◉ Entity & Partnership
Foreign corporations
Required for US persons who own, control, or have changed their ownership in a foreign corporation — including UK Ltd companies.
Short answer
A US person who owns 10% or more of a UK limited company — or controls one — generally must file Form 5471 with their 1040 each year, and may face GILTI/NCTI inclusions on the company's undistributed profits. The penalty for a missed or incomplete Form 5471 starts at $10,000 per form per year.
Overview
Why this filing matters
Required for US persons who own, control, or have changed their ownership in a foreign corporation — including UK Ltd companies.
Note — UK Ltd companies with US owners.
◉ Who this is for
- •US shareholders of UK Ltd companies
- •US persons acquiring or disposing of foreign corp shares
✓ What you get
- ✓Category determination (1–5)
- ✓Form 5471 preparation with required schedules
- ✓GILTI / Subpart F analysis
At a glance
- Key forms
- 5471
- Category
- Entity & Partnership
- Turnaround
- 2–3 weeks once documents are complete
- Filed by
- ACCA-qualified IRS Enrolled Agent
Our approach
Your UK business, read in US terms.
A UK company, LLP or sole trade does not mean to the IRS what it means to Companies House. The same entity can be a controlled foreign corporation, a disregarded entity or a foreign partnership depending on elections you may not know you made — and Forms 5471, 8865 and 8858 follow from that classification, each with its own penalty for being late.
We classify the entity under US rules first, confirm or make the check-the-box elections that fit your situation, and then prepare the information returns that classification requires — so the US filing and the UK accounts tell the same story.
- US entity classification settled before any information return is prepared
- Check-the-box elections reviewed for the treatment you actually want
- Forms 5471 / 8865 / 8858 matched to the classification, filed on time
Our process
How we handle your filing
Four steps from first email to filed return. Fixed fee confirmed in writing before any work begins.
01
Intake
Send us your situation by email or the enquiry form. We come back with the questions we need answered — every source of income for the year, filing history, accounts and entities — and a tailored document list.
02
Review
We analyse your position, flag any cross-border risks, and confirm the scope and fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
03
Prepare
Draft returns and schedules are prepared with plain-English commentary on key positions for your review.
04
File
You sign electronically; we e-file with the IRS / FinCEN and send you the acceptance confirmations for your records.
Pricing
Fixed fees — no surprises
Form 5471: from £800 + VAT for a single Category 4/5 filing. GILTI computation, Section 962 elections, Subpart F analysis, and multi-category filings are priced after scoping.
Prices are indicative starting points and exclude UK VAT, which applies to UK-resident clients only. We quote in writing once we have confirmed every source of income and your filing history for the years involved.
FAQs
Common questions
Sources
Rules, thresholds and penalties are as published by the IRS and FinCEN at the time of our last review (2026-09-08); always check the current instructions for the year you are filing.
Related services
Others in Entity & Partnership
Disregarded entities (Form 8858)
UK LLPs and sole-trader structures are typically disregarded for US tax purposes and must be reported annually.
Learn more →
Foreign partnerships (Form 8865)
US persons with interests in foreign partnerships — including UK LLPs treated as partnerships — may need to file Form 8865.
Learn more →
Who this is for
Situations where this filing usually applies
Related reading
Guides from our team on this topic
Ready to get this filed?
Tell us your situation and we’ll reply by email within 2 working days with our questions, then a written scope, fixed fee and document list.