The EIN and IRS forms · A term for founders abroad
What is a pro forma Form 1120?
A mostly blank corporate tax return that a foreign-owned single-member LLC files as the cover for its Form 5472.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 79 of 105 in the glossary, filed under P.IRS: instructions for Form 5472
Pro forma Form 1120, for a founder abroad.
A disregarded LLC doesn't file a corporate return, but Form 5472 has to be attached to one. So the IRS asks for a Form 1120 with little filled in: the company's name and address, item B (the EIN) and item E (total assets), with "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" written across the top. Form 5472 goes behind it.
Nothing else on the 1120 is completed, because no tax is calculated on it. It goes to the IRS in Ogden, Utah by fax or post, because a foreign-owned disregarded entity can't file it electronically, and it's due with Form 5472 on 15 April for a calendar year.
Sources: IRS: instructions for Form 5472.
Read next · guide · 8 minHow to start a US LLC as a non-resident (2026)What founders ask next.
- Does a pro forma 1120 mean my LLC pays corporate tax?
- No. It's a cover sheet for Form 5472. The LLC stays disregarded for income tax, and nothing is calculated or paid on it.
- What do I write at the top of the pro forma 1120?
- "Foreign-owned U.S. DE", across the top of the first page, as the Form 5472 instructions say.
- Can a multi-member LLC file a pro forma 1120?
- No. A multi-member LLC is a partnership and files Form 1065 instead.
03 · See also
- The EIN and IRS formsForm 5472The yearly IRS information return a foreign-owned US company files to report transactions with its foreign owner, with a $25,000 penalty for missing it.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsForm 1120The US corporate income tax return, filed yearly by a C-Corporation and, as a pro forma version, by a foreign-owned single-member LLC.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsEINThe nine-digit tax number the IRS assigns to a business, and the first thing every US bank, payment processor and marketplace asks for.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsSSNThe US personal tax and benefits number for citizens and people authorised to work; not something a founder abroad has or needs to own a US company.Read the term
Ready when you are
Answer the questions. We do the filing.
It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, Wyoming fee included, before anything is charged.
You're startingLLC · WY
Start a companyLaunch · $351.40 · Wyoming fee included