Forms 3520 and 3520-A are not available to complete in TaxSlayer Pro.
Form 3520
Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, is filed by U.S. persons (and executors of estates of U.S. decedents) with the IRS to report:
- Certain transactions with foreign trusts,
- Ownership of foreign trusts under the rules of IRC sections 671 through 679, and
- Receipt of certain large gifts or bequests from certain foreign persons.
A separate Form 3520 must be filed for transactions with each foreign trust. In general, a U.S person’s Form 3520 is due on the 15th day of the 4th month following the end of their tax year for income tax purposes, although this may differ from and is not tied to the due date of their income tax return. Form 3520 is filed separately from the individual tax return.
See the form instructions for details on who should file and exceptions to filing.
Form 3520-A
Form 3520-A, Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner, is the annual information return of a foreign trust with at least one U.S. owner. The form provides information about the foreign trust, its U.S. beneficiaries, and any U.S. person who is treated as an owner of any portion of the foreign trust under the grantor trust rules (sections 671 through 679).
A foreign trust with a U.S. owner must file Form 3520-A in order for the U.S. owner to satisfy its annual information reporting requirements under IRC section 6048(b). Each U.S. person treated as an owner of any portion of a foreign trust under the grantor trust rules (sections 671 through 679) is responsible for ensuring that the foreign trust files Form 3520-A and furnishes the required annual statements to its U.S. owners and U.S. beneficiaries.
The form is due by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of the trust’s tax year. It is not filed with the trust's tax return, nor is its due date extended if the trust return's due date is extended. To extend the Form 3520-A filing deadline, timely file Form 7004 for Form 3520-A itself.
If a foreign trust fails to file Form 3520-A, the U.S. owner must complete and attach a substitute Form 3520-A for the foreign trust to the U.S. owner’s Form 3520, by the due date of the U.S. owner’s Form 3520 (and not the due date for the Form 3520-A) in order to avoid being subject to the penalty for the foreign trust’s failure to file a Form 3520-A.
Additional Information:
Form 3520-A, Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner