1120 Pro Forma Instructions (Foreign-Owned LLCs)

Gather these before opening Form 1120:

• Your LLC's CP-575 EIN confirmation letter from the IRS (gives the legal name, EIN, and US address exactly as the IRS has them on file).
• Formation and year-end asset records for the attached Form 5472; these are not required item C/D entries on the special pro forma 1120.
• A pen if following the conservative ink-sign-and-scan workflow.

If you're using the IRS's official PDF, download the current tax year's blank Form 1120 from irs.gov. Don't use a prior-year form for a current-year filing — the IRS rejects out-of-year forms.

If you're using our service, the wizard generates a pre-filled 1120 from your answers; you don't need to download anything.

The special IRS Form 5472 instructions require only the foreign-owned U.S. DE’s name, address, item B (EIN), and applicable item E boxes on Form 1120 page 1. Item E contains Initial return, Final return, Name change and Address change—not an amended-return box. Write "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" across the top.

Items C and D and Schedule L are not required by that special pro forma instruction. Do not treat an omitted optional cover field as permission to leave Form 5472 line 1c blank. See Form 5472 line 1c and total assets.

For signing, identify the authorized signer. Signing the completed cover in ink, then scanning it for fax, is a conservative workflow; see signature methods and submission routes.

Lines 1a through 11 cover:

• 1a: Gross receipts or sales.
• 1b: Returns and allowances.
• 1c: Net (subtract 1b from 1a).
• 2: Cost of goods sold.
• 3: Gross profit.
• 4: Dividends and inclusions.
• 5: Interest.
• 6: Gross rents.
• 7: Gross royalties.
• 8: Capital gain net income.
• 9: Net gain or loss from Form 4797.
• 10: Other income.
• 11: Total income.

ALL of these lines stay blank on a pro forma filing. Don't write "0", don't write "N/A", don't write anything. Leave the line untouched.

Why: writing zeros could be interpreted as a complete (incorrect) income tax return rather than a pro forma information envelope. The IRS may then process it as a real corporate return, generate notices, request schedules, or assess tax. Empty fields signal "pro forma — informational only".

Lines 12 through 29 cover:

• 12: Compensation of officers.
• 13: Salaries and wages.
• 14: Repairs and maintenance.
• 15: Bad debts.
• 16: Rents.
• 17: Taxes and licenses.
• 18: Interest.
• 19: Charitable contributions.
• 20: Depreciation.
• 21: Depletion.
• 22: Advertising.
• 23: Pension, profit-sharing, etc.
• 24: Employee benefit programs.
• 25: Reserved.
• 26: Other deductions.
• 27: Total deductions.
• 28: Taxable income before NOL deduction and special deductions.
• 29a: Net operating loss deduction.
• 29b: Special deductions.
• 29c: Total.

ALL blank on a pro forma filing. Same reasoning as the income section.

Lines 30 through 37 in the pro forma 1120 tax and payment section stay blank. These fields cover taxable income, total tax, payments, penalties, amounts owed, overpayments, and refund choices, but the LLC is not computing tax, remitting a payment, or claiming a refund on this informational cover.

• 30: Taxable income.
• 31: Total tax.
• 32: Reserved.
• 33: Total payments and credits.
• 34: Estimated tax penalty.
• 35: Amount owed.
• 36: Overpayment.
• 37: Refunded vs. applied to estimated tax.

All blank. Your LLC isn't computing tax. The pro forma 1120 is informational only — there's no liability to calculate, no payment to remit, no refund to claim.

For this foreign-owned U.S. DE pro forma package, the special IRS required-fields instruction is limited to name, address, item B and item E. It does not require income, deduction or tax computations, or Schedules C, J, K, L, M-1 or M-2.

Leave unrelated corporate-return computations and schedules blank rather than inventing entries. Items C and D are also outside the special required list. Form 5472 has its own requirements, including line 1c; see the total-assets guide.

Complete the signature block on Form 1120 page 1, not on Form 5472. The section identifies separate officer signature, date, title, and paid-preparer fields, and recommends a conservative workflow: authorized person signs the completed cover in ink, adds the actual signing date and capacity, then scans it for fax.

The special pro forma instruction does not separately address signatures. A conservative workflow is to have the authorized person sign the completed cover in ink, enter the actual signing date and capacity, and scan that signed page for fax. This is a recommendation, not a ruling that every digital-only signature invalidates a filing.

IRS electronic-signature permission depends on the document and route. Corporate e-file authorization rules do not automatically cover this DE fax package. Ask the preparer to establish signing authority and the applicable method; the general Form 1120 instructions separately address paid preparers. See the current signature guide.

• Writing zeros in the income section — IRS may process it as a real (zero-income) tax return and ask follow-up questions about why income is zero.
• Forgetting the "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE" stamp at the top of page 1 — the most common routing error.
• Treating Schedule L as required: it is outside the special pro forma required-fields instruction.
• Assuming electronic signing and IRS e-filing are the same; permission depends on the specific document and route.
• Mailing to the wrong IRS address — must go to Ogden PIN Unit, not the regular 1120 processing center.
• Forgetting to attach Form 5472 + Part V supporting statement (the whole point of the pro forma 1120).
• Using a prior-year version of Form 1120 — always use the current tax year's blank form.
• Wrong EIN (typo) — must match CP-575 exactly.
• Wrong tax year on the form header — must be the tax year that ENDED, not the year you're filing in.
• Reporting amounts in non-USD — always convert to USD.
• Filing without an attached cover letter — not strictly required by the IRS instructions but recommended for clean routing.

1. Cover letter (1 page) — identifies the filing, lists the LLC, EIN, tax year, and forms included.
2. Pro forma Form 1120 (signed, stamped "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE") — the procedural envelope.
3. Form 5472 (2 pages) — Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VII.
4. Part V supporting statement (1+ pages) — list of reportable transactions.
5. Reasonable Cause Statement (only if filing late under DIIRSP).

Fax destination: +1-855-887-7737 (IRS Ogden PIN Unit).
Mail destination: Internal Revenue Service, 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201 (certified mail recommended).

Keep your fax transmission receipt as transmission evidence. Its timestamp records the provider’s transmission event; it does not alone establish IRS acceptance or the legal filing date.

Our wizard generates a pre-filled, signature-ready pro forma 1120 for review alongside the special IRS required-fields instruction:

• "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE" stamp at the top.
• Header section pre-filled from your wizard answers.
• Income, deductions, tax sections correctly empty.
• Any additional asset fields populated by the preparation workflow are not required by the special pro forma 1120 instruction.
• Signature line ready for your in-portal canvas signature.
• Form 5472 + Part V supporting statement assembled behind it.

$149 Standard (ready in 5-7 business days) or $199 Express (within 3 business days) — same filing either way. IRS fax delivery included on every plan. +$99 per additional past year. Every package is reviewed by an accountant on our team before submission. 100% money-back guarantee if we fail to submit.