If I don't owe corporate tax, why file Form 1120?

Because Form 5472 by itself isn't a valid IRS submission. The IRS requires it to be attached to Form 1120 as a procedural envelope. The 1120 is pro forma — marked as Foreign-Owned U.S. DE with no income or tax filled in.

Is Form 1120 the same as Form 1120-S?

No. Form 1120-S is for S-corporations. You file pro forma 1120 (not 1120-S) for a foreign-owned disregarded LLC. Foreign persons cannot own S-corp stock, so 1120-S is never the right form here.

Do I file Form 1040 too?

Only if you personally have US-source income requiring you to file 1040-NR. Most foreign LLC owners with no US trade or business don't need 1040-NR.

Do I file two separate envelopes — one for each form?

No. Form 5472 is filed AS AN ATTACHMENT to the pro forma Form 1120. One package, one fax, one transmission receipt. The 1120 is the cover, the 5472 sits behind it.

What if my LLC actually does owe corporate tax?

Then it's no longer pro forma — you'd file a full Form 1120 with income, deductions, and tax calculation. This typically happens if your LLC has US-source effectively connected income (US warehouse, US employees, US fixed place of business). Our service is for the standard disregarded-entity case; if you owe corporate tax you need a CPA, not us.

Does Form 5472 ask for income data?

Form 5472 reports transactions in dollar amounts (capital contributions, distributions, related-party payments) but not income, expenses, or profit. The 1120 normally reports income but is left blank in the pro forma version.

What's the deadline for both?

April 15 of the year following the tax year. Form 7004 extension extends both to October 15. Same deadline because they're filed as one package.

Where do I get blank copies of these forms?

Form 1120 and Form 5472 are both downloadable as PDFs from irs.gov. Our wizard handles this for you — you don't need to download anything; we generate filled, signature-ready PDFs.

Is the package the same for every year?

Structurally yes — pro forma 1120 + Form 5472 + Part V supporting statement. Year-by-year the numbers change (capital contributions, distributions, total assets). Our wizard pre-fills from your prior year's filing if you come back.

Can I file them at different times?

No. Form 5472 must be filed with the 1120 it's attached to. You can't file the 1120 in March and the 5472 in October. They're submitted together as one package on or before April 15 (or the extended due date).

Form 5472 + 1120 filing service

Form 5472 vs Form 1120 — What's the Difference?

Form 5472 and Form 1120 are two separate IRS forms that foreign-owned US LLCs must file together as one package. Form 1120 is the US corporate income tax return. Form 5472 is an information return about related-party transactions. For most foreign-owned single-member LLCs, the 1120 is filed "pro forma" — meaning most boxes are blank. Here's exactly what each form is, why you need both, and how the IRS expects them combined.

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IRS forms
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to Ogden PIN Unit
Receipt stored
proof of filing

What is Form 1120?#

Form 1120 (U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return) is the standard tax return that domestic corporations use to report income, deductions, and calculate corporate income tax. For a real C-corporation operating in the US, it's a substantive 6-page tax calculation: revenue, cost of goods sold, deductions, taxable income, tax owed. For a foreign-owned US single-member LLC, your LLC is treated as a disregarded entity for tax purposes — meaning the LLC itself doesn't pay corporate income tax. Profits flow through to you, the owner, taxable in your home country. But the IRS still wants the 1120 as the procedural "envelope" for Form 5472. So you file the form "pro forma" with only the identification fields completed and "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE" written across the top. Income, deductions, tax calculation — all blank.

What is Form 5472?#

Form 5472 (Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business) is an information return — meaning it reports transactions but does NOT calculate any tax. It's specifically designed for cases where a foreign person owns 25% or more of a US corporation or disregarded entity. Since 2017, the IRS extended this requirement to single-member LLCs owned by non-US persons. Even though those LLCs are normally disregarded for US tax purposes, they are treated as corporations for §6038A reporting. Form 5472 reports related-party transactions: capital you contributed to the LLC, distributions you took out, payments to or from related parties, loans, rents, royalties — anything that moved value between the LLC and you (or any entity you also control).

Why both forms?#

Form 5472 by itself is not a valid IRS submission. The IRS requires it to be attached to a tax return. For foreign-owned disregarded entities, the IRS chose Form 1120 as the attachment vehicle — even though the LLC doesn't owe corporate income tax. Think of it like an envelope: the 1120 is the envelope, the 5472 is the letter inside. The IRS Ogden PIN Unit won't process the letter without the envelope. This pairing exists because the IRS infrastructure for international information return processing is built around corporate-return filing channels. There's no standalone process for filing Form 5472 outside of a 1120.

What's the side-by-side comparison of Form 1120 and Form 5472?#

Form 1120 (pro forma version for foreign-owned DEs): • Purpose: corporate income tax return — used as procedural envelope here. • Pages: 6 standard, but most are blank for foreign-owned DEs. • What you fill in: entity name, EIN, US address, country/state of incorporation, total assets at year-end, signature. • What's blank: income, deductions, COGS, tax calculation. • Special: "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE" stamped across the top of page 1. • Tax owed: $0 (because the LLC is disregarded). Form 5472: • Purpose: information return reporting related-party transactions. • Pages: 2 substantive pages. • What you fill in: Part I (reporting corporation = your LLC), Part II (25% foreign shareholder = you), Part III (related party = you again for single-member), Part IV (monetary transactions, usually blank), Part V (reportable transactions — capital in, distributions out), Part VII (FDE confirmation). • Required attachments: Part V supporting statement listing each transaction. • Tax owed: $0 (informational only). Filed together as one package, faxed to +1-855-887-7737.

What's NOT involved#

These forms come up in foreign-owner Google searches but are NOT what you file for a single-member, foreign-owned, disregarded LLC: • Form 1120-S — for S-corporations. LLCs can elect S-corp status but foreign persons cannot own S-corp stock, so this is not relevant. • Form 1120-F — for foreign corporations engaged in US trade or business. Your LLC is a US entity, not a foreign one, so 1120-F doesn't apply (unless your LLC is itself owned by a foreign corporation that needs to file). • Form 1065 — partnership return. Only applies if your LLC has 2+ members. • Form 1040-NR — personal return for non-resident individuals with US-source income. Only required if YOU personally have US-source income. • Form 8865 — for foreign partnerships. Not applicable to single-member LLCs. The correct combo for the standard foreign-owned single-member LLC: pro forma Form 1120 + Form 5472 + Part V supporting statement + (if late) Reasonable Cause Statement.

Does this trigger US corporate income tax?#

No. Filing pro forma Form 1120 does NOT make your LLC subject to US corporate income tax. Your LLC remains a disregarded entity for tax purposes. The 1120 is purely the procedural vehicle for filing Form 5472 — not a real income tax return for your LLC. Tax on LLC profits (if any) flows through to you personally: • If your LLC has no US-source income that's effectively connected with a US trade or business: $0 US tax. Income is taxable in your home country only. • If your LLC has US-source effectively connected income: you'd file Form 1040-NR personally, separate from the pro forma 1120. Most foreign-owned single-member LLCs (ecommerce, SaaS, consulting, dropshipping with non-US customers) are in the first bucket. They file pro forma 1120 + Form 5472 as informational and owe no US tax.

What are common confusions about these forms?#

"If I file Form 1120, am I now treated as a corporation?" — No. The 1120 you file is "pro forma" — explicitly marked as Foreign-Owned U.S. DE. The IRS recognizes it as a procedural vehicle for Form 5472, not as a real corporate tax return. Your LLC stays a disregarded entity. "My CPA said I need a full 1120, not pro forma." — Get a second opinion. Most US CPAs see this filing once or twice in their career. A full 1120 (with income, deductions, tax calculation) would actually be wrong for a disregarded entity. "I only filled out Form 5472, not the 1120 — should be fine?" — No. The IRS will reject the standalone 5472 (or treat it as not filed and assess the $25,000 penalty). The pro forma 1120 envelope is mandatory. "I forgot to write 'Foreign-Owned U.S. DE' on the 1120 — is that fatal?" — Not fatal, but it can cause processing delays and routing errors at Ogden. The stamp tells the Ogden PIN Unit how to process the return. Always include it.

How are these forms filed together?#

Physical / faxed order of the package: 1. Cover letter (1 page) 2. Pro forma Form 1120 (1-2 pages, stamped "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE") 3. Form 5472 (2 pages) 4. Part V supporting statement (1+ pages depending on transaction count) 5. Reasonable Cause Statement (1-2 pages, only if filing late under DIIRSP) Total package: typically 5-8 pages. Fax destination: +1-855-887-7737 (IRS Ogden PIN Unit). Or mail: Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0023. The whole package is one filing. You fax it together, you get one transmission receipt covering the entire package as proof of timely filing.

What our service generates#

When you complete our wizard, we generate the complete package automatically: • Cover letter introducing the filing. • Pro forma Form 1120 with the "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE" stamp and your entity info. • Form 5472 fully filled in (Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VII as needed). • Part V supporting statement listing each reportable transaction. • Reasonable Cause Statement (only if the filing is late). You sign once on screen. An accountant on our team reviews it. We fax to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit and email you the timestamped receipt as proof of filing.

Pricing#

Both forms together (cover letter, pro forma 1120, Form 5472, Part V supporting statement) for one year: • 1 tax year: Standard $199 · Rush $279 · Premium $449 (fax included) • 2 tax years (DIIRSP catch-up): Standard $348 · Rush $428 · Premium $598 (fax included) • 3 tax years (DIIRSP catch-up): Standard $497 · Rush $577 · Premium $747 (fax included) 100% money-back guarantee if we fail to submit your filing to the IRS.

Skip the work — file in 15 minutes.

We generate every form, you sign one PDF, we fax it to the IRS Ogden PIN Unit. Starting at $199. IRS fax delivery included on every plan.

Filled IRS Form 5472 + pro forma 1120
Reasonable cause statement (if late)
Faxed to IRS Ogden PIN Unit
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Pricing

Flat-rate Form 5472 filing.

One-time fee per filing. No subscription. IRS fax delivery to the Ogden PIN Unit is included on every plan.

Fax filing included on every plan

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$199/ filing

✓Reviewed by a qualified tax accountant before submission
✓Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 prepared
✓Fax filing to IRS Ogden included
✓Filing confirmation
✓Reasonable-cause letter (for late filings)
✓Email support

Frequently asked questions

If I don't owe corporate tax, why file Form 1120?: Because Form 5472 by itself isn't a valid IRS submission. The IRS requires it to be attached to Form 1120 as a procedural envelope. The 1120 is pro forma — marked as Foreign-Owned U.S. DE with no income or tax filled in.
Is Form 1120 the same as Form 1120-S?: No. Form 1120-S is for S-corporations. You file pro forma 1120 (not 1120-S) for a foreign-owned disregarded LLC. Foreign persons cannot own S-corp stock, so 1120-S is never the right form here.
Do I file Form 1040 too?: Only if you personally have US-source income requiring you to file 1040-NR. Most foreign LLC owners with no US trade or business don't need 1040-NR.
Do I file two separate envelopes — one for each form?: No. Form 5472 is filed AS AN ATTACHMENT to the pro forma Form 1120. One package, one fax, one transmission receipt. The 1120 is the cover, the 5472 sits behind it.
What if my LLC actually does owe corporate tax?: Then it's no longer pro forma — you'd file a full Form 1120 with income, deductions, and tax calculation. This typically happens if your LLC has US-source effectively connected income (US warehouse, US employees, US fixed place of business). Our service is for the standard disregarded-entity case; if you owe corporate tax you need a CPA, not us.
Does Form 5472 ask for income data?: Form 5472 reports transactions in dollar amounts (capital contributions, distributions, related-party payments) but not income, expenses, or profit. The 1120 normally reports income but is left blank in the pro forma version.
What's the deadline for both?: April 15 of the year following the tax year. Form 7004 extension extends both to October 15. Same deadline because they're filed as one package.
Where do I get blank copies of these forms?: Form 1120 and Form 5472 are both downloadable as PDFs from irs.gov. Our wizard handles this for you — you don't need to download anything; we generate filled, signature-ready PDFs.
Is the package the same for every year?: Structurally yes — pro forma 1120 + Form 5472 + Part V supporting statement. Year-by-year the numbers change (capital contributions, distributions, total assets). Our wizard pre-fills from your prior year's filing if you come back.
Can I file them at different times?: No. Form 5472 must be filed with the 1120 it's attached to. You can't file the 1120 in March and the 5472 in October. They're submitted together as one package on or before April 15 (or the extended due date).