Reporting regimes under Form 3520 and 3520A for US persons receiving foreign gifts or holding interests in foreign trusts.
Form 3520 catches a lot of people by surprise. Most US persons think gift tax is the giver's problem (it usually is) — but if a foreign person gifts you over $100k in a year, you have a separate IRS reporting obligation. Foreign trust interests are stricter still. Penalties for late or missing forms start at 25% of the unreported amount, and the IRS automates them. Most of our clients on this work didn't know the form existed until they were already at risk.
Each one is a separate service with its own page — click Learn more on any block below to see the full scope, deliverables, and pricing notes.
Report large gifts from non-US persons or distributions from foreign trusts on Form 3520.
Gifts from non-US persons.
Learn moreAnnual information return for foreign trusts with US owners under the grantor trust rules.
Annual trust information return.
Learn moreWalk through the past 3 years of family transfers, inheritance, trust distributions, and signing authority to identify reportable events.
Assemble gift letters, trust deeds, distribution schedules — and quantify amounts in USD using IRS-approved conversion rates.
Prepare Form 3520 (and 3520-A where needed) with full disclosure narrative, file by the 1040 deadline.
If a notice has already issued, we draft the reasonable-cause response and represent you through abatement.
I was about to receive a deposit from my mother's UK estate and a friend mentioned Form 3520. TaxStone walked me through what was actually reportable, what wasn't, and made the form a non-event.
We can run a first-pass exposure check from these alone.
Send us a one-paragraph description of your situation and we'll tell you which filings are actually on the hook.
