Plain-English guide
Is revenue the test for Form 5472? An LLC with little or no income
Short answer
In the instructions, reporting is described in terms of reportable transactions with a related party. Revenue does not appear as a test. For a foreign-owned U.S. DE, the instructions name contributions to and distributions from the entity among the transactions reported in Part V.
What the IRS says
Source: Instructions for Form 5472 (Rev. 12-2024).
Generally, a reporting corporation must file Form 5472 if it had a reportable transaction with a foreign or domestic related party.
You must check the box in Part V if you are a foreign-owned DE that had any other transaction, as defined by Regulations section 1.482-1(i)(7) not already entered in Part IV. These transactions include amounts paid or received in connection with the formation, dissolution, acquisition, and disposition of the entity, including contributions to, and distributions from, the entity. Describe these on an attached statement.
In plain English
People often ask whether an LLC with no sales has anything to report. The instructions do not frame the question that way. They turn on whether a reportable transaction with a related party occurred, and they say what the reportable transactions are.
For a foreign-owned U.S. DE, the Part V wording above is where money moving between the entity and its owner is described. This page does not say which of an LLC's payments fit that wording; that is a question about specific facts.
A hypothetical, only to show the vocabulary
An owner moving money into an LLC and later taking money out of it is the kind of activity the words contributions to, and distributions from, the entity describe. Whether a particular movement of money is a contribution, a distribution, a loan or something else is a question for the owner and a qualified professional.
Related
IRS sources
Quoted text last compared with the IRS document on 2026-10-03. The IRS can revise its forms and instructions; check the current version before you rely on anything here.
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