Annual requirements for your US LLC: the calendar for the whole year

Every year, a US company owes paperwork to at least three places: the IRS in Washington, the state where it was formed or registered, and, depending on the situation, other agencies such as FinCEN or the Bureau of Economic Analysis. None of them will reliably remind you. This page sorts the requirements by level, names the form, the deadline and the consequence, and ends with a calendar you can pin to your wall. It covers LLCs and corporations doing business in the US; how your LLC is taxed at home is a separate question, covered under Taxation of your US LLC. The complete guide explains step by step how forming a US LLC as a non-resident works and which ongoing requirements follow from it.

1Three levels, three senders, one calendar

American government is federal, and you notice it in the number of mailboxes. The federal level is the IRS. It wants the company's tax return, information returns on payments and, where foreign owners are involved, Form 5472. The state level is the Secretary of State, who keeps the register, plus the state tax authority. One wants an annual report, the other a franchise tax or an annual flat fee. The other reporting agencies belong to the Treasury and the Department of Commerce: FinCEN for foreign accounts and beneficial ownership status, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis for foreign direct investment.

Three things decide which requirements apply to you. First, the tax structure: single-member LLC, multi-member LLC or corporation. Second, the state where the company was formed, plus any other state where it has registered to do business. Third, what happened during the year: employees, payments to contractors, royalties to your company at home, an account outside the US.

Most deadlines depend on the fiscal year. This page assumes the calendar year, which most smaller companies use. According to the Instructions for Form 5472, a single-member LLC with a foreign owner has the same tax year as its owner for US purposes.

2Federal level: your IRS return depends on your structure

2.1Single-member LLC with a foreign owner

For tax purposes, a single-member LLC that hasn't elected corporate treatment is not a separate taxpayer: it is a disregarded entity. For the reporting requirement under Section 6038A, however, it is treated as a corporation if it is wholly owned by a foreign person. That is what the Instructions for Form 5472 say for tax years from 2017 onward. The result: every year it files a pro forma Form 1120 cover sheet together with Form 5472, with only the name, address and two fields of the first page filled in on the cover sheet. It is filed by fax or by mail to the address the IRS gives in the Instructions.

What gets reported are the transactions between the LLC and you as the owner, and not just payments for services. Part V of the form explicitly requires amounts related to the formation, dissolution, acquisition and disposition of the company, including contributions to and distributions from the LLC. The filing is due with Form 1120, that is, on the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the fiscal year. What goes into the form, line by line, is covered in Form 5472 and pro forma 1120.

If the LLC does business in the US, its owner also files a separate return, because the profits of a disregarded entity are attributed to the owner. Which return that is depends on whether you hold the LLC personally or through a company; LLC tax returns by structure sorts it out.

2.2Multi-member LLC

Without an election, an LLC with two or more members is a partnership. It files Form 1065, with a Schedule K-1 for each member. According to the Instructions, the return is due on the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of the fiscal year, which for a calendar year means March 15. If the partnership has foreign members and income from a US trade or business, Forms 8804 and 8805 for withholding tax on their share of profits are added, with the same deadline. The details are in Form 1065 and K-1, the tax rates in US withholding tax by type of income.

2.3Corporations and LLCs electing corporate treatment

A corporation, whether formed as an Inc or as an LLC electing corporate treatment, files Form 1120 by the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the fiscal year. If a foreign shareholder owns at least 25 percent, Form 5472 is attached. If the corporation expects to owe $500 or more in tax for the year, the IRS requires estimated payments, under Publication 542 in four installments on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of its fiscal year. More in Form 1120.

2.4Extensions

With Form 7004 you request an automatic extension of the filing deadline, generally six months according to the Instructions. The Instructions are clear on this point: Form 7004 does not extend the time to pay. Any tax owed is due on the original date, and interest runs from then on.

3Filings beyond the tax return

3.1Form 1099-NEC for US contractors

If your company pays fees to US independent contractors, it reports them on Form 1099-NEC, to the recipient and to the IRS, by January 31 of the following year. According to the Instructions, the reporting threshold for tax years from 2026 onward is $2,000 and may be adjusted for inflation from calendar year 2027. Collect the recipient's taxpayer ID beforehand with Form W-9, the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number. If you have employees, payroll reporting comes on top; see Payroll in the USA.

3.2Forms 1042 and 1042-S for payments abroad

If the US company pays interest, royalties or dividends to your company at home or to you, it is a withholding agent. It reports these payments on Form 1042 and, for each recipient, on Form 1042-S. According to the Instructions, Form 1042 goes to the IRS by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of the calendar year, so by March 15, regardless of whether any tax was withheld; Form 1042-S is due even if nothing was deducted because of a tax treaty. Deadlines and penalties are explained in Form 1042-S.

3.3FBAR for accounts outside the US

An LLC or corporation formed in the US is a United States person for FBAR purposes. If it has accounts outside the US whose combined balance exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, it files the FBAR with FinCEN. The FBAR Instructions state explicitly that this also applies to a company treated as a disregarded entity for tax purposes. The FBAR is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15.

4State level: annual report, franchise tax and annual tax

Each state decides for itself what it requires every year from the companies on its register, and the differences are bigger than the shared terminology suggests. Delaware requires no report from an LLC, but a fixed annual tax. From a corporation it requires an annual report with a franchise tax that can be calculated by two methods; the details are in Delaware franchise tax and annual report. Wyoming ties the deadline to the month of formation, Florida to a fixed window in spring, Texas to May 15, and New York to a two-year cycle. The table lists the six states where we form companies.

Two points apply everywhere. First, the Annual Report is not a tax return. It confirms the registry data: address, Registered Agent, management. Second, missing it has consequences beyond a fee. A company that is not kept in good standing cannot get a certificate confirming its proper existence, and once certain deadlines pass, the state dissolves it. According to its Business FAQ, Wyoming does this if the report is not received within 60 days of the due date, and after two years in that status it no longer allows reinstatement.

Texas is a special case, because its franchise tax is levied on revenue after deductions, not on profit. If you stay below the threshold, you owe nothing according to the Comptroller, but you still have to file the Public Information Report or the Ownership Information Report. The Texas deadlines are also explained in our article Texas Franchise Tax. What each state requires for formation, publication and the operating agreement is covered in US LLC requirements and compliance.

If your company is registered in another state besides its state of formation, for example a Delaware LLC with a warehouse in Texas, you have the obligations of both states. This is the most common source of double deadlines.

5The Registered Agent: your address for everything official

Government agencies and courts serve your LLC through its Registered Agent in the state of formation. In Delaware, § 18-104 of the LLC Act requires this: the company must maintain a registered office and a Registered Agent for service of process there. This is more than a formality, because this is the address the state sends its mail to. Under § 18-1107, for example, Delaware sends the annual LLC tax statement to the company, care of its Registered Agent, no later than 60 days before June 1.

For your calendar, this means the Registered Agent is itself a recurring annual item, and it only works if it is paid for and your contact details are correct. If you change agents, you report the change to the Secretary of State. An agent who cannot forward your mail turns a deadline into a surprise.

A PO box is no substitute for a Registered Agent. Delaware requires a business address identical to the registered office, and only allows the company itself, a resident of the state or a company registered there that offers this service to act as agent.

6BOI status: who reports to FinCEN and who doesn't

The Corporate Transparency Act originally required almost every small company to report its beneficial owners to FinCEN. That obligation no longer applies to US companies. FinCEN set this out first in an interim final rule of March 26, 2025, and then in a final rule noted on the FinCEN website as of August 11, 2026: companies formed in the US are exempt from reporting, and reporting companies do not have to report US persons as beneficial owners.

Under this rule, the only companies still required to report are those formed under foreign law that have registered to do business in a state by filing with a Secretary of State. For you, this means your Delaware LLC or Texas Inc reports nothing to FinCEN. If, on the other hand, a company from your home country registers in a state itself, for example for a branch, it needs to check whether it must report. According to the FinCEN website, such a company has 30 calendar days from the effective date of registration to file its first report, unless an exemption applies.

Don't be thrown by letters offering to file a BOI report for your US company for a fee. What counts is what FinCEN says on its own Beneficial Ownership Information page.

7Other filings in the US and at home

7.1BE-13 to the Bureau of Economic Analysis

When a foreign person forms or acquires a new US company, the Bureau of Economic Analysis collects data on this direct investment. Filing is mandatory whether or not the BEA contacts you. If the cost is below the $40 million threshold, a claim for exemption on Form BE-13 Claim for Exemption is enough, filed no later than 45 calendar days after the transaction. What exactly you need to report is explained in BE-13 and other BEA filings.

8Your annual calendar

The table puts every deadline on one calendar year. Not every row applies to you. Cross out what doesn't fit and put the rest where you'll see it. Three habits help more than any software. In January, decide which structure and which states apply for the year. By the end of February, gather the figures you need for 1099-NEC, 1042 and Form 5472: payments to contractors, payments abroad, contributions and distributions; how to keep track of these as you go is covered in Bookkeeping for your US LLC. And by early April, decide whether to file the return or extend it with Form 7004, and in any case pay any tax owed by the original deadline.

If you have a corporation, also remember the four estimated tax payments. If you have a partnership with foreign partners, remember Forms 8804 and 8805 on March 15. And if you are registered in your state of formation and a second state, put both deadlines in your calendar.

9When a deadline has already passed

The most expensive missed deadline is Form 5472. Under Section 6038A(d) and the instructions, the IRS imposes a $25,000 penalty per tax year if the form is not filed on time or not in the required manner, plus a further $25,000 for each started 30-day period if the form is still missing 90 days after the IRS notice. The same penalty applies if the company fails to keep the required records. What you can do then is explained in Penalties and late filing; how to read an IRS letter is covered in Mail from the IRS.

At state level, a missed deadline costs less, but its effects last longer. Delaware charges a $200 penalty and 1.5 percent interest per month, Florida a $400 late fee after May 1, and Wyoming and Florida dissolve a company that hasn't filed once their deadlines pass. Wyoming no longer allows reinstatement after two years in dissolved status. The sooner you catch up, the fewer years are left open.

For an overview of all tax obligations of a US company with owners in Europe, see the guide Tax obligations of a US company; for terms from EIN to franchise tax, see the US business tax glossary.

In short

• Federal tax depends on the structure: Form 5472 with a 1120 cover sheet for a single-member LLC with a foreign owner, Form 1065 for multiple members, Form 1120 for a corporation.
• Form 7004 generally extends the filing deadline by six months, but not the payment deadline.
• Every state has its own deadline: Delaware on March 1 or June 1, Florida by May 1, Texas on May 15, Wyoming in the month of formation, New York every two years.
• US companies are exempt from BOI reporting to FinCEN; foreign companies that register in a US state still have to file.
• On top of that come Form 1099-NEC, the FBAR, BE-13 and, back home, the notice of your foreign shareholding.

How we help you

• Zero Tax Return LLCPro forma Form 1120 and Form 5472 for the single-member LLC.
• LLC and LP Tax ReturnForm 1065 and K-1 for your LLC or LP.
• Corporation tax returnForm 1120 and Form 5472 for your US corporation.
• IRS letters and penaltiesMail from the IRS? We reply, request penalty relief and put things right.
• US Tax ConsultationYour US tax question, answered by people who know both sides.