The Full Tax and Compliance Calendar for a US LLC Owned From Abroad

A foreign-owned US LLC runs on three anchor dates a year: March 15 for a multi-member LLC's Form 1065, April 15 for a single-member LLC's Form 5472 and pro forma 1120, and September 15 or October 15 for either one if extended. Miss the wrong one and the penalty starts at $25,000.

Every one of those dates runs independently of your home country's tax calendar, and none of them wait for you to notice. Here is the full year laid out, federal first, then the state track that runs alongside it on its own separate clock.

Taxes

File your US taxes.

Federal returns prepared by our team.

Begin

01Why Does a Multi-Member LLC File in March, Not April?

Because a multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership by default, and partnership returns are due March 15, two and a half months after the calendar year ends, so each partner receives their K-1 in time to file their own return. Filing Form 7004 by that same March 15 date buys an automatic six-month extension to September 15. There is no shortcut around the original deadline itself; the extension request has to be filed on time to be valid at all.

02What's Actually Due April 15 for a Single-Member Foreign-Owned LLC?

Form 5472, filed together with a pro forma Form 1120, due April 15, the same original date a US corporation's return would carry. It is required the moment a reportable transaction occurs between the LLC and its foreign owner, and the initial capital you contributed to start the company counts as one, so the form is due even in a year with zero revenue. Miss it or file it incomplete and the penalty is $25,000, with an additional $25,000 for every 90 days it stays unresolved after an IRS notice. Form 7004 extends this filing to October 15 as well, on the same original-deadline rule.

Does the Owner Also File a Personal Return on This Same Track?

If the LLC's income is effectively connected to a US trade or business, yes: Form 1040-NR is due on the same April 15 date, extendable to October 15 with Form 4868. If the LLC generates no US-connected income, there may be nothing owed on this return at all, but that determination has to be made every year, not assumed once and forgotten.

Is the BOI Report Still Part of This Calendar?

No, not for a US-formed LLC. Since a March 2025 FinCEN rule, BOI reporting applies only to companies formed under foreign law that register to do business in a US state. A domestic LLC, even one owned entirely by a non-resident, is exempt, so this is one date that belongs on last year's calendar and not on this one.

03What State-Level Dates Run on a Separate Track?

Every formation state runs its own annual report and, in many states, a franchise tax, each with its own due date and fee that has nothing to do with the IRS calendar above. Delaware's flat LLC tax is due June 1 regardless of income; other states set their own dates, often tied to the anniversary month of formation. A federal extension does not move a state deadline, and a missed state filing can put the LLC into administrative dissolution even while every IRS obligation is current.

Accounting

Keep your books current.

Monthly bookkeeping handled by our team.

Begin

04What Actually Happens If One of These Dates Is Missed?

• Form 5472: a flat $25,000 penalty per missed or incomplete filing, plus further $25,000 increments for continued non-compliance after an IRS notice.
• Form 1065: a penalty calculated per partner, per month the return is late, capped at twelve months, on top of whatever tax the late filing itself triggers.
• State annual report or franchise tax: loss of good standing, then administrative dissolution if the state hears nothing back, an outcome that is far more expensive and time-consuming to reverse than simply filing on time.

05How Do You Actually Stay Ahead of All of This?

Set your own reminders at the original due date, not the extension date. An extension has to be filed by the deadline it extends; there is no version of "I'll deal with it in October" that works if nothing was filed by April. We track every one of these dates as part of an ongoing accounting engagement, federal and state together, so nothing on this calendar depends on you remembering it alone. Begin here and an advisor maps out exactly which of these dates apply to your specific structure.