Form 5471 Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations is is used by certain U.S. persons who are officers, directors, or shareholders in certain foreign corporations. The form and schedules are used to satisfy the reporting requirements of sections 6038 and 6046, and the related regulations, as well as to report amounts related to section 965.
The instructions to Form 5471 are not clear in that they don’t state if a retirement account such as a solo 401k or IRA for that matter is required to file a Form 5471.
However, because Form 5471 implies that it applies to a 10% or more shareholder in a foreign corporation by a U.S. shareholder (directly or indirectly) the conservative approach may be to file one on behalf of the solo 401k plan. It will be prudent to discuss with your tax adviser, of course.
Determination QUESTION
You wrote an article back on August 13, 2021 about whether Form 5471 is applicable to Solo 401ks, Self-Directed IRAs, and/or IRA LLCs. Did you ever determine whether Form 5471 applies to Self-Directed IRA, LLCs?
No, we have not been able to determine for certain. However, the following language seems to further point that it best to file it: https://www.irs.gov/pub/
