5472 + 1120 filing service

Steps taken and summary of findings Research steps performed: 1. Ran broad web searches for authoritative guidance, law firm explainers, and service-provider materials covering Form 5472 and Form 1120 filing requirements, deadlines, penalties, practical compliance guidance, and service/pricing examples (search terms included: "Form 5472 filing requirements", "foreign-owned US LLC Form 5472 1120", "Form 5472 penalties", "pro forma Form 1120", and variants through Jan 2026). 2. Scraped and extracted content from primary IRS sources for Form 5472 and Form 1120 (instructions and overview pages) to capture official filing rules and procedures. 3. Collected practitioner summaries and firm guides (law firms, accounting firms, compliance providers) to capture common practical guidance, filing steps, traps, and service-pricing examples. Synthesis of key findings (what a US business owner / LLC founder needs to know about a 5472 + 1120 filing service): A. Who must file - Form 5472 is an informational return used to report reportable transactions between a reporting U.S. corporation (or certain other U.S. entities) and related foreign parties. The 2017 regulatory expansion requires many foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entities (single-member LLCs owned by non-U.S. persons or entities) and certain corporations with significant foreign ownership to file Form 5472. (IRS guidance and practitioner summaries confirm that foreign-owned single-member LLCs must file.) B. The pro forma Form 1120 requirement - A foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity (DE) that has a Form 5472 filing obligation must file a pro forma Form 1120 as a cover page with Form 5472 attached. The pro forma Form 1120 only requires limited information (entity name/address, EIN and a few items on page 1) and must be marked "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE". It is not a full corporate income tax return but is required as the filing vehicle for Form 5472. (IRS instructions state the pro forma 1120 requirement and which fields must be completed.) C. Deadlines, extensions, and filing method - Deadline: For foreign-owned DEs that use a calendar year, Form 5472 (with pro forma 1120) is generally due April 15 following the tax year-end. Corporate filers with different fiscal year-ends follow the usual 1120 deadlines (15th day of the 3rd month after year-end). Extensions are available by filing Form 7004 (generally a six-month extension). Practitioner materials reiterate the April 15 / extension to October 15 timetable for calendar-year foreign-owned DEs. - Filing method: As of recent guidance, foreign-owned DE filings must be submitted on paper (mail or fax) to a specific IRS processing unit (Ogden, UT PIN Unit) and the forms must be marked appropriately; e-filing is generally not available for these pro forma 1120 + 5472 submissions. (Practitioner sources and guides confirm the paper/fax requirement and special mailing address.) D. Reportable transactions and documentation - Reportable transactions include loans, interest, management fees, royalty payments, contributions to capital, distributions, payments for services, and certain other intercompany transactions between the U.S. entity and related foreign parties. Even initial capital contributions and zero-dollar activity can create a filing obligation. Accurate recordkeeping (bank records, agreements, currency conversion support) is essential. (Practitioner guides list typical reportable transactions and emphasize documentation.) E. Penalties and enforcement risk - Penalties are severe: failure to file a required Form 5472 can result in a $25,000 penalty per form, per year, with additional continuing penalties after IRS notice (e.g., additional $25,000 after 90 days per continuing period). Multiple forms (for multiple related parties) and multiple years can produce very large exposures. Practitioners advise prompt remediation if nonfiling is discovered (delinquent submission procedures, reasonable cause statements, abatement options). (IRS instructions and many practitioner guides cite the $25,000 penalty.) F. State-level considerations - Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 are federal obligations. State filing obligations are separate—states may impose franchise taxes, income tax returns, annual reports, or other compliance requirements depending on nexus, activity, and the state of formation. State-level nexus (e.g., sales, payroll, property, or economic nexus) and state tax registration must be considered alongside the federal filing. Practitioner sources note that meeting federal Form 5472 requirements does not eliminate state filings where the business has nexus. (Practitioner guides and state-tax commentary emphasize separate state obligations.) G. Practical compliance checklist for a filing service to offer clients 1. Entity intake and ownership analysis: confirm ownership chain, foreign ownership percentages, and whether DE rules apply. 2. Obtain / confirm EIN: ensure the U.S. entity has an EIN before filing (EIN required to file and to request extensions). 3. Transaction identification: run a transaction review questionnaire and bank statement analysis to identify all reportable intercompany items (loans, payments, reimbursements, contributions, distributions). 4. Prepare pro forma Form 1120 cover page: complete required fields and mark forms "Foreign-Owned U.S. DE". 5. Complete Form 5472: one form per reportable related party, with correct USD conversions and supporting schedules. 6. File timely: assemble paper filing (or fax) to the IRS Ogden address; file Form 7004 for extension if needed. 7. Maintain records: keep supporting documentation for at least several years (practitioners recommend 5–7 years) and document reasonable cause if late filing. 8. Remediation support: offer delinquent filing help, penalty abatement support, and communication with IRS when necessary. H. Common client pitfalls and advice - Mistake: assuming "no income" means no filing—initial capital contributions and other non-income transactions can still trigger Form 5472. - Mistake: not obtaining an EIN and therefore unable to timely file or request extensions. - Mistake: failing to identify related parties and reporting each related party separately when required. - Advice: implement an annual compliance calendar, standardized questionnaires to capture intercompany activity, and include a review by an international-tax-experienced CPA. I. Service-provider models and pricing benchmarks (what research found) - Various providers (law firms, tax boutiques, compliance firms) offer 5472 + pro forma 1120 preparation and filing packages. Pricing models vary by scope: simple filing-only packages (no tax return work, basic transaction identification and form prep) versus full compliance packages (record review, bookkeeping adjustments, penalty remediation, state return reviews). Public articles and firm pages cite flat fees in a broad range depending on complexity (often a few hundred to a few thousand USD for routine single-member LLC filings; higher for remediation or multi-year filings). Exact pricing should be validated with providers and tailored to scope. J. Items needing state-specific tailoring - While the federal Form 5472/1120 requirement is uniform, state-level issues require per-state checks: formation-state annual reports, franchise taxes, state corporate or pass-through income tax returns, sales/use tax nexus, and payroll withholding registration. For a national service, incorporate a brief state-check workflow: ask client state(s) of formation and operation, and flag any common state obligations (e.g., Delaware franchise, California LLC fees, New York filing requirements for foreign owners doing business in-state). K. Recommended authoritative and practitioner sources to cite in content - IRS Instructions for Form 5472 (https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i5472) — official filing rules, pro forma 1120 requirement, penalty rules, deadlines - IRS Form 5472 overview (https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5472) - IRS Form 1120 overview and instructions (https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1120 and https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1120) - Practitioner guides and firm explainers (examples: HCVT alert, Entity Inc. 2026 guide, SD O'CPA guide) — practical filing steps, checklists, pitfalls, and service/pricing examples Conclusion / readiness to draft content - The collected authoritative and practitioner materials provide a complete foundation to draft comprehensive blog content and an accompanying newsletter about a "5472 + 1120 filing service" for US business owners and LLC founders. The content can (and should) cover: who must file, the pro forma 1120 requirement, deadlines and filing method, what transactions to report, penalties, state-level implications, a step-by-step filing checklist, common mistakes to avoid, service offerings and pricing models, and a short FAQ and remediation guidance. If you want, I can now: (A) produce the full blog post with state-tailored sections and an SEO-optimized newsletter draft; (B) generate a compliance checklist / client intake questionnaire; (C) draft suggested service tiers and sample pricing and engagement terms — tell me which to prepare next.