This Form 3520 guide explains the IRS Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts. Form 3520 covers specified transactions with foreign trusts and receipts of certain foreign gifts or bequests. The reporting categories have different rules. A reportable gift disclosure is not the same question as whether a payment is taxable income, and foreign trust reporting can involve additional separate filings.
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an independent guide. The version and availability information below identifies the IRS documents used for this page.
What Form 3520 does and who prepares it
A U.S. person or other filer covered by the instructions reports the foreign trust or foreign gift matters that require this return.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 3520-A. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 3520 |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts |
| Guide period | the applicable reporting period |
| Target version | Dec 2023 |
| Availability | Current IRS catalog PDF |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Form 3520 PDF and check its status
Use the IRS source to confirm the document before completing a real filing. The download link is a reference to the official file; it is not a statement that every copy inside the PDF may be printed and submitted. Follow any instructions about electronic filing, scannable copies, recipient copies or attachments.
Which version of Form 3520 should you use?
This form follows a revision or continuing-use format rather than a new title for every calendar year. Check the revision printed on the document and the period requested inside it. A revision date, transaction date and tax year are different pieces of information. The current document should be read with the instructions that apply to the actual transaction or return.
Records to gather for Form 3520
- Trust and transfer documents.
- Donor or foreign person information.
- Distribution statements.
- Valuation support.
- Related foreign trust reporting records.
Keep a working reconciliation with these records. It should show the source of each reported item, any correction made before filing and the reason a different amount appears on a connected form. This is especially useful when a statement is corrected or a prior-year balance continues into the current calculation.
How to work through Form 3520
- Confirm applicability. Start with the purpose, filer category and version of the form. Complete any eligibility or applicability question before spending time on the numerical calculation.
- Prepare the source workpapers. Gather the records listed below and reconcile their totals. Keep prior-year balances, current-year transactions and estimated payments separate where they serve different purposes.
- Complete dependent calculations first. When a line refers to another form, schedule or worksheet, finish that supporting calculation first. Preserve any classification, limitation and carryforward information.
- Follow the line sequence. Use the actual line labels and arithmetic in the applicable form. A line number from an older version may refer to something different after a revision.
- Reconcile the filing package. Check names, identifying numbers, tax periods, totals and required attachments. Then use the filing method, signature process and deadline that apply to this filer and form.
Form-specific IRS instructions and reporting details
The following points retain the operative wording of the IRS documents linked above. Read each point with its stated conditions and the applicable form version. References to another form or section describe a connected requirement; they do not mean that every reader must file every referenced document.
(Use with December 2023 revision of Form 3520.) Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.
671 through 679, and • Receipt of certain large gifts or bequests from certain foreign persons. A separate Form 3520 must be filed for transactions with each foreign trust.
If you and your spouse are filing a joint income tax return for the current tax year, and you are both transferors, grantors, or beneficiaries of the same foreign trust, then you may file a joint Form 3520 for the same tax year. If you and your spouse are filing a joint Form 3520, check the box on line 1i on page 1.
For more information on large gifts or bequests from foreign persons, go to IRS.gov/Businesses/Gifts-FromForeign-Person. For more information on foreign trust reporting requirements and tax consequences, go to IRS.gov/ForeignTrust. You may be required to file Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). In addition, you may be required to file Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. For more information, go to IRS.gov/FBAR.
Additional reporting conditions
In general, a U.S person’s Form 3520 is due on the 15th day of the 4th month following the end of such person’s tax year for income tax purposes. For a calendar-year individual, this is generally the same day as the filer’s income tax return due date. If a U.S. person is granted an extension of time to file an income tax return, Form 3520 is due no later than the 15th day of the 10th month following the end of the U.S. person’s tax year.
Note: This may differ from and is not tied to the due date of the U.S. person’s income tax return.
The U.S. beneficiary’s and U.S. owner’s tax returns must be consistent with the Form 3520-A filed by the foreign trust unless you report the inconsistency to the IRS. If you are treating items on your tax return differently from the way the foreign trust treated them on its return, file Form 8082, Notice of Inconsistent Treatment or Administrative Adjustment Request (AAR). See Form 8082 for more details.
Calculations and supporting information
Note: If a partnership or corporation makes a gratuitous transfer to a trust, the partners or shareholders are generally treated as the grantors of the trust, unless the partnership or corporation made the transfer for a business purpose of the partnership or corporation.
If a trust makes a gratuitous transfer to another trust, the grantor of the transferor trust is treated as the grantor of the transferee trust, except that if a person with a general power of appointment over the transferor trust exercises that power in favor of another trust, such person is treated as the grantor of the transferee trust, even if the grantor of the transferor trust is treated as the owner of the transferor trust.
Item A—Initial Return, Final Return, Amended Return Initial return. If this is the foreign trust’s first return, check the “Initial return” box. Final return. If the foreign trust ceases to exist, check the “Final return” box. Example. If you filed Form 3520 concerning transactions with a foreign trust and that trust terminated within the tax year, then the Form 3520 for the year in which the trust terminated would be a final return. Amended return. If this Form 3520 is filed to amend a previously filed Form 3520, check the “Amended return” box.
Exceptions and related reporting
Check the box in item C only if the Form 3520 filer also files Form 8938 for the same tax year and includes this form in the total number of Forms 3520 reported on line 15 of Part IV, Excepted Specified Foreign Financial Assets, of Form 8938. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 8938, generally, and in particular, Duplicative reporting and the specific instructions for Part IV.
Complete Part I if you are responsible for reporting a reportable event that occurred during the current tax year, you transferred property to a related trust in exchange for a loan, or you hold a valid loan. See Who Must File, earlier. For information on what is a reportable event, see Reportable Event, earlier. Note: Although the basic reporting requirements for Part I of Form 3520 are contained in section 6048 (and are clarified by Notice 97-34), the reporting requirements have been further clarified by the regulations under sections 679 and 684.
Accordingly, the regulations under sections 679 and 684 should be referred to for additional clarification for transfers that are required to be reported in Part I of Form 3520.
Further form details
Line 18.
If you checked “No” on line 3, attach a copy of the following documents. • A summary of the terms of the foreign trust that includes a summary of any oral agreements or understandings you have with the trustee, whether or not legally enforceable. • A copy of all trust documents (and any revisions), including the trust instrument, any memoranda of wishes prepared by the trustee summarizing your wishes, any letter of wishes you’ve prepared summarizing your wishes, and any similar documents. • A copy of the trust’s financial statements, including a balance sheet and an income statement similar to those shown on Form 3520-A.
These financial statements must reasonably reflect the trust’s accumulated income under U.S. income tax principles. For example, the statements must not treat capital gains as additions to trust corpus. • A copy of the trust’s organizational chart, including ownership structure and percentage of ownership.
Line 22. Check “Yes” if the foreign trust filed Form 3520-A for the current tax year and attach a copy of pages 3 and 4 (Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statement) of the Form 3520-A. See section IV of Notice 97-34. Check “No” if the foreign trust has not filed Form 3520-A for the current tax year and attach a substitute Form 3520-A that you have completed to the best of your ability.
Further form details
To calculate the trust’s weighted UNI for 2025, the trust could update this calculation, or the weighted UNI shown on line 46 of the 2024 Form 3520 could simply be updated using the following steps. 1. Begin with the 2024 weighted UNI. 2. Add UNI at the beginning of 2024. 3. Add trust earnings in 2024. 4. Subtract trust distributions in 2024. 5. Subtract weighted trust accumulation distributions in 2024. The weighted trust accumulation distributions are the trust accumulation distributions in 2024 multiplied by the applicable number of years from 2024.
Using the example above, the trust’s 2025 weighted UNI would be $1,150, calculated as follows.
Reading the lines and boxes
These selected labels come from the linked target PDF. They are a reading aid, not a replacement for the full line instructions or a completed calculation. Match the label and document version before transferring any amount.
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A | Check appropriate boxes: | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| B | Check box that applies to person filing return: | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| C | Check if any excepted specified foreign financial assets are reported on this form. See instructions | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 1a | Name of U.S. person(s) with respect to whom this Form 3520 is being filed (see instructions) | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
| 2a | Name of foreign trust (if applicable) | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
Further selected fields
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Did the foreign trust appoint a U.S. agent (defined in the instructions) who can provide the IRS with all relevant trust information? | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 3a | Name of U.S. agent | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
| 4a | Name of U.S. decedent (see instructions) | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
| 5a | Name of trust creator | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
| 6a | Country code of country where trust was created | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
A practical example
A U.S. recipient receives a payment from abroad and first determines whether it is a gift, a trust distribution or another type of payment. The recipient then reviews the specific information-reporting rules rather than applying one label to every foreign transfer.
This example illustrates the order of the review. It does not assume an unverified deduction, exemption, treaty rate or final tax amount. The applicable form instructions and the actual records determine the result.
Common mistakes to avoid with Form 3520
- Do not assume a nontaxable receipt has no information-reporting requirement.
- Keep gift reporting and foreign trust transaction reporting distinct.
- Check the separate filing instructions and related foreign trust return requirements.
Questions about Form 3520
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
A U.S. person or other filer covered by the instructions reports the foreign trust or foreign gift matters that require this return. The form purpose and the applicable filing or furnishing conditions determine the action. Downloading a blank PDF does not itself create a filing obligation or establish eligibility for a tax benefit.
Is the revision date always the same as the tax year?
No. Some forms show a tax year, while continuing-use forms show a revision date and ask separately for the reporting period. Check the actual document and instructions. Do not relabel a payment or transaction solely because it was reported in a later calendar year.
What should I do if the underlying information is wrong?
Do not assume a nontaxable receipt has no information-reporting requirement. Keep the original record and the correction trail. The issuer correction process, an amended return and an updated certificate can be different procedures. Choose the process that matches the document and the actual error.
Which records should I keep with the completed form?
Retain the source documents, applicable worksheets, submitted version and filing or furnishing confirmations. For this form, the working file should include trust and transfer documents, donor or foreign person information, distribution statements. Keep continuing balances and prior-year support for as long as they remain relevant under the applicable recordkeeping rules.
Related forms and next steps
Use these guides when the connected issue applies to your records. Each page has its own purpose, reporting year and availability status.