Who Must File Form 5472
A single-member LLC that's at least 25% foreign-owned, and treated as disregarded for tax purposes, must file Form 5472 along with a pro forma Form 1120 every year — even if the LLC had no income or activity at all during the year.
What the Form Actually Reports
It reports transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner (or related parties) — contributions, distributions, loans, and other reportable exchanges — giving the IRS visibility into cross-border activity that a purely domestic filing wouldn't capture.
Key Insights
- 1This filing is required annually, even for a dormant or zero-activity LLC — 'no activity' is not an exemption.
- 2Missing the deadline can carry a substantial penalty, and it applies per form, per year missed.
- 3Form 5472 must be attached to a pro forma Form 1120 — it can't be filed on its own.
- 4This is one of the clearest cases where professional help is worth it — the penalty for getting it wrong or skipping it outweighs the cost of filing correctly.
