourself before the IRS writes to you and attach a reasonable cause statement.
• Complicated case or several years behind? Go to a specialized accountant.

Form 5472 isn't a tax - it's a report. Filing it on time costs you next to nothing; missing it costs $25,000. If you're just setting up a business on a US LLC and connecting payment processing, also check out which payment system to choose in 2026.