Missed Form 5471, 5472, 3520 or 8938? How to file late international information returns under DIIRSP

DIIRSP isn't an amnesty or a penalty-reduction program. It's the IRS telling you to file the missing international information returns through the normal procedures with a reasonable cause statement. You can use it if the IRS isn't examining or investigating you and hasn't contacted you about these returns. In practice your income also has to be fully reported and the tax paid; otherwise you're looking at streamlined or VDP.

Many of the clients who come to us have filed every year and reported all their income. The gap is the information returns: a large transfer from parents in China with no Form 3520, a U.S. single-member LLC with no Form 5472, shares in a Chinese company with no Form 5471, or foreign assets over the threshold with no Form 8938. That's usually what DIIRSP is for. Read the chart from the top and follow the first row that fits.

Description: Read from the top. Rule out an exam, IRS contact and willfulness first, then check whether any income was left off.

Your situation	Path	What to do	Penalty
The IRS is examining you or you're under criminal investigation	DIIRSP isn't available	See a CPA or attorney and work through the exam	Regular rules
The IRS has already written about these returns or sent a penalty notice	DIIRSP isn't available	Answer by the deadline and request relief for reasonable cause	Assessed penalties need an abatement request
The failure was willful or you hid assets	IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice (VDP)	Talk to an attorney, then file Form 14457 for preclearance	Usually much heavier than the other paths
Non-willful, and income was also left off (interest, dividends, PFIC, GILTI and so on)	Streamlined: SFOP or SDOP	3 years of returns and 6 years of FBARs, with every information return	No penalty under SFOP if you qualify; 5% under SDOP
All income reported and tax paid; only international information returns missing	DIIRSP	File 3520 / 3520-A on their own; attach the rest to an amended return; add reasonable cause statements	Not guaranteed; depends on reasonable cause

• The three conditions come from the IRS page: you've identified the need to file delinquent international information returns; you're not under a civil examination or criminal investigation by the IRS; and the IRS hasn't contacted you about the delinquent returns.
• Why your income has to be reported: DIIRSP only gets the information returns filed. It doesn't deal with unreported income or unpaid tax, and the IRS lists streamlined and VDP on the same page as separate offshore compliance options. Using DIIRSP while income is still missing doesn't fix the problem.
• It's not a special program: no application, no certification, no closing agreement, and no special notation on the returns (other than "Reasonable Cause Statement attached" at the top of Forms 3520 and 3520-A).
• FBARs aren't part of DIIRSP: FinCEN handles FBARs, and late ones are e-filed separately in the BSA system. The IRS took down its Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures page in 2026.

The common ones are Forms 5471, 5472, 8865, 8858, 926, 8938 and 8621, plus Forms 3520 and 3520-A. Each form has its own penalty. Most start at $10,000 per form per year, Form 5472 starts at $25,000, and Forms 3520 and 926 are based on a percentage of the amount involved.

Continuation penalties, caps and exceptions follow the IRS's published rules. The longer a form goes unfiled and the more forms there are, the faster it adds up: a foreign-owned single-member LLC that skipped Form 5472 for 3 years faces $75,000 in initial penalties alone.

Forms 3520 and 3520-A are filed on their own under their instructions, not attached to an amended return. Every other international information return is attached to the related amended return and filed under that return's instructions. You can attach a reasonable cause statement to each late information return.

• Form 3520: Mail it on its own to the IRS in Ogden, Utah under its instructions (Internal Revenue Service Center, P.O. Box 409101, Ogden, UT 84409), not with your Form 1040 or 1040-X. Write "Reasonable Cause Statement attached" at the top of the first page and attach the statement.
• Form 3520-A: The foreign trust files it. If the trust doesn't, the U.S. owner prepares a substitute Form 3520-A under the instructions and files it with their own Form 3520, again with a statement.
• A foreign-owned single-member LLC (Form 5472): File a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 and write "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" across the top of the 1120. Under the Form 5472 instructions, fax it to 855-887-7737 or mail it to the dedicated IRS address in Ogden (1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201). It can't be e-filed, and it shouldn't go to the address in the Form 1120 instructions.
• Individuals' Forms 5471, 8865, 8858, 8938, 8621 and 926: Attach them to Form 1040-X and file under its instructions. Even if no numbers on the return change, the late information returns and statements still go with the 1040-X.
• A company's Forms 5471, 5472, 926 and others: Attach them to the company's amended return (such as Form 1120-X) and file under its instructions.
• One statement per form: If you're catching up several forms or years, write a separate statement for each form and year rather than one general statement at the end.

Reasonable cause means you used ordinary care and prudence before and after the failure, and missed the deadline for good reasons or circumstances beyond your control. "I didn't know I had to file" usually isn't enough on its own; the statement needs specific facts. The regulations for Forms 5471, 5472, 8938 and others require the statement to be signed under penalties of perjury.

The IRS penalties page notes that not every international information return penalty qualifies for reasonable cause, and that interest comes off only if the penalty does. At a minimum, the statement should cover:

• What was missed: which form, which years, and which foreign company, trust or gift.
• Why it wasn't filed: what actually happened. For example, you didn't know a transfer from your parents had to be reported because you thought only taxable income counted, or you gave your records to a preparer every year and were never asked.
• Your background: education, occupation, when you came to the U.S., when you got your green card or citizenship, and who prepared your returns.
• Any professional you relied on: who the advisor was, what you gave them and what they advised, ideally with emails or questionnaires.
• What you did after finding out: when and how you found out, and how quickly you got help. Acting quickly and on your own initiative helps.
• Supporting documents: wire records, engagement letters, past tax questionnaires and emails with your preparer.

A few points to keep in mind:

• First-time abatement usually doesn't apply: FTA is mainly for late-filing and late-payment penalties. It generally doesn't cover penalties for Forms 5471, 5472, 3520, 8938 and similar returns (the IRM has narrow exceptions). Reasonable cause is the main route.
• Foreign law isn't an excuse: The Form 3520 instructions say that a foreign country's penalties for disclosure, or trust terms that forbid disclosure, aren't reasonable cause.
• Form 3520 foreign gifts: On October 24, 2024, the IRS Commissioner announced that late Forms 3520 reporting foreign gifts would no longer be penalized automatically; the IRS reviews the reasonable cause statement first. The penalty rules themselves haven't changed.
• The Form 5472 small-corporation provision: In Chief Counsel Advice 202617012 (April 24, 2026), IRS counsel restated that reasonable cause is to be applied liberally for small corporations with overall gross receipts of $20 million or less. You need to show you didn't know about the Form 5472 rules, had limited U.S. presence and contacts, and cooperated fully and promptly with IRS requests, in a written statement signed under penalties of perjury. Liberal doesn't mean automatic, and a conclusory statement isn't enough. Whether a foreign-owned single-member LLC can use it depends on the facts.

We work through your history year by year, write the statement from those facts, and have you confirm every line before you sign. No templates, and nothing you didn't actually experience.

For Forms 3520 and 3520-A, the IRS reviews the reasonable cause statement before assessing a penalty. For the other information returns, it may assess a penalty without reading the statement, and you answer the letter by its deadline and submit reasonable cause again. Amended returns filed this way aren't automatically audited, but they can be selected under the normal criteria.

• No acknowledgment: The IRS doesn't confirm receipt. You may never hear back, or you may get a penalty notice.
• If a penalty notice arrives: Reply by the deadline with the reasonable cause statement and supporting documents and ask for abatement. If that's denied, you can appeal to the Independent Office of Appeals. If you've already paid, you can file Form 843 for a refund.
• Watch the continuation penalty: Once the IRS sends a notice asking for the return, file within 90 days or the 30-day continuation penalties begin.
• The assessment period: Under IRC §6501(c)(8), while an international information return is missing, the assessment period for the related return doesn't end until 3 years after you file it. With reasonable cause, the extension covers only the items related to that return. Filing is what starts the clock.
• File on time from now on: Catching up fixes the past. You still need to file every year going forward so the same problem doesn't come back.

The most common cases are parents' transfers with no Form 3520, a foreign-owned LLC with no Form 5472, Chinese company shares with no Form 5471, and Chinese assets with no Form 8938 or 8621. The first two usually fit DIIRSP well. For the others, check first whether any income was left off.

First confirm that DIIRSP fits and which forms and years you need. Then gather records, prepare the forms, write the reasonable cause statements, and file each form the way its instructions require. The slowest part is usually the Chinese company's financials and the year-by-year asset and transfer records.

Description: Decide the path first, then follow six steps; the checklist maps each document to its form.

① Six steps

Step	What to do
1. Pick the path	Any exam, investigation or IRS letter? Any unreported income? Was it willful? Check Figure 1
2. Set the scope	Which forms, which years, and which foreign companies, trusts or gifts
3. Gather records	Use the checklist below, year by year and entity by entity, converted to dollars
4. Prepare the forms	Prepare each year's information returns, plus Form 1040-X or 1120-X where needed
5. Write the statements	One reasonable cause statement per form, based on your facts, signed under penalties of perjury once you've confirmed it
6. File each one	Forms 3520 / 3520-A mailed on their own to Ogden; Form 5472 for a foreign-owned LLC faxed or mailed to the PIN Unit; the rest with the amended return; keep proof of mailing

② Document checklist

Document	Used for
The foreign company's business license, articles, shareholder register and annual financial statements	Forms 5471, 8865, 8858
The U.S. LLC's or company's EIN letter, formation documents, annual bank statements and transactions with the owner	Pro forma 1120 + Form 5472
Wire records and each donor's name, address and relationship	Form 3520 Part IV
Each foreign account's institution, account number, year-end balance and highest balance	Form 8938 (FBARs filed separately)
Purchase and sale records, distributions and year-end values for funds and wealth products	Form 8621
Past returns, and emails or questionnaires from your preparer	Amended returns, reasonable cause statements

Don't use DIIRSP if income was also missed, the failure was willful, or the IRS is already examining you or has written about these returns. Check Figure 1, then follow the situation below.

• Situation A: Foreign income was also left off. Look at streamlined: SFOP with no penalty if you meet the foreign residency test, otherwise SDOP with 5%. See our guide at yclcpa.com/sfop.
• Situation B: It was willful. Look at the IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice (VDP), and talk to an attorney first.
• Situation C: The IRS is examining you or has written about these returns. DIIRSP isn't available. Have a CPA read the letter so you know what it is, reply by the deadline, and don't rush to file on your own.
• Situation D: You've already been penalized. Prepare a reasonable cause statement with supporting documents and request abatement. If it's denied you can appeal, and if you've paid you can file Form 843 for a refund.
• Situation E: Only FBARs were missed. That's outside DIIRSP. E-file the late FBARs in FinCEN's BSA system with an explanation. IRM 4.26.16.3.11 says no penalty is asserted for accounts that weren't willfully omitted, had reasonable cause, and are correctly reported on the late FBARs.