26 CFR § 1.6038-2 - Information returns required of United States persons with respect to annual accounting periods of certain foreign corporations.
(a) Requirement of return. Every U.S. person shall make a separate annual information return with respect to each annual accounting period (described in paragraph (e) of this section) of each foreign corporation which that person controls (as defined in paragraph (b) of this section) at any time during such annual accounting period.
(1) Form 2952, “Information Return with Respect to Controlled Foreign Corporations,” if such taxable year ends before December 31, 1982;
(2) Form 5471, “Information Return of U.S. Persons with Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations,” if such taxable year ends on or after December 31, 1983; or
(3) Either Form 5471 or Form 2952 if such taxable year ends on or after December 31, 1982 and before December 31, 1963.
(b) Control. A person shall be deemed to be in control of a foreign corporation if at any time during that person's taxable year it owns stock possessing more than 50 percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote, or more than 50 percent of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of the foreign corporation. A person in control of a corporation which, in turn, owns more than 50 percent of the combined voting power, or of the value, of all classes of stock of another corporation is also treated as being in control of such other corporation. The provisions of this paragraph may be illustrated by the following example:
(c) Attribution rules. For the purpose of determining control of domestic or foreign corporations the constructive ownership rules of section 318(a) shall apply except that:
(1) Stock owned by or for a partner or a beneficiary of an estate or trust shall not be considered owned by the partnership, estate, or trust when the effect is to consider a United States person as owning stock owned by a person who is not a United States person;
(2) A corporation will not be considered as owning stock owned by or for a 50 percent or more shareholder when the effect is to consider a United States person as owning stock owned by a person who is not a United States person; and
(3) If 10 percent or more in value of the stock in a corporation is owned, directly or indirectly, by or for any person, section 318(a)(2)(C) shall apply.
(d) U.S. person—(1) In general. For purposes of section 6038 and this section, the term United States person has the meaning assigned to it by section 7701(a)(30), except as provided in paragraphs (d)(2) and (3) of this section.
(2) Special rule for individuals residing in certain possessions.
(i) With respect to an individual who is a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, the term United States person has the meaning assigned to it by § 1.957-3 except that the rules of § 1.937-2(g)(1) will apply.
(ii) With respect to an individual who is a bona fide resident of any section 931 possession, as defined in § 1.931-1(c)(1), the term United States person has the meaning assigned to it by § 1.957-3.
(3) Special rule for certain nonresident aliens. An individual for whom an election under section 6013(g) or (h) is in effect will, subject to the exceptions contained in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, be considered a United States person for purposes of section 6038 and this section.
(e) Period covered by return. The information required under paragraphs (f) and (g) of this section with respect to a foreign corporation shall be furnished for the annual accounting period of the foreign corporation ending with or within the United States person's taxable year. For purposes of this section, the annual accounting period of a foreign corporation is the annual period on the basis of which that corporation regularly computes its income in keeping its books. In the case of a specified foreign corporation (as defined in section 898), the taxable year of such corporation shall be treated as its annual accounting period. The term annual accounting period may refer to a period of less than one year, where, for example, the foreign income, war profits, and excess profits taxes are determined on the basis of an accounting period of less than one year as described in section 902(c)(5). If more than one annual accounting period ends with or within the United States person's taxable year, separate annual information returns shall be submitted for each annual accounting period.
(f) Contents of return. The return on Form 5471 shall contain so much of the following information, and in such form or manner, as the form shall prescribe with respect to each foreign corporation:
(1) The name, address, and employer identification number, if any, of the corporation;
(2) The principal place of business of the corporation;
(3) The date of incorporation and the country under whose laws incorporated;
(4) The name and address of the foreign corporation's statutory or resident agent in the country of incorporation;
(5) The name, address, and identifying number of any branch office or agent of the foreign corporation located in the United States;
(6) The name and address of the person (or persons) having custody of the books of account and records of the foreign corporation, and the location of such books and records if different from such address;
(7) The nature of the corporation's business and the principal places where conducted;
(8) As regards the outstanding stock of the corporation—
(i) A description of each class of the corporation's stock, and
(ii) The number of shares of each class outstanding at the beginning and end of the annual accounting period;
(9) A list showing the name, address, and identifying number of, and the number of shares of each class of the corporation's stock held by, each United States person who is a shareholder owning at any time during the annual accounting period 5 percent or more in value of any class of the corporation's outstanding stock;
(10) For the annual accounting period, the amount of the corporation's:
(i) Current earnings and profits;
(ii) Foreign income, war profits, and excess profits taxes paid or accrued;
(iii) Distributions out of current earnings and profits for the period;
(iv) Distributions other than those described in paragraph (f)(10)(iii) of this section and the source thereof; and
(v) For Forms 5471 filed for taxable years ending after December 15, 1990, such earnings and profits information as the form shall prescribe, including post-1986 undistributed earnings described in section 902(c)(1), pre-1987 amounts, total earnings and profits, and previously taxed earnings and profits described in section 959(c); and
(11) Transactions with certain related parties.
(i) A summary showing the total amount of each of the following types of transactions of the corporation, which took place during the annual accounting period, with the person required to file this return, any other corporation or partnership controlled by that person, or any United States person owning at the time of the transaction 10 percent or more in value of any class of stock outstanding of the foreign corporation, or of any corporation controlling that foreign corporation—
(A) Sales and purchases of stock in trade;
(B) Sales and purchases of tangible property other than stock in trade;
(C) Sales and purchases of patents, inventions, models, or designs (whether or not patented), copyrights, trademarks, secret formulas or processes, or any other similar property rights;
(D) Compensation paid and compensation received for the rendition of technical, managerial, engineering, construction, scientific, or like services;
(E) Commissions paid and commissions received;
(F) Rents and royalties paid and rents and royalties received;
(G) Amounts loaned and amounts borrowed (except open accounts resulting from sales and purchases reported under other items listed in this paragraph (f)(11) that arise and are collected in full in the ordinary course of business);
(H) Dividends paid and dividends received;
(I) Interest paid and interest received; and
(J) Premiums paid and premiums received for insurance or reinsurance.
(ii) Special rule for banks. For purposes of this paragraph (f)(11), if the United States person is a bank, as defined in section 581, or is controlled within the meaning of section 368(c) by a bank, the term transactions shall not, as to a corporation with respect to which a return is filed, include banking transactions entered into on behalf of customers; in any event, however, deposits in accounts between a foreign corporation, controlled (within the meaning of paragraph (b) of this section) by a United States person, and a person described in this paragraph (f)(11) and withdrawals from such accounts shall be summarized by reporting end-of-month balances.
(12) Accrued payments and receipts. For purposes of the required summary under paragraph (f)(11) of this section, a corporation that uses an accrual method of accounting shall use accrued payments and accrued receipts for purposes of computing the total amount of each of the types of transactions listed.
(13) Amounts involving hybrid transactions or hybrid entities under section 267A. If for the annual accounting period, the corporation pays or accrues interest or royalties for which a deduction is disallowed under section 267A and the regulations in this part under section 267A of the Internal Revenue Code, then Form 5471 (or successor form) must contain such information about the disallowance in the form and manner and to the extent prescribed by the form, instruction, publication, or other guidance.
(14) Hybrid dividends under section 245A(e). If for the annual accounting period, the corporation pays or receives a hybrid dividend or a tiered hybrid dividend under section 245A(e) and the regulations in this part under section 245A(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, then Form 5471 (or successor form) must contain such information about the hybrid dividend or tiered hybrid dividend in the form and manner and to the extent prescribed by the form, instruction, publication, or other guidance. Form 5471 (or successor form) must also contain any other information relating to the rules of section 245A(e) and the regulations in this part under section 245A(e) of the Internal Revenue Code (including information related to a specified owner's hybrid deduction account), as prescribed by the form, instruction, publication, or other guidance.
(15) Information reporting under section 250. If the person required to file Form 5471 (or any successor form) claims a deduction under section 250(a) that is determined, in whole or part, by reference to its foreign-derived intangible income, and any amount required to be reported under paragraph (f)(11) of this section is included in its computation of foreign-derived deduction eligible income, such person will provide on Form 5471 (or any successor form) such information that is prescribed by the form, instructions to the form, publication, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
(16) Amounts related to extraordinary dispositions and extraordinary reductions. The corporation must report the information in the form and manner and to the extent prescribed by the form, instructions to the form, publication, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin if any of the following conditions are met during the corporation's annual accounting period—
(i) The corporation distributes or receives a dividend that gives rise to an ineligible amount (as defined in § 1.245A-5(i)(12)), a tiered extraordinary disposition amount (as defined in § 1.245A-5(i)(25)), or a tiered extraordinary reduction amount (as defined in § 1.245A-5(i)(26));
(ii) A section 245A shareholder with respect to the corporation has an extraordinary disposition account (as defined in § 1.245A-5(i)(6)); or
(iii) The corporation would have been deemed to have undertaken an extraordinary disposition (as defined in § 1.245A-5(i)(5)) but for the application of § 1.245A-5(c)(3)(ii)(C)(2).
(17) Reporting of disqualified basis and disqualified payments. If for the annual accounting period of a corporation it holds an item of property having disqualified basis within the meaning of § 1.951A-3(h)(2)(ii) or § 1.951A-2(c)(5), or incurs an item of deduction or loss related to a disqualified payment (within the meaning of § 1.951A-2(c)(6)(ii)(A)), then Form 5471 (or successor form) must contain such information about the disqualified basis, or such information relating to the disqualified payment, in the form and manner and to the extent prescribed by the form, instructions to the form, publication, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
(18) Adjustments to extraordinary disposition accounts and disqualified basis. If for the annual accounting period a section 245A shareholder of the corporation reduces its extraordinary disposition account pursuant to § 1.245A-7(c) or § 1.245A-8(c), as applicable, or the corporation reduces the disqualified basis in an item of specified property pursuant to § 1.245A-7(b) or § 1.245A-8(b), as applicable, then Form 5471 (or a successor form) must contain such information about the reduction to the extraordinary disposition account or disqualified basis, as applicable, in the form and manner and to the extent prescribed by the form, instructions to the form, publication, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
(g) Financial statements. The following information with respect to the foreign corporation shall be attached to and filed as part of the return required by this section. Forms 5471 filed after September 30, 1991, shall contain this information in such form or manner as the form shall prescribe with respect to each foreign corporation:
(1) A statement of the corporation's profit and loss for the annual accounting period;
(2) A balance sheet as of the end of the annual accounting period of the corporation showing—
(i) The corporation's asset;
(ii) The corporation's liabilities; and
(iii) The corporation's net worth; and
(3) An analysis of changes in the corporation's surplus accounts during the annual accounting period including both opening and closing balances.
(h) Method of reporting. Except as provided in this paragraph (h), all amounts furnished under paragraphs (f) and (g) of this section shall be expressed in United States dollars with a statement of the exchange rates used. The following rules shall apply for taxable years ending after December 31, 1994, with respect to returns filed after December 31, 1995. All amounts furnished under paragraph (g) of this section shall be expressed in United States dollars computed and translated in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles. Amounts furnished under paragraph (g)(1) of this section shall also be furnished in the foreign corporation's functional currency as required on the form. Earnings and profits amounts furnished under paragraphs (f)(10) (i), (iii), (iv), and (v) of this section shall be expressed in the foreign corporation's functional currency except to the extent the form requires specific items to be translated into United States dollars. Tax amounts furnished under paragraph (f)(10)(ii) of this section shall be furnished in the foreign currency in which the taxes are payable and in United States dollars translated in accordance with section 986(a). All amounts furnished under paragraph (f)(11) of this section shall be expressed in U.S. dollars translated from functional currency at the weighted average exchange rate for the year as defined in § 1.989(b)-1. The foreign corporation's functional currency is determined under section 985. All statements submitted on or with the return required under this section shall be rendered in the English language.
(i) Time and place for filing return. Returns on Form 5471 required under paragraph (a) of this section shall be filed with the United States person's income tax return on or before the date required by law for the filing of that person's income tax return. Directors of Field Operations and Field Directors are authorized to grant reasonable extensions of time for filing returns on Form 5471 in accordance with the applicable provisions of § 1.6081-1 of this chapter. An application for an extension of time for filing a return of income shall also be considered as an application for an extension of time for filing returns on Form 5471.
(j) Two or more persons required to submit the same information—(1) Return jointly made. If two or more persons are required to furnish information with respect to the same foreign corporation for the same period, such persons may, in lieu of making separate returns, jointly make one return. Such joint return shall be filed with the income tax return of any one of the persons making such joint return.
(2) Persons excepted from furnishing information—(i) Conditions. Any person required to furnish information under this section with respect to a foreign corporation need not furnish that information provided all of the following conditions are met:
(A) Such person does not directly own an interest in the foreign corporation;
(B) Such person is required to furnish the information solely by reason of attribution of stock ownership from a United States person under paragraph (c) of this section; and
(C) The person from whom the stock ownership is attributed furnishes all of the information required under this section of the person to whom the stock ownership is attributed. (For a rule regarding attribution from a nonresident alien, see paragraph (l) of this section).
(ii) If an individual who is a United States person required to furnish information with respect to a foreign corporation under section 6038 is entitled under a treaty to be treated as a nonresident of the United States, and if the individual claims this treaty benefit, and if there are no other United States persons that are required to furnish information under section 6038 with respect to the foreign corporation, then the individual may satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (f)(10), (f)(11), (g), and (h) of this section by filing the audited foreign financial statements of the foreign corporation with the individual's return required under section 6038.
(iii) Illustrations. The rule of this paragraph (j)(2) is illustrated by the following examples:
(3) Statement required. Any United States person required to furnish information under this section with his return who does not do so by reason of the provisions of paragraph (j)(1) of this section shall file a statement with his income tax return indicating that such requirement has been (or will be) satisfied and identifying the return with which the information was or will be filed and the place of filing.
(k) Failure to furnish information—(1) Dollar amount penalty—(i) In general. If any person required to file Form 5471 under section 6038 and this section fails to furnish any information described in paragraphs (f) and (g) of this section within the time prescribed by paragraph (i) of this section, such person shall pay a penalty of $10,000 for each annual accounting period of each foreign corporation with respect to which such failure occurs.
(ii) Increase in penalty for continued failure after notification. If a failure described in paragraph (k)(1)(i) of this section continues for more than 90 days after the date on which the Director of Field Operations, Area Director, or Director of Compliance Campus Operations mails notice of such failure to the person required to file Form 5471, such person shall pay a penalty of $10,000, in addition to the penalty imposed by section 6038(b)(1) and paragraph (k)(1)(i) of this section, for each 30-day period (or a fraction of) during which such failure continues after such 90-day period has expired. The additional penalty imposed by section 6038(b)(2) and this paragraph (k)(1)(ii) shall be limited to a maximum of $50,000 for each failure.
(2) Penalty of reducing foreign tax credit—(i) Effect on foreign tax credit. Failure of a United States person to furnish, in accordance with the provisions of this section, any return or any information in any return, required to be filed for a taxable year under authority of section 6038 on or before the date prescribed in paragraph (i) of this section may affect the application of section 901 as provided in paragraph (k)(2)(ii) of this section and may affect the application of sections 902 and 960 as provided in paragraph (k)(2)(iii) of this section. Such failure may affect the application of sections 902 and 960 to any such United States person which is a corporation or to any person who acquires from any other person any portion (but only to the extent of such portion) of the interest of such other person in any such foreign corporation.
(ii) Application of section 901. In the application of section 901 to a United States person referred to in paragraph (k)(2)(i) of this section, the amount of taxes paid or deemed paid by such person for any taxable year, with or within which the annual accounting period of a foreign corporation for which such person failed to furnish information required under this section ended, may be reduced by 10 percent. However, no tax reduced under paragraph (k)(2)(iii) of this section or deemed paid under section 904(c) shall be reduced under the provisions of this paragraph (k)(2)(ii).
(iii) Application of sections 902 and 960. In the application of sections 902 and 960 to a United States person referred to in paragraph (k)(2)(i) of this section for any taxable year, the amount of taxes paid or deemed paid by each foreign corporation for the accounting period or periods for which such person was required for the taxable year of the failure to furnish information under this section may be reduced by 10 percent. The 10-percent reduction is not limited to the taxes paid or deemed paid by the foreign corporation with respect to which there is a failure to file information but may apply to the taxes paid or deemed paid by all foreign corporations controlled by that person. In applying subsections (a) and (b) of section 902, and in applying subsection (a) of section 960, the reduction provided by this paragraph (k)(2) shall not apply for purposes of determining the amount of accumulated profits in excess of income, war profits, and excess profits taxes.
(iv) Reduction for continued failure after notice.
(A) If the failure referred to in paragraph (k)(2)(i) of this section continues for more than 90 days after the date on which the Director of Field Operations mails notice of such failure to such United States person, then the amount of the reduction referred to in paragraphs (k)(2) (ii) and (iii) of this section may be 10 percent plus an additional 5 percent for each 3-month period, or fraction thereof, during which such failure continues after the expiration of such 90-day period.
(B) No taxes shall be reduced under this paragraph (k)(2) more than once for the same failure. Taxes paid by a foreign corporation when once reduced for a failure shall not be reduced again for the same failure in their status as taxes deemed paid by a corporate shareholder. Where a failure continues, each additional periodic 5-percent reduction, referred to in paragraph (k)(2)(iv)(A) of this section, shall be considered as part of the one reduction.
(v) Limitation on reduction of foreign tax credit. The amount of the reduction under this paragraph (k)(2) for each failure to furnish information with respect to a foreign corporation as required under this section shall not exceed the greater of:
(A) $10,000, or
(B) The income of the foreign corporation for its annual accounting period with respect to which the failure occurs. For purposes of this section if a person is required to furnish information with respect to more than one foreign corporation, controlled (within the meaning of paragraph (b) of this section) by that person, each failure to submit information for each such corporation constitutes a separate failure.
(vi) Offset for dollar amount penalty imposed. The total amount of the reduction or reductions which, but for this paragraph (k)(2)(vi), may be made under this paragraph (k)(2) with respect to any separate failure, shall not exceed the maximum amount of such reductions which may be imposed, reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of the dollar amount penalty imposed by paragraph (k)(1) of this section with respect to such separate failure.
(3) Reasonable cause.
(i) For purposes of section 6038 (b) and (c) and this section, the time prescribed for furnishing information under paragraph (i) of this section, and the beginning of the 90-day period after mailing of notice by the Director of Field Operations under paragraphs (k)(1)(ii) and (2)(iv)(A) of this section, shall be treated as being not earlier than the last day on which reasonable cause existed for failure to furnish the information.
(ii) To show that reasonable cause existed for failure to furnish information as required by section 6038 and this section, the person required to report such information must make an affirmative showing of all facts alleged as reasonable cause for such failure in a written statement containing a declaration that it is made under the penalties of prejury. The statement must be filed with the district director for the district or the director of the service center where the return is required to be filed. The district director or the director of the service center shall determine whether the failure to furnish information was due to reasonable cause, and if so, the period of time for which such reasonable cause existed. In the case of a return that has been filed as required by this section except for an omission of, or error with respect to, some of the information required, if the person who filed the return establishes to the satisfaction of the district director or the director of the service center that the person has substantially complied with this section, then the omission or error shall not constitute a failure under this section.
(4) Other penalties. The information required by section 6038 and this section must be furnished even though there are no foreign taxes which would be reduced under the provisions of this section, and even though the information required may not affect the amount of any tax due under the Internal Revenue Code. For criminal penalties for failure to file a return and filing a false or fraudulent return, see sections 7203, 7206, and 7207 of the Code.
(5) Illustrations. The provisions of this paragraph may be illustrated by the following examples.
| (a) Gains, profits, and income of N | $100,000 |
|---|---|
| (b) Foreign tax paid by N with respect to such gains, profits, and income | 40,000 |
| (c) Reduction of foreign tax paid by N (for purposes of M's section 902 deemed paid credit) resulting from M's failure to file information with respect to N as required under section 6038(a) and this section: failure to file within the time prescribed in paragraph (i) of this section, 10-percent reduction; continued failure for one additional 3-month period after 90-day period after notice mailed, 5-percent reduction; total reduction, 15 percent ($40,000 times 15 percent) | 6,000 |
| (d) Foreign tax paid by N after section 6038(c)(1)(B) reduction | 34,000 |
| (e) Dividend paid by N to M | 45,000 |
| (f) Accumulated profits of N as defined in section 902(c)(1) (determined without regard to the section 6038(c)(1)(B) reduction) | 100,000 |
| (g) Accumulated profits of N as described in section 902(a) (determined without regard to the section 6038(c)(1)(B) reduction) | 60,000 |
| (h) For purposes of the section 902 credit, M is deemed to have paid the same proportion of foreign taxes paid (reduced as provided under section 6038(c)) with respect to the accumulated profits described in section 902(a) (determined without regard to the reduction provided under section 6038(c)) as the amount of the dividend (determined without regard to section 78) bears to such amount of accumulated profits | 25,500 |
| (45,000 ÷ 60,000) × 34,000 = 25,500 |
(l) Other persons excepted from filing. For tax years of foreign corporations ending on or after December 29, 1999, any person required to furnish information under this section with respect to a foreign corporation does not have to furnish that information if the following conditions are met—
(1) Such person does not own a direct or indirect interest in the foreign corporation; and
(2) Such person is required to furnish information solely by reason of attribution of stock ownership from a nonresident alien(s) under paragraph (c) of this section.
(m) Applicability dates—(1) In general. This section applies to taxable years of foreign corporations beginning on or after October 3, 2018. See 26 CFR 1.6038-2 (revised as of April 1, 2018) for rules applicable to taxable years of foreign corporations beginning before such date.
(2) Special rule for paragraph (f)(16) of this section. Paragraph (f)(16) of this section applies with respect to information for annual accounting periods to which § 1.245A-5 applies.
(3) Rules relating to certain hybrid arrangements. Paragraphs (f)(13) and (14) of this section apply with respect to information for annual accounting periods beginning on or after December 20, 2018.
(4) Paragraph (f)(15) of this section applies with respect to information for annual accounting periods beginning on or after March 4, 2019.
(5) Special rule for paragraphs (f)(17) and (18) of this section. Paragraphs (f)(17) and (18) of this section apply with respect to information for annual accounting periods beginning after December 1, 2020. In addition, as provided in § 1.245A-11(b), paragraph (f)(18) of this section applies with respect to information for an annual accounting period that includes a taxable year for which a taxpayer has chosen to apply §§ 1.245A-6 through 1.245A-11 pursuant to § 1.245A-11(b).