Officially known as Form 5471, Information Return of US Persons with Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations, this form is required along with your expat taxes for US citizens and resident aliens who are considered to be officers, directors or shareholders in certain foreign corporations.

Can you e file Form 5471?

At this time, we only support the creation and electronic filing of one Form 5471. If the return requires multiple copies of the form, the only option is to manually complete the additional copies and attach them to the return.

What is the penalty for not filing Form 5471?

Failure to timely file a Form 5471 or Form 8865 is generally subject to a $10,000 penalty per information return, plus an additional $10,000 for each month the failure continues, beginning 90 days after the IRS notifies the taxpayer of the failure, up to a maximum of $60,000 per return.

What is Section 6038A?

Section 6038A. Information with respect to certain foreign-owned corporations.

When do I need to file tax Form 5471?

In general, there are not very many exceptions that will exclude the requirement to file Form 5471 if you fall into one of the filing categories. The Form 5471 filing is an attachment to your individual income tax return should be filed by the due date (including extensions) for that return.

Do you need a separate Form 5471 if you have more than one corporation?

If the filer has more than one filing category, do not duplicate information. However, complete all items that apply. If a filer owns multiple corporations, a separate Form 5471 and all applicable schedules for each applicable foreign corporation is necessary.

Which is the most difficult part of Form 5471?

Schedule C is the part a form 5471 that begins to get more difficult. It requires the filer to complete an income statement, where the filer must identify the income, deductions, net income and other comprehensive Income — in both functional and US currency. As provided by the form:

Is there a penalty for filing Form 5471 late?

While in the past, it was not very common to receive a response about a Form 5471 filed late. However, more and more we are hearing about taxpayers that have submitted their own self-prepared Form 5471 being assessed an automatic $10,000 penalty for each year filed late or incomplete.