Form 5472 is the yearly IRS information return that every single-member US LLC owned by a non-resident has to file. If you own a Form 5472 foreign owned LLC from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco or another Arab country, this form is the main US filing your company faces each year. It does not calculate tax. It reports the money that moved between you and your company. This page defines the form, shows what goes on it, and explains the deadline and the penalty.
Form 5472 is one part of the wider picture of US LLC tax for non-residents, which also covers state charges and the tax you owe at home. If you have not formed your company yet, start with the guide on how to form a US LLC from an Arab country.
What is Form 5472 for a foreign-owned US LLC?
Form 5472 is an IRS information return. A US LLC with one foreign owner files it to report transactions between the company and that owner, such as money paid in, money taken out, loans and payments for services.
The official title of the form is "Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business". The title names corporations, and that confuses many LLC owners. The rule that pulls single-member LLCs in is a Treasury regulation. Under Treas. Reg. § 1.6038A-1, a US LLC that is wholly owned by one foreign person is treated as a corporation for the purpose of this reporting. The company is still a disregarded entity for income tax. It is treated as a corporation only for Form 5472.
Foreign-owned single-member LLCs file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120(Source: Treas. Reg. § 1.6038A-1; IRS instructions). The law behind the form is section 6038A of the Internal Revenue Code, published by Cornell's Legal Information Institute at 26 U.S. Code § 6038A. The IRS publishes the form and its instructions on the About Form 5472 page.
| Term | What it means on Form 5472 |
|---|---|
| Reporting corporation | Your US LLC, the company that files the form |
| Foreign-owned US DE | A disregarded entity (your single-member LLC) with one foreign owner |
| Related party | You, the owner, and any person or company linked to you |
| Reportable transaction | Any money or value that moves between the LLC and a related party |
| Pro-forma Form 1120 | A cover return with basic company details, used only to carry Form 5472 |
Who has to file Form 5472 with a US LLC?
A single-member US LLC owned by a person who is not a US citizen or US resident files Form 5472. This covers almost every founder who forms a Wyoming LLC from an Arab country.
The test is ownership, not revenue. If you live in Riyadh, Dubai, Cairo or Casablanca, hold a non-US passport and own 100% of a US LLC, your company is a foreign-owned US disregarded entity. It files Form 5472 for any tax year in which it had a reportable transaction with you.
In practice the first year always has one. When you pay the formation costs, the state fee and the registered agent, that payment is money moving from you to the company. Every later year has the same kind of payment, because the owner pays the yearly state report and the registered agent. For that reason you should plan on a Form 5472 every year, even in a year with zero sales.
A US LLC with two or more owners is a partnership for federal tax by default. It files a partnership return, Form 1065, and it does not use the pro-forma Form 1120 route described on this page. Ask a US tax preparer before you choose a structure with a partner. The comparison of a US LLC and a local company explains single-member and multi-member LLCs.
| Your situation | Form 5472 with pro-forma 1120? |
|---|---|
| One owner, non-US person, US LLC | Yes, each year with a reportable transaction |
| One owner, US citizen or US resident | No, a different set of rules applies |
| Two or more owners | No, the LLC files Form 1065 as a partnership |
| US corporation 25% or more foreign-owned | Yes, attached to its full Form 1120 |
What does a foreign-owned US LLC report on Form 5472?
The LLC reports its own details, the owner's details, and every reportable transaction with the owner during the year: contributions, distributions, loans, payments for services and other transfers of money or value.
Form 5472 has several parts. The first parts identify the company, with its name, address and EIN, and the foreign owner, with name, address and country. Later parts list the money that moved between them, by type and by amount. For a foreign-owned single-member LLC, the instructions add a specific part for transactions such as the money you put in to form or fund the company and the money you take out.
Common reportable transactions for an Arab founder look like this:
| Transaction | Example | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Capital contribution | You pay the formation fees or send money to fund the company | Owner to LLC |
| Distribution | You move profits from the US bank account to your account at home | LLC to owner |
| Loan | You lend the company money to buy stock for an online store | Owner to LLC |
| Expense paid by the owner | You pay the Wyoming annual report from a personal card | Owner to LLC |
| Payment for services | The company pays you for work you do for it | LLC to owner |
Good records make the form simple. Keep the company bank statements, the receipts for formation and yearly fees, and a note of every transfer between you and the company. The company needs an EIN to file, and non-residents get an EIN with IRS Form SS-4 without an SSN(Source: IRS Form SS-4 instructions). The US LLC formation service includes the EIN with the company.
Why does a foreign-owned US LLC file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120?
A foreign-owned single-member LLC files no income tax return of its own, so the IRS needs a cover document to receive Form 5472. The pro-forma Form 1120 is that cover, and it carries only basic company details.
A normal Form 1120 is the income tax return of a US corporation. The pro-forma version is not a tax return in that sense. The instructions tell the company to write "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" across the top of Form 1120, fill in the name, address and EIN and a few identifying items, and attach Form 5472. The company does not report income on it or pay tax with it.
The pair is filed together, by the due date of the Form 1120. For an LLC that uses the calendar year, the due date is April 15 of the following year. The company can ask for a six-month extension with IRS Form 7004, filed by the same April date. The Form 1120 instructions and the Form 5472 instructions on irs.gov set out where and how to send the pair.
| Item | Form 5472 | Pro-forma Form 1120 |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Reports transactions with the foreign owner | Cover document that carries Form 5472 |
| Tax calculated | None | None |
| Due date (calendar year) | April 15 | April 15, filed with Form 5472 |
| Extension | With Form 7004 for the pair | Form 7004, six months |
| Marking | Standard form | "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" written across the top |
What is the penalty if a foreign-owned US LLC misses Form 5472?
The penalty for a missing Form 5472 is $25,000 per form per year(Source: IRC § 6038A(d); IRS Form 5472 instructions), under IRC § 6038A(d). The same penalty applies to a filing that leaves out required information.
The penalty does not depend on revenue or profit. A company with zero sales and a missing form faces the same $25,000 as a company with large sales. Section 6038A(d) adds more if the failure continues. When the IRS sends a notice and the company has not filed 90 days later, the law adds $25,000 for each further 30-day period, or part of one. The text is in 26 U.S. Code § 6038A.
The penalty counts per form. A company files one Form 5472 for each related party it had reportable transactions with. For a single-member LLC with one owner, that is one form each year. A company that skipped three years faces a separate penalty for each year.
The rule also requires the company to keep records that support the form. Bank statements and transfer receipts serve this purpose. A company that sells online through Stripe or PayPal has payout reports that show the money flow too. If your payment account has been closed, the guide to a closed Stripe account explains how to get your records and what to do next.
How does a US LLC owner in an Arab country file Form 5472 each year?
The owner gathers the year's bank statements and transfer records, completes Form 5472 and the pro-forma Form 1120 with the company's EIN, and sends the pair to the IRS by the April 15 due date or the extended date.
The yearly cycle is short when the records are in order:
| Step | What you do | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Close the company's year on December 31 and download the bank statements | January |
| 2 | List every transfer between you and the company, with dates and amounts | January to February |
| 3 | Complete Form 5472 with the owner details and the transaction totals | February to March |
| 4 | Complete the pro-forma Form 1120 and attach Form 5472 | Before April 15 |
| 5 | Send the pair as the IRS instructions describe, or file Form 7004 for an extension | By April 15 |
| 6 | Keep a copy of the filing and the proof of sending | After filing |
Use the same company name, address and EIN on every form. The name must match the name on the EIN letter from the IRS. The owner details must match your passport. Small differences between documents slow down bank reviews as well, and the guide to a rejected bank application shows how mismatched details cause trouble there.
You can file the pair yourself or use a preparer. The Form 5472 filing service prepares and files the pair for foreign-owned LLCs each year. If you have a question about your own filing before you start, contact Arab LLC.
Does Form 5472 mean a foreign-owned US LLC pays US tax?
No. Form 5472 is an information return, and filing it does not create a US tax bill. A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is a disregarded entity, and your home country still taxes you by its own rules.
Form 5472 tells the IRS who owns the company and how money moved between you. It does not report the company's profit as taxable income. Whether you owe US income tax depends on a separate question: whether the company has income effectively connected with a US trade or business, for example through staff or an office in the US. The answer depends on your facts, and a US tax preparer can confirm it for your company.
The home side matters as much as the US side. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco and every other Arab country apply their own rules to residents. The profit of your US LLC belongs to you, so your country's tax authority can treat it as your income. Ask an accountant in your country how your local rules treat profits from a US company before your first distribution. This page is general information, not tax advice.
Form 5472 is not the only yearly US obligation. US-formed LLCs are exempt from BOI reporting since 21 March 2025(Source: FinCEN interim final rule, 90 FR 13688), so the FinCEN beneficial ownership report no longer applies to a US-formed LLC. The Wyoming annual report and the registered agent remain yearly state obligations. The full list is in the guide to US LLC tax for non-residents.
