How Much Does Form 5472 Cost to File? (2026 Breakdown)

Last updated: July 2026

The IRS charges $0 to file Form 5472 — the form itself is free. What you pay for is preparation. Filing it yourself costs nothing but a few dollars for a fax service and several hours of your time; a US CPA typically charges $600–$750 for Form 5472 with the required pro forma Form 1120; and a done-for-you service like Form5472 Prep is a flat $199 with IRS fax delivery included. Every one of those is small next to the $25,000 penalty for filing late or wrong.

Form 5472 is an information return that a foreign-owned US single-member LLC files each year to report transactions between the LLC and its non-US owner. There is no tax to calculate on it, so "cost" almost always means preparation cost, not a tax bill.

How much does Form 5472 cost to file in 2026?

There is no government filing fee for Form 5472 or the attached pro forma Form 1120. The cost you pay depends entirely on who prepares it. Here is how the three realistic options compare:

Option	Typical cost (per tax year)	Your time	Penalty risk
DIY (do it yourself)	$0 in fees + ~$2–$5 for a fax service	3–8 hours the first year	Higher — one missed field counts as "not filed"
US CPA / tax firm	~$600–$750 (more with many transactions)	1–3 weeks, plus finding one who knows the form	Low, if the preparer knows Form 5472
Done-for-you service (Form5472 Prep)	$199 flat, IRS fax delivery included	~15 minutes to answer the questions	Low — every filing is accountant-reviewed

US CPA firms that publish prices commonly quote $600 to $750 for a foreign-owned single-member LLC's Form 5472 plus pro forma 1120, with add-ons for extensions, EIN applications, or rush turnaround. Fees rise with the number of related parties and the volume of reportable transactions.

The important number is the downside, not the fee. Under IRC § 6038A(d), the IRS assesses a $25,000 penalty on any reporting corporation that fails to file Form 5472 when due or files a substantially incomplete one (IRS, Instructions for Form 5472). Against that, the difference between a $199 service and a $700 CPA is rounding error — the real decision is making sure it gets filed correctly and on time.

What is included in the price of Form 5472 filing?

A Form 5472 filing is never just the one form. A complete, IRS-acceptable package for a foreign-owned US disregarded entity includes several documents, and a fair price should cover all of them:

• Pro forma Form 1120 — the cover return the Form 5472 attaches to, stamped "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE."
• Form 5472 — Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and VII completed.
• Part V supporting statement — a line-by-line list of each reportable transaction.
• Reasonable cause statement — only if you are filing late under DIIRSP.
• Delivery to the IRS — the package can't be e-filed; it must be faxed or mailed to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit.

Watch for services that advertise a low headline price and then charge separately for fax delivery, the reasonable-cause statement, or "submission." The Form5472 Prep price of $199 includes fax delivery to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit and a timestamped fax-transmission receipt as proof of filing — no per-page or submission surcharge.

How much does it cost to catch up on multiple years?

If you formed your LLC a year or two ago and never filed, you owe one Form 5472 package per missed year, filed together under the IRS's Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedure (DIIRSP). Multi-year cost is where the three options separate sharply.

Worked example — an LLC formed in 2023 that has never filed, now catching up on three years (2023, 2024, 2025):

Path	What it costs	What you get
DIY	$0 in fees	Three separate packages you assemble yourself, each requiring a reasonable-cause statement; one error on any year risks $25,000
US CPA at ~$700/year	~$2,100	Three prepared returns, timeline depends on the firm
Form5472 Prep 3-year DIIRSP catch-up	$199 + $149 + $149 = $497	All three years, one comprehensive reasonable-cause statement, accountant-reviewed, faxed to the IRS

Form5472 Prep prices additional past years at a flat +$149 each on any plan, so a two-year catch-up is $348 and a three-year catch-up is $497 — disclosed up front, not added at checkout. Filing all missed years together with a single reasonable-cause statement also gives the strongest penalty-abatement argument under DIIRSP.

Is it worth paying to file Form 5472?

For most foreign LLC owners, yes. Form 5472 is not a hard form to fill in — it is a hard form to fill in completely and on time, in a language and format the IRS accepts, from outside the US. The value of paying is not complex math; it is removing the risk that a missed field, a wrong fax number, or a blown deadline turns a $199 task into a $25,000 problem.

DIY makes sense if you have one clean tax year, simple transactions, and time to read the IRS instructions carefully. Paying makes sense if you have missed years to catch up, you're unsure what counts as a reportable transaction, or you simply want it prepared, reviewed, and faxed without the risk. Our DIY vs. hiring a preparer guide walks through that decision in detail.

File Form 5472 for a flat $199

Form5472 Prep is built specifically for the foreign-owned single-member LLC filing — nothing else. You answer about a dozen questions, we generate the full package (cover letter, pro forma 1120, Form 5472, Part V supporting statement, and a reasonable-cause statement if you're late), an accountant reviews it, and we fax it to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit and send you the timestamped receipt.

• Standard — $199: done-for-you filing, accountant-reviewed, fax delivery included.
• Rush — $279: everything in Standard plus 24-hour turnaround.
• Premium — $449: same-day turnaround, IRS-letter handling for one year, BOI filing review.
• +$149 per additional past year for multi-year DIIRSP catch-up.

No subscription, no upsell, and a 100% money-back guarantee if we fail to submit your filing. Start your filing here →

Frequently asked questions

Does the IRS charge a fee to file Form 5472?

No. There is no IRS filing fee for Form 5472 or the attached pro forma Form 1120. Your only unavoidable cost is delivering the package to the IRS — a fax service costs a few dollars, or it's included if you use a filing service.

How much does a CPA charge for Form 5472?

US CPA firms that publish prices commonly quote $600 to $750 for a foreign-owned single-member LLC's Form 5472 plus pro forma 1120. Fees increase with the number of related parties, transaction volume, and add-ons like extensions or rush processing.

Can I file Form 5472 for free?

You can prepare and file it yourself for $0 in fees (plus a few dollars for a fax), so "free" is possible. But the IRS treats a substantially incomplete Form 5472 as a failure to file, which carries a $25,000 penalty — so free DIY only pays off if you complete it correctly and on time.

How much does it cost to file multiple years of Form 5472?

Each missed year needs its own Form 5472 package. With Form5472 Prep, additional past years are a flat +$149 each — so a two-year catch-up is $348 and a three-year catch-up is $497, filed together under DIIRSP with one reasonable-cause statement.

Is Form 5472 filing tax-deductible?

Preparation fees for a business information return can generally be treated as a business expense, but whether and how you deduct them depends on your situation. Form5472 Prep is a filing service, not a tax advisor — confirm deductibility with a qualified tax professional.

The bottom line

Form 5472 itself is free to file; what you're really buying is correctness and on-time delivery. DIY costs $0 in fees but carries the most risk, a CPA runs roughly $600–$750 per year, and a flat-fee service is $199 with fax delivery included. Whatever you choose, the goal is the same — get a complete package to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit before the deadline, because the $25,000 penalty makes every one of these prices look cheap.

Ready to get it done? File your Form 5472 for a flat $199 → — about 15 minutes, accountant-reviewed, fax to the IRS included.