Most foreign founders discover this requirement only after penalties have already started.
Many foreign LLC owners discover the Form 5472 requirement years after forming their LLC, often when opening a U.S. bank account, applying for an L-1 or O-1 visa, or preparing to sell or exit the business. By then, the IRS penalty clock has already been running.
What this is costing you
The IRS penalty is $25,000 per form, per tax year, and it is automatic. Set your situation to see the exposure and what clearing it costs.
Each one files separately.
We support back to 2019.
Usually just you, the owner.
If you do nothing
$25,000
1 missed form at $25,000 each. The penalty is per form, per year, and it is automatic.
To catch up with FileTax
$298
1 filing at $99, plus one reasonable cause letter at $199 covering every year.
$298 to address $25,000 of exposure. The reasonable cause letter asks the IRS to waive the penalty entirely, and filing voluntarily is a far stronger position than replying to a notice.
An estimate of statutory exposure, not a prediction. The IRS assesses the penalty automatically, and abatement is at its discretion. Nobody can promise it will be granted.
What is a Reasonable Cause Letter?
A reasonable cause letter is a written argument submitted to the IRS alongside a late filing, requesting that the automatic $25,000 penalty be waived. The IRS may grant relief if the failure to file was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
The most common argument for foreign founders is that they were not aware of the filing requirement. This is a credible position, given that the requirement is rarely disclosed by LLC formation services. However, the argument must be presented correctly and supported with facts.
The letter is generated from a framework written by a practising U.S. CPA. You select the situation that best describes your case from a structured set of categories aligned with IRS reasonable cause standards, and the system populates the letter with your filing details. The output covers the facts of your filing, the applicable IRS standards, and the request for abatement, in the format the IRS expects. It does not include an individual CPA review of your filing.
What it costs
Missed three years? $496 total, not $894.
$99 per year covers the filings. The reasonable cause letter is $199 once, however many years you are catching up on. You never pay for it twice.
Every year you leave unfiled is another $25,000 of exposure, and the IRS does not have to contact you first. File now.
Start with the eligibility check. About 2 minutes, and you do not need an account to begin.