Pro Forma 1120

A pro forma 1120 is Form 1120, the US corporate income tax return, used in a special stripped-down way. Form 5472 cannot be filed on its own; the IRS requires it to be attached to a corporate return. Since a foreign-owned single-member LLC is not actually a corporation and does not owe corporate tax, it files a pro forma version instead: just the top of page one filled in, with the rest left blank.

On the pro forma 1120 you complete the LLC's name, address, and EIN, mark the tax year, and write Foreign-owned U.S. DE across the top of the page. You do not report income, deductions, or tax on it. The real information lives on the attached Form 5472, which lists your reportable transactions, such as the $8,000 you contributed to the company and the $2,500 you withdrew during the year.

The package of pro forma 1120 plus Form 5472 is due by April 15 following the end of a calendar tax year. It cannot be e-filed through normal software; the IRS requires foreign-owned disregarded entities to fax it or mail it to a dedicated address in Ogden, Utah. If you need more time, Form 7004 extends the deadline by six months.

Do not confuse the pro forma 1120 with a full Form 1120. A US corporation owned by a foreign shareholder files a complete Form 1120 with real income numbers and attaches Form 5472 to it. And a multi-member LLC files Form 1065 with Schedule K-1s, due March 15, with no pro forma 1120 at all. Filing the wrong package, or skipping it, exposes the company to the $25,000 Form 5472 penalty.