US LLC Owned From the Philippines: The Pro Forma 1120 and Your BIR Return
Summary
April 15 is the deadline in both countries. The LLC sends the IRS a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 about its dealings with you; you file BIR Form 1701 in Manila for the same calendar year.
A freelancer or online seller in the Philippines who forms a US LLC ends up with two returns due on the same day: April 15. One goes to the BIR in the Philippines, and one goes to the IRS in Utah. This page is mostly about the US one, because it is the form Filipino owners search for most: the pro forma Form 1120.
What the pro forma Form 1120 is, for a Philippine owner
A US single-member LLC owned by someone in the Philippines is disregarded for US income tax, as if it were its owner. For one reporting rule, though, Treas. Reg. §301.7701-2(c)(2)(vi) treats it as a corporation, so that it files Form 5472 under IRC §6038A about its transactions with you.
Form 5472 has to be attached to a Form 1120, the US corporate return. The LLC does not compute any corporate tax, so it files the Form 1120 pro forma: a cover return with only three things on it.
- "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" written across the top.
- The LLC's name and address.
- Items B and E on page 1: the EIN, and the boxes marking an initial or final return where they apply.
Everything else, every income and deduction line, stays empty. The pro forma 1120 page shows a completed one line by line.
The Form 5472 behind it lists what moved between the LLC and you: money you sent in, money it paid you, fees you paid for it. The pair goes to the IRS PIN Unit in Ogden by mail or fax, by April 15.
Your side: BIR Form 1701
In the Philippines, a resident citizen with business or professional income files BIR Form 1701, the annual income tax return for self-employed and mixed-income individuals, for the calendar year, by April 15 of the following year. A resident citizen's return covers income from within and outside the Philippines.
How the LLC's earnings enter your 1701, and at what rate, is a question for a Philippine accountant. What makes the two filings easy to prepare together is that they cover the same January to December year.
| IRS: the LLC | BIR: you | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 | Form 1701 |
| Year | Calendar year | Calendar year |
| Due | April 15 (October 15 with Form 7004) | April 15 |
| Filed | By mail or fax to Ogden, Utah | With the BIR |
The treaty
The US-Philippines income tax treaty has been in force since 1982. It deals with income tax between the two countries. It does not remove Form 5472, which is an information return, so the US filing is due whatever position the treaty gives you.
A Cebu example
Mara is a video editor in Cebu who works for US agencies through a freelancing platform. She formed a Wyoming LLC in 2025 so the agencies could pay a US business, and moves money home through a payout service.
- March 2025: she paid the formation and agent fees, $230, from her own card.
- Through 2025: clients paid the LLC $38,000.
- Monthly from May: the LLC paid her $2,800, $22,400 across the year.
The LLC's 2025 pro forma Form 1120 and Form 5472, due April 15, 2026, report the $230 of fees and the $22,400 paid to her. Client payments are not on the form: clients are not related parties. Her 2025 Form 1701, due the same day, is where her accountant reflects her income.
How Filipino owners usually find out
Often through the payout service or a US bank asking for the LLC's filed US returns. If years have passed without a Form 5472, they can be filed together with a statement explaining why; the penalty for a missing return is $25,000 per form, and the missed Form 5472 page sets out the route. The reportable transactions page shows what counts.
For a single-owner LLC with ordinary transactions, FileTax prepares the pro forma Form 1120 and Form 5472 in under 15 minutes for $99 per year.
Questions Philippine owners ask
What is a pro forma 1120 for a Philippines-owned LLC?
A US corporate tax return filed only as a cover for Form 5472. It carries "Foreign-owned U.S. DE" at the top, the LLC's name and address, and items B and E, and computes no tax.
Is the US deadline the same as the BIR deadline?
Both are April 15 for the calendar year. The US one can be extended to October 15 with Form 7004 sent by April 15.
Does the US-Philippines treaty remove the US filing?
No. The treaty covers income tax. Form 5472 is an information return and is still required.
Do my freelancing platform payouts go on Form 5472?
Payments from clients do not. Money the LLC pays you, and anything you pay for the LLC, do.
Related pages
Continue reading
Pro Forma 1120: What It Is and Every Field You Complete →
A Pro Forma 1120 is a Form 1120 filed as a cover sheet for Form 5472. It computes no tax. Only the name and address block, Item B and Item E are completed. Everything else stays blank.
US LLC Owned From the UAE: What Each Structure Files →
However a UAE founder holds a US single-member LLC, personally or through a UAE company, it files Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 each April 15. What changes is who counts as a related party.
Reportable Transactions on Form 5472: 18 Common Ones, Yes or No →
Funding the LLC, paying its fees yourself, loans and distributions are all reportable. Customer payments, suppliers and moving money between the LLC's own accounts are not.