Form 5472 for Hungary Residents with a US LLC

A Hungary-resident owner of a US single-member LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 for every year the LLC had a reportable transaction with them. The US-Hungary tax treaty was terminated and ceased to have effect from 1 January 2024, removing treaty relief — but it never touched Form 5472, so the filing is unchanged.

Hungary has become a base for a particular kind of US-LLC owner: Budapest developers and agency founders, EU citizens who settled there for the cost of living, and non-EU remote workers on a White Card. Almost all formed a Wyoming, Delaware or New Mexico LLC to reach Stripe, Mercury or Wise.

Two features of the Hungarian position change the mechanics compared with a UK or Indian owner. The first is what most online guidance gets wrong: the treaty those guides cite no longer exists. The second makes the paperwork easier than in most non-treaty countries, because Hungary issues individuals a personal tax number. Neither removes the obligation.

If you want it done rather than explained, we prepare and fax the complete package from $149.

Do Hungary residents have to file Form 5472?

Yes, on the same terms as any other non-US owner. Three conditions:

1. The LLC is a US disregarded entity — a single-member LLC that has not elected corporate treatment.
2. Its sole member is a non-US person: a Hungarian resident who is not a US citizen, green card holder or US tax resident qualifies.
3. There was at least one reportable transaction in the year between the LLC and its owner or another foreign related party.

Under Treasury Regulation § 1.6038A-1, for tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2017 and ending on or after 13 December 2017, a foreign-owned US disregarded entity is treated as a corporation separate from its owner solely for the § 6038A reporting rules. Your treaty position and nationality are irrelevant to it.

Reportable transactions are money, property or services moving between you and your own LLC: contributions in, distributions out, loans either way, payments for goods or services. Customer revenue is not reportable. A Stripe payout from a customer does not go on the form; a transfer from that balance to your personal OTP Bank or K&H account does. For a Budapest-based owner:

• Forint you converted and wired to open the LLC's Mercury or Relay account — reportable contribution
• Every withdrawal you have taken since — reportable distribution
• Money you lent the LLC for ad spend before revenue landed — reportable loan
• Fees the LLC paid your own egyéni vállalkozó or Kft. — reportable, and a second related party

The IRS Instructions for Form 5472 state that a $25,000 penalty may apply for failure to file when due and in the prescribed manner, for a substantially incomplete form, or for failure to keep required records — and a substantially incomplete form counts as a failure to file. More: our reportable transactions guide.

Does the US-Hungary tax treaty change anything?

There is no longer a treaty to change anything. The IRS treaty A-to-Z list carries one entry under H — Hungary, flagged "CAUTION Treaty Terminated".

The sequence, from US government pages — Treasury for the notice, the IRS Hungary treaty page for the cessation dates:

The IRS adds that withholding agents may not accept treaty claims for payments made on or after 1 January 2024.

Nothing replaced it. A newer convention was signed in 2010, but Hungary's tax authority lists it among the currently not applicable taxation treaties, noting ratification was not completed by the partner country. A signed treaty that never entered into force gives a taxpayer nothing.

What that does and does not do to your filing — each row falls in one column or the other:

Two consequences follow. A W-8BEN claiming Hungarian treaty benefits is no longer a claim anyone can honour. And whether your LLC's profits are effectively connected with a US trade or business is now decided under US domestic law with no treaty backstop, so facts like US-based inventory or staff matter more — our US tax guide has the test.

The filing is untouched. Treaties allocate taxing rights over income; Form 5472 reports transactions. Losing one takes nothing away.

What goes in the FTIN box for a Hungarian owner?

Your Hungarian tax identification number — the adóazonosító jel — is your FTIN if you have one. It is the personal identifier NAV issues to private individuals, printed on the tax card (adókártya); it is not the adószám, the number issued to businesses and sole traders.

NAV's page for foreign citizens states that a foreign private individual who had taxable income in Hungary must request a tax identification number on form T34, at the directorate covering their permanent address, temporary address or usual place of stay. The card itself: NAV's tax card page.

Three traps. A Kft.'s or egyéni vállalkozó's adószám is a business number, not your personal FTIN. A Hungarian ID or address card number is an identity document, not a tax number. And if you moved to Hungary recently and have no adóazonosító jel yet, write "None" and use the reference ID rather than inventing a number or delaying the filing — see our FTIN and reference ID guide. No US ITIN is needed. In the Part II address, use your Hungarian address rather than the LLC's registered agent address — Part II records where the foreign owner is.

Does Hungarian tax affect the US filing?

No. Separate system, separate authority, and neither filing substitutes for the other.

In outline: NAV's information booklet on income from abroad, published 11 February 2025 and citing section 3(2) of the Personal Income Tax Act (Act CXVII of 1995), treats an individual as Hungarian-resident if they are:

• a Hungarian citizen, other than a dual citizen with no registered Hungarian address;
• someone exercising the right of free movement and residence in Hungary for at least 183 days in a calendar year — primarily the EU and EEA route;
• a third-country national holding long-term residence entitlement; or
• stateless.

Anyone outside those categories is Hungarian-resident if their only permanent home is in Hungary, or failing that if their centre of vital interests or habitual abode is Hungary. Residents are taxable on income whether earned in Hungary or abroad.

So for an EU or EEA citizen who has spent most of the year in Hungary, the 183-day count is the test most likely to bite. If you arrived on a White Card, Hungary's residence permit for digital nomads, it is less mechanical. The immigration authority's factsheet describes a permit for a third-country national in verified employment outside Hungary, or holding a share in a profitable company outside Hungary, who works from Hungary using advanced digital technology, pursues no gainful activity in Hungary and holds no Hungarian company share; it is valid for at most one year and may be extended once. That is not long-term residence entitlement, so a White Card holder's status turns on the permanent-home, vital-interests and habitual-abode tests instead — a question for NAV or a Hungarian adviser.

Either way, Hungarian residence neither creates nor removes the Form 5472 obligation.

How does a Hungary-based owner actually file?

You cannot e-file: the IRS instructions state that a foreign-owned US DE cannot file Form 5472 electronically.

1. Prepare the pro forma Form 1120 — the LLC's name and address plus items B and E, with "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" written across the top of page 1.
2. Prepare Form 5472 — Part I for the LLC, Part II for you with your Hungarian address and adóazonosító jel or reference ID, Part III for the related party, Part IV for listed monetary transactions, and Part V with an attached statement itemising contributions and distributions.
3. Convert forint to US dollars at a documented rate for the transaction date, applied consistently, and state your basis in the Part V statement (currency conversion guide).
4. Sign, then fax to 855-887-7737, or mail to Internal Revenue Service, 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201.
5. Keep the timestamped transmission receipt. The IRS sends no acknowledgement, and that receipt is evidence of transmission, not of acceptance.

The regular due date for a calendar-year LLC is generally 15 April; Form 7004 extends it under the special instructions for a foreign-owned DE, and must reach the same Ogden unit by that date. See our deadline guide.

Getting it filed from Hungary

The Hungarian specifics — a terminated treaty that changes nothing here, an adóazonosító jel in the FTIN box, forint conversion, a Hungarian company as a second related party — are routine once seen, and exactly the details that make a DIY package substantially incomplete.

We prepare the package — Form 5472, the pro forma 1120 and the Part V statement — have it reviewed by a qualified tax accountant, and fax it to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit, returning the timestamped confirmation. Late years include a reasonable cause cover letter.

$149 standard, ready in 5-7 business days. $199 express, within 3 business days. +$99 per additional past tax year. IRS fax delivery included, so you never send a fax from Budapest. Terms: our pricing page.

We are not a CPA firm and do not give tax advice, and we do not advise on Hungarian tax. We prepare and submit the US information return accurately.

Start your filing — about 15 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Is there still a US-Hungary tax treaty?

No. The IRS treaty A-to-Z list flags Hungary "CAUTION Treaty Terminated". The 1979 convention ceased to have effect for taxes withheld at source on 1 January 2024, and for other taxes for taxable periods beginning on or after that date.

Did the termination change my Form 5472 obligation?

No. Form 5472 is an information return under § 6038A, not a treaty benefit. No treaty ever exempted a Hungarian owner from filing, so termination removes nothing. The pro forma 1120, the fax filing and the $25,000 exposure are unchanged.

What can I no longer claim?

Treaty-reduced withholding on US-source dividends, interest and royalties, and treaty permanent-establishment protection. Withholding agents may not accept treaty claims for withholding taxes due on payments made on or after 1 January 2024.

What do I put in the FTIN box?

Your adóazonosító jel, the personal tax identification number on your Hungarian tax card. If you have none, write "None" and use a self-assigned reference ID number, keeping the same ID every year.

Does a White Card make me a Hungarian tax resident?

That is a question for NAV or a Hungarian adviser, and it turns on the residency tests rather than the permit. Either way it makes no difference to Form 5472, which follows the LLC and your non-US-person status.

I have never filed and the LLC is three years old — what now?

File every outstanding year as soon as you can, with a reasonable cause statement, before the IRS contacts you. Each year carries its own $25,000 exposure; our late filing guide covers the order.

---

Losing a treaty changes what you can claim, not what you must file. If money moved between you and your US LLC in the tax year, Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120 are due.

File from Hungary in about 15 minutes, or see how the same filing works for an owner with no fixed tax residence.

Educational content only; not tax or legal advice.