Form 5472 Deadline Calculator: Your 2026 and 2027 Key Dates

For the overwhelming majority of foreign-owned LLCs — which use the calendar year as their tax year — the Form 5472 deadline tracks the corporate return deadline: the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year ends. Since the calendar year ends December 31, the fourth month is April, and the date is April 15. The 2025 tax year is therefore due April 15, 2026.

If April 15 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. The calculator above uses April 15 as the baseline; in a year where the 15th is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, confirm the exact business-day deadline. The full deadline rules are on the Form 5472 deadline page.

The deadline is not a one-off — it recurs every year your LLC exists. The 2026 tax year is reported in 2027, due April 15, 2027, extendable to October 15, 2027 with Form 7004. Because Form 5472 is an annual obligation, each new tax year resets the clock, and a year you skip does not disappear — it becomes a late filing with penalty exposure.

This is why founders set a recurring reminder for mid-March, a month before the deadline, to gather figures and file. The single most reliable way to never miss it is to file early each January once the prior calendar year has closed.

Form 7004 is the “Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns.” For a foreign-owned single-member LLC, filing it on time gives an automatic six-month extension of the deadline for the pro forma Form 1120 (and the Form 5472 attached to it) — from April 15 to October 15.

A common point of confusion: an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. For most filers that distinction matters, but for a disregarded entity there is no entity-level income tax on the pro forma 1120, so there is nothing to pay and nothing left unextended. The extension simply buys six more months to assemble and submit the information return. Details are on the Form 7004 and Form 7004 instructions pages.

Not every entity uses the calendar year. If your LLC has elected a fiscal year — any 12-month period ending on the last day of a month other than December — the deadline shifts accordingly. The rule is always the same: the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of the tax year.

Most foreign-owned LLCs are on the calendar year by default, so April 15 applies. If you are unsure which tax year your LLC uses, it is almost certainly the calendar year unless you affirmatively elected otherwise.

The Form 5472 penalty is one of the harshest in the tax code, and it is triggered simply by being late without an extension. The base penalty is $25,000 for each Form 5472 filed late, not filed, or filed substantially incomplete. There is no cap and no statute of limitations, and after a 90-day IRS notice an additional $25,000 accrues every 30 days the form stays unfiled.

If you have already missed a deadline, the priority is to file now, not to wait for the IRS. Filing the late Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 ends the “failure” and stops the continuation penalty from building. See the full mechanics on the penalty page, estimate your exposure with the penalty calculator, and read the late filing and missed Form 5472 guides.

An extension only works if it is requested beforethe original deadline. Form 7004 filed on April 16 or later is too late and does not extend anything. There is no “late extension” mechanism. Once April 15 passes without a timely Form 7004, your only path is to file the return itself.

The good news is that a return filed a few days after April 15 — promptly, with the figures correct — is a far better position than a return that never comes. The penalty risk is about failure to file, so the sooner the complete Form 5472 reaches the IRS, the better. If the deadline is close and you are not ready, filing Form 7004 now (before April 15) to claim the October 15 extension is the smart move.

Two different returns can apply to a foreign-owned LLC owner, and they do not always share a deadline. The LLC’s pro forma Form 1120 (with Form 5472) is due April 15. The owner’s personal Form 1040-NR — required only if the owner has US income to report, such as effectively connected income — has its own deadline.

form5472.tax handles the Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 deadline; the Form 1040-NR deadline is an income-tax matter for a qualified advisor. Keep both dates on your calendar if both returns apply to you.

There is no advantage to waiting until April. Once the calendar year closes on December 31, you can file the Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 for that year as soon as you have totalled your related-party transactions — usually in January or February. Early filing eliminates the single biggest risk, which is simply forgetting or running out of time before April 15.

Because a disregarded entity owes no tax on the pro forma 1120, there is no cash-flow reason to delay either. The smart pattern for a foreign-owned LLC is: close the year, gather the figures, and file in the first quarter. If you want it handled, you can start anytime on the apply page — we file for a flat $299.

Hitting the deadline is only useful if you file the correct way. A foreign-owned disregarded entity cannot e-file Form 5472 — software that e-files normal 1120 returns will not transmit this package. The only two accepted methods are mail and fax, and the filing must be sent by the deadline, not merely prepared by it.

Keep the certified-mail receipt or fax confirmation — it is your evidence that you met the deadline if the IRS ever questions the filing date. The full process is on how to file Form 5472.

An extension is a tool, not a goal. If your figures are ready, filing the actual Form 5472 in January or February closes the obligation and ends the risk. If you are waiting on bank statements, an EIN, or related-party records, filing Form 7004 by April 15 buys six clean months to October 15 — with no tax to pay in the meantime because the pro forma 1120 carries none.

What an extension never does is excuse you from filing. October 15 is a real deadline too, and missing it after extending exposes you to the same $25,000 penalty. Treat Form 7004 as breathing room, then actually file. Either way, the cost to have it handled correctly is a flat $299.

If you have missed more than one year, the deadlines for those years have already passed, but the obligation has not. Each year stands on its own: a separate pro forma 1120, a separate Form 5472, and a separate $25,000 penalty if left unfiled. Because there is no statute of limitations, an old year never ages out — it stays open until filed.

The practical deadline for catch-up filing is simply now. Filing the delinquent returns is the action that furnishes the missing information, starts the assessment clock, and stops continuation penalties from building. We file catch-up years at a flat $299 each — see the catch-up filing page for the full process.

Missing the deadline is almost always a calendar problem, not a knowledge problem. Three habits eliminate it. First, keep a simple running log of money moving between you and the LLC during the year, so you are not reconstructing it in April. Second, set a recurring reminder for mid-Marchevery year. Third — best of all — file early, in January or February, the moment the prior year’s figures are settled.

Because Form 5472 recurs annually, building the habit once protects every future year. If you would rather not track it yourself, we file on your behalf each year for a flat $299, with reminders, so the deadline becomes our job, not yours. Start on the apply page.