Own an American company but live abroad? Your LLC almost certainly has to file with the IRS every single year — even if it made no money at all. Scriplit prepares and submits your federal and state returns, keeps your company in good standing, and makes sure you never wake up to a 25,000 dollar penalty notice.
Every foreign-owned single-member US LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 annually, regardless of revenue, profit or activity. The IRS penalty for missing it is $25,000 per year — and it is assessed automatically. Most non-resident owners have no idea this obligation exists until the notice arrives.
Whether your LLC is trading heavily or completely dormant, we determine exactly which returns apply to your structure and file every one of them correctly and on time.
The core federal filing for disregarded entities with a non-resident owner. We report all reportable transactions between you and your company, attach the pro forma Form 1120, and submit it correctly by fax or mail as the IRS requires.
LLCs with two or more members file as partnerships. We prepare the return, issue Schedule K-1s to every member, and handle Forms 8804 and 8805 with section 1446 withholding where foreign partners have effectively connected income.
Required when you personally have income effectively connected with a US trade or business, or US-source income subject to withholding. We determine whether you owe anything, apply treaty positions, and file.
Wyoming annual report and licence tax, Delaware franchise tax, New Mexico maintenance, and equivalent obligations in any other state. Miss these and your company falls out of good standing or is administratively dissolved.
For e-commerce and Amazon FBA sellers we map where your sales volume or inventory has created nexus, register you in those states, and set up ongoing collection and remittance so marketplaces and auditors stay satisfied.
Already behind by one year or five? We prepare all outstanding returns, draft reasonable cause statements to pursue penalty abatement, and bring your company back into full compliance.
If you personally need to file a US return or claim a tax treaty benefit, you need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. We prepare Form W-7 with the certified documentation the IRS requires.
Accurate filings need clean books. We reconcile your Stripe, PayPal, Wise and Mercury activity into a proper profit and loss statement and balance sheet ready for the return and for any future audit.
Prefer to file it personally? We walk you through Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120 line by line, give you a worked example and a deadline calendar, and review your draft before you send it to the IRS.
US tax penalties for foreign-owned entities are unusually severe and largely automatic. Here is what applies to a typical non-resident LLC owner.
| Filing | Who it applies to | Deadline | Penalty for missing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 | Every foreign-owned single-member LLC, including dormant ones with zero income | 15 April (15 October with Form 7004 extension) |
$25,000 per year, plus $25,000 for each further 30 days after IRS notice |
| Form 1065 + Schedule K-1 | Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships | 15 March (15 September with extension) |
~$245 per partner, per month late |
| Form 1040-NR | Individuals with US effectively connected income | 15 April or 15 June depending on circumstances | Failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties plus interest |
| Forms 8804 / 8805 | Partnerships with foreign partners and ECI | 15 March | Withholding liability plus penalties and interest |
| Wyoming annual report | All Wyoming LLCs | First day of your anniversary month | Loss of good standing, then administrative dissolution |
| Delaware franchise tax | All Delaware LLCs | 1 June | $200 late penalty plus 1.5% monthly interest |
| State sales tax returns | Sellers exceeding economic nexus thresholds | Monthly, quarterly or annually by state | State penalties, interest and back-tax assessments |
Amounts are indicative and subject to change by the IRS and individual states. We confirm the exact figures that apply to your company before filing.
No accounting jargon and no long questionnaires. We ask for what we need, tell you plainly where you stand, and file.
Send your EIN letter, formation documents and a summary of last year's activity. We tell you exactly which returns you owe and whether any past years are outstanding.
You receive a written, fixed price covering every filing your company needs. Nothing starts until you approve it, and the number does not change afterwards.
We reconcile your records, prepare the returns, and send you a plain-English summary explaining every figure before anything is submitted.
We file federally and with the state, send you stamped copies and proof of submission, and load next year's deadlines into your reminder calendar.
Fixed fees agreed in writing before we start. No hourly billing and no surprises at the end.
Guidance Only
one-off — you file it yourself
Most Popular — Federal Filing
per year — single-member LLC
Full Compliance
per year — partnerships & active businesses
Clear answers to what foreign owners of American companies ask us every week.
Yes. This is the single most costly misunderstanding we see. A foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 together with a pro forma Form 1120 every year even if the company earned nothing, had no bank activity and never traded. The filing is an information return, not a tax payment, but skipping it triggers an automatic penalty of 25,000 dollars per year. Dormant companies still have to file.
Form 5472 is an information return reporting transactions between your US LLC and you as its foreign owner, including capital contributions, distributions, loans and payments. Since 2017, every foreign-owned single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity has been required to file it, attached to a pro forma Form 1120. The IRS assesses a 25,000 dollar penalty for failure to file, filing late, or filing incomplete or inaccurate information, and it applies per year and per related party.
Often not, but it depends entirely on the facts. If you are a non-resident individual, your LLC has no US office, no US employees and no dependent agent acting on your behalf in the United States, and your income is not effectively connected with a US trade or business, then your profits are generally not subject to US federal income tax. But you still must file the information returns. If you do have US-effectively-connected income, a US-based warehouse arrangement, or US-source fixed and determinable income, tax may well be due and a Form 1040-NR may be required. We review your specific situation before telling you where you stand.
For a single-member LLC, Form 5472 with pro forma 1120 is due 15 April, extendable to 15 October by filing Form 7004 before the original deadline. Multi-member LLCs filing Form 1065 are due 15 March, extendable to 15 September. State requirements vary: the Wyoming annual report is due in your anniversary month, and Delaware franchise tax is due 1 June. We track every one of these dates for you and send reminders well in advance.
The statutory penalty for a missed or late Form 5472 is 25,000 dollars, with a further 25,000 dollars for each 30-day period the failure continues after IRS notice. However, penalties can often be abated for reasonable cause, and first-time abatement relief is available in some circumstances. If you have missed prior years, do not ignore it. We handle delinquent filings and prepare reasonable cause statements to seek relief.
Yes. A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership by default and files Form 1065 with a Schedule K-1 for each member. Where there is US-effectively-connected income allocable to a foreign partner, Forms 8804 and 8805 and section 1446 withholding also come into play. We prepare the full partnership package including foreign partner reporting.
You need an ITIN only if you personally must file a US tax return, such as a Form 1040-NR, or if you need to claim a treaty benefit. Most non-resident owners of a disregarded single-member LLC never need one, because the LLC files under its EIN. If you do need an ITIN, we prepare Form W-7 with the required certified documentation and submit it alongside your return.
Every state where your LLC is registered requires an annual maintenance filing. Wyoming requires an annual report with a licence tax of about 60 dollars, due in your anniversary month. New Mexico requires no annual report at all. Delaware charges a 300 dollar annual franchise tax due 1 June. Separately, if you sell physical goods you may have sales tax registration and remittance obligations in states where you exceed economic nexus thresholds. We assess and handle all of it.
Frequently, yes. Holding inventory in US fulfilment centres can create both income tax and sales tax exposure depending on the state and the facts. Most states apply economic nexus thresholds around 100,000 dollars in sales or 200 transactions, after which you must register, collect and remit sales tax. Marketplace facilitator laws mean Amazon collects on your behalf in most states, but registration obligations can still apply. We map your nexus footprint and register you where required.
Federal filing of Form 5472 with pro forma Form 1120 for a single-member LLC starts at 249 dollars per year. Multi-member partnership returns on Form 1065 with Schedule K-1s start at 499 dollars. State annual reports and franchise tax filings start at 99 dollars plus the state fee. Bookkeeping, delinquent prior-year filings and sales tax registration are quoted after we review your situation. Every quote is fixed and given in writing before we begin.
Yes, and many clients start there. Our guidance package walks you line by line through Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120, explains exactly which boxes apply to a disregarded entity, shows you how to record reportable transactions, and covers how to fax or mail the return correctly. You get the completed reference example, a deadline calendar, and a review of your draft before you submit it.
Absolutely. You do not need to have formed your company with us. We take on foreign-owned LLCs registered in any state and through any provider, including companies with several years of missed filings that need cleaning up. Send us your Articles of Organization, EIN letter and bank statements and we will tell you exactly where you stand.
Send us your EIN letter and formation documents. Within one working day you will know exactly which returns your LLC owes, whether any past years are outstanding, and what it costs to put everything right.
Do not have a US company yet? Start your US LLC from anywhere in the world.