This Form 3520-A guide explains the IRS Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner. Form 3520-A provides the annual information about a foreign trust with a U.S. owner covered by the instructions. The trust return and the owner transaction reporting on Form 3520 are different obligations. Ownership, financial information and the required owner or beneficiary statements must be coordinated.
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-A does and who prepares it
The responsible foreign trust filer or U.S. owner follows the annual foreign trust information-reporting rules that apply.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 3520. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 3520-A |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner |
| Guide period | the applicable reporting period |
| Target version | Dec 2023 |
| Availability | Current IRS catalog PDF |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Form 3520-A 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-A 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-A
- Foreign trust governing documents.
- U.S. owner information.
- Trust financial records.
- Owner and beneficiary statements.
- Related transaction reports.
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-A
- 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.
Reminders Due date. Form 3520-A is due by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of the foreign trust’s tax year. However, a substitute Form 3520-A attached to a U.S owner’s Form 3520 is due the same day as Form 3520. See When To File, later. Continuous-use revision. Use these instructions for tax year 2025 and subsequent years until a superseding revision is issued. Tax year and statements. Enter the tax year at the top of the first page and all statements.
If the foreign trust has adopted a fiscal tax year, enter the calendar year in which the fiscal tax year begins on all statements. Note: All information provided must be in English. All amounts reported must be in U.S. currency.
Form 3520-A is the annual information return of a foreign trust with at least one U.S. owner. The form provides information about the foreign trust, its U.S. beneficiaries, and any U.S. person who is treated as an owner of any portion of the foreign trust under the grantor trust rules (sections 671 through 679).
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 the U.S. beneficiaries or U.S. owners are treating items on their tax returns differently from the way the foreign trust treated them on its return, they must file Form 8082, Notice of Inconsistent Treatment or Administrative Adjustment Request (AAR). See Form 8082 for more details.
Additional reporting conditions
Caution: Do not enter a PTIN on the Authorization of Agent form. If the U.S. person’s responsibility as an agent of the foreign trust is terminated for any reason (for example, resignation, liquidation, or death), the U.S. owner of the foreign trust must make sure the foreign trust files an amended Form 3520-A with the IRS within 90 days. See section IV.B of Notice 97-34.
Initial Return, Final Return, Amended Return, Extension Filed, Substitute Form 3520-A 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. Amended return. If this Form 3520-A is filed to amend a previously filed Form 3520-A, check the “Amended return” box. Extension filed. If the Form 7004 was timely filed to request an extension for the Form 3520-A, check the “Extension filed” box. Substitute Form 3520-A.
If you are a U.S. owner of the foreign trust filing a substitute Form 3520-A and attaching it to your Form 3520, check the “Substitute Form 3520-A” box.
Calculations and supporting information
Check the box only if a U.S. person treated as the owner of any portion of the trust under the grantor trust rules also files Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, for the tax year and includes this form in the total number of Forms 3520-A reported on line 16 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.
(if any), and country of organization of all entities in which the trust has an ownership interest, including an ownership chart showing the trust’s position in the chain of ownership and the percentages of ownership. Note: The term “person” includes an individual or an entity, whether U.S. or foreign. See the definition of U.S. person, earlier. A foreign person is an individual or entity that is not a U.S. person. Lines 17b and 17c. Distributions to U.S. owners and U.S. beneficiaries.
Separately list the total amount of distributions (including the uncompensated use of trust property) to each U.S. owner and U.S. beneficiary. List the full name, TIN, date of distribution, and FMV on the date of distribution (dollar amount) for each U.S. owner and U.S. beneficiary who receives a distribution. If more space is needed, attach a statement. Prepare a separate Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statement (see below) or Foreign Grantor Trust Beneficiary Statement (see below) for each U.S. owner or for each U.S. beneficiary who receives a distribution from the trust.
Exceptions and related reporting
Caution: On the top of each statement, fill in the tax year. If the foreign trust has adopted a fiscal tax year, use the calendar year in which the fiscal tax year begins. A copy of this statement (pages 3 and 4 of Form 3520-A) must be (a) furnished to each U.S. person who is treated as an owner of the foreign trust under the grantor trust rules, and (b) included with this Form 3520-A.
The statement must be furnished to each U.S. owner no later than the 15th day of the 3rd month following the end of the trust’s tax year, or later if an extension of time to file is granted, or if filing a substitute Form 3520-A. See When and Where To File, earlier. TINs and addresses. See the instructions for Part I, earlier, for information on entering TINs and addresses. Line 8. Trust documents.
If the trust did not appoint a U.S. agent, list the documents attached to the current year Form 3520-A and those attached to a Form 3520-A filed within the last 3 years. Specify the years the documents were attached. See Line 2 under Part I, earlier, for a list of documents the trust is required to attach to Form 3520-A.
Further form details
Exception. Do not complete this statement for a U.S. person for any portion of the trust of which that U.S. person is treated as the owner; instead, complete the Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statement for that U.S. person (as described earlier). The statement must be furnished to the U.S. beneficiary no later than the 15th day of the 3rd month following the end of the trust’s tax year, or later if an extension of time to file is granted, or if filing a substitute Form 3520-A. See When and Where To File, earlier.
TINs and addresses. See the instructions for Part I, earlier, for information on entering TINs and addresses.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | Name of foreign trust | 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. |
| 2 | Did the foreign trust appoint a U.S. agent (defined in the instructions) who can provide the IRS with all the relevant | 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 trustee | 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. |
| 5 | Enter the number of Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statements (pages 3 and 4) included with this Form 3520-A | 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. |
Further selected fields
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Enter the number of Foreign Grantor Trust Beneficiary Statements (page 5) included with this Form 3520-A | 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. |
| 3 | Gross rents and royalties | 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. |
| 4 | Income (loss) from partnerships and fiduciaries | Identify the income or transaction category before entering a total. Preserve the distinction between gross amounts, adjustments and the resulting taxable or reportable figure. |
| 5 | Capital gains: | Identify the income or transaction category before entering a total. Preserve the distinction between gross amounts, adjustments and the resulting taxable or reportable figure. |
| 6 | Ordinary gains (losses) | Identify the income or transaction category before entering a total. Preserve the distinction between gross amounts, adjustments and the resulting taxable or reportable figure. |
A practical example
A U.S. owner reviews the annual reporting of a foreign trust. The owner checks the trust return and statements and separately reviews any transactions that belong on the owner foreign trust transaction return.
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-A
- Do not assume Form 3520 replaces the annual trust information return.
- Check responsibilities when the foreign trust does not furnish the required filing.
- Keep trust-year and owner-return information consistent.
Questions about Form 3520-A
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
The responsible foreign trust filer or U.S. owner follows the annual foreign trust information-reporting rules that apply. 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 Form 3520 replaces the annual trust information return. 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 foreign trust governing documents, U.S. owner information, trust financial records. 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.