This Schedule J Form 5471 guide explains the IRS Accumulated Earnings and Profits (E&P) of Controlled Foreign Corporation. Schedule J for Form 5471 tracks accumulated earnings and profits using the categories and changes specified in the instructions. Beginning balances, current changes and distributions should reconcile. A corporation total and an individual shareholder previously taxed account are not the same record.
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an independent guide. The version and availability information below identifies the IRS documents used for this page.
What Schedule J Form 5471 does and who prepares it
A required Form 5471 filer reports the accumulated earnings and profits information for the covered controlled foreign corporation.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 5471. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 5471 (Schedule J) |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Accumulated Earnings and Profits (E&P) of Controlled Foreign Corporation |
| Guide period | the applicable reporting period |
| Target version | Dec 2020 |
| Availability | Current IRS catalog PDF |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Schedule J Form 5471 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 Schedule J Form 5471 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 Schedule J Form 5471
- Prior accumulated earnings schedules.
- Current earnings and profits workpapers.
- Distribution records.
- Category adjustments.
- Relevant foreign tax information.
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 Schedule J Form 5471
- 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.
Form 5471 is unable to determine whether amounts should be reported as PTEP, those amounts should be included in column (a), Post-2017 E&P Not Previously Taxed (post-2017 section 959(c)(3) balance). For example, one U.S. shareholder might not know the amount of the other U.S. shareholder’s section 951A inclusion that is allocated to the CFC because the first U.S. shareholder does not have information with respect to the second U.S. shareholder’s net CFC tested income or pro rata share of QBAI. See Schedule P, later, for an example.
Enter the amounts in this schedule in the functional currency of the foreign corporation as reported on Form 5471, page 1, item 1h. If the foreign corporation is the owner of a qualified business unit(s) (QBU) with a different functional currency, translate the E&P of the QBU(s) to the foreign corporation’s functional currency.
Additional reporting conditions
In column (a), report E&P described in section 959(c) (3) and earned after the repeal of section 902, that is, post-2017 E&P not previously taxed (post-2017 section 959(c)(3) balance). The repeal of section 902 is effective for tax years of foreign corporations beginning after December 31, 2017, and to tax years of U.S. shareholders in which or with which such tax years of foreign corporations end. In column (b), report post-1986 undistributed earnings, as defined under section 902(c)(1), and as in effect prior to the repeal of section 902.
Use column (c) to report the aggregate amount of the foreign corporation’s pre-1987 section 964(a) E&P accumulated since 1962 and not previously distributed or deemed distributed. These amounts are figured in U.S. dollars using the rules of Regulations section 1.964-1(a) through (d), and translated into the foreign corporation’s functional currency according to Notice 88-70, 1988-2 C.B. 369.
Schedule J. Note: For purposes of this Schedule J, include in each separate category of income, foreign source and U.S. source income. Important. In addition to the separate category codes referred to above, if you have more than one of the categories of income referred to above, you must complete and file a separate Schedule J using code “TOTAL” that aggregates all amounts listed for each line and column in Part I of all other Schedules J.
Calculations and supporting information
Schedule J, Part I, with respect to its PTEP of $20x on line 8, column (e)(viii). Similarly, Corporation B will only be able to complete Schedule J, Part I, with respect to its PTEP of $50x on line 8, column (e)(viii). In the following year, Corporation A and Corporation B should each report the other corporation’s PTEP on Schedule J, Part I, line 1b, column (e)(viii), and the corresponding reduction to CFC1’s E&P described in section 959(c)(3) on Schedule J, Part I, line 1b, column (a). Name of person filing Form 5471.
The name of the person filing Form 5471 is generally the name of the U.S. person described in the applicable category or categories of filers (see Categories of Filers, earlier). However, in the case of a consolidated return, enter the name of the U.S. parent in the field for “Name of person filing Form 5471.” Reference ID number of foreign corporation. If applicable, use the reference ID number shown on Form 5471, page 1, item 1b(2). Lines a and b. Complete a separate Schedule P for each applicable separate category of income.
Enter the appropriate code on line a (at the top of page 1 of Schedule P). To determine the appropriate code, see Categories of Income in the Instructions for Form 1118.
Exceptions and related reporting
Part II Dollar basis. Enter amounts in U.S. dollars. The U.S. shareholder’s U.S. dollar basis in PTEP is generally equal to the U.S. dollar amount of E&P that the U.S. shareholder previously included in gross income. See section 989(b) (1) and (3); and Regulations sections 1.951A-1(d)(1) and 1.965-1(b)(1) and (2). The U.S. shareholder’s U.S. dollar basis is used by the U.S. shareholder to determine the amount of foreign currency gain or loss on the PTEP that the U.S. shareholder is required to recognize under section 986(c). Columns (a) through (k).
Use columns (a) through (k) to report the opening balance of, current-year additions and subtractions to, and the closing balance of, the PTEP in the U.S. shareholder’s annual PTEP accounts with respect to a CFC. Columns (a) through (j) of Schedule P correspond to columns (e)(i) through (e)(x) of Schedule J. See Schedule J, earlier, for specific line instructions. Line 1b.
If there is a difference between last year’s ending balance on Schedule P and the amount that should be last year’s ending balance, taking into account modifications on Schedule P, include the difference on line 1b and attach an explanation for the difference. If there are multiple differences, include the explanation and amount of each such difference on the attachment.
Further form details
Specific Instructions for Schedule Q Name of person filing Form 5471. The name of the person filing Form 5471 is generally the name of the U.S. person described in the applicable category or categories of filers (see Categories of Filers, earlier). However, in the case of a consolidated return, enter the name of the U.S. parent in the field for “Name of person filing Form 5471.” Reference ID number of foreign corporation. If applicable, use the reference ID number shown on Form 5471, page 1, item 1b(2). Line A.
Complete a separate Schedule Q for each applicable separate category of income. Enter the appropriate code from the table below for the separate category of income with respect to which the Schedule Q is being completed.
Schedule J (Form 5471) and Part I, line 8, of Schedule P (Form 5471), both of which are completed by separate category of income. If the filer is required to complete Schedule J (Form 5471) with respect to more than one category of income, the total of all amounts entered in Schedule R (Form 5471), column (d), should equal the amount entered on line 9, column (f), of the Schedule J (Form 5471) that is filed with code “TOTAL” entered on line a of that Schedule J.
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 | Balance at beginning of year (as reported on prior | Use the date or tax period requested by this particular field. A payment date, acquisition date and return year can describe different facts. |
| 2a | Reduction for taxes unsuspended under anti-splitter rules | 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 | Current year E&P (or deficit in E&P) (enter amount | Use the date or tax period requested by this particular field. A payment date, acquisition date and return year can describe different facts. |
| 4 | E&P attributable to distributions of previously taxed | 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. |
| 5a | E&P carried over in nonrecognition transaction . | 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 | Other adjustments (attach statement) | 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. |
| 7 | Total current and accumulated E&P (combine lines | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
| 8 | Amounts reclassified to section 959(c)(2) E&P from | 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. |
| 9 | Actual distributions | 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. |
| 10 | Amounts reclassified to section 959(c)(1) E&P from | 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 CFC has current earnings and a distribution during the year. The preparer updates the accumulated categories from the supported opening balances and reconciles the changes with the other foreign corporation schedules.
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 Schedule J Form 5471
- Reconcile opening balances with the prior file.
- Keep categories and adjustments separate.
- Do not confuse corporation-level balances with shareholder-specific previously taxed earnings.
Questions about Schedule J Form 5471
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
A required Form 5471 filer reports the accumulated earnings and profits information for the covered controlled foreign corporation. 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?
Reconcile opening balances with the prior file. 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 prior accumulated earnings schedules, current earnings and profits workpapers, distribution 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.
- Form 5471: PDF & Foreign Corporations Guide
- Schedule H (Form 5471): PDF & Current Earnings and Profits Guide
- Schedule P (Form 5471): PDF & Previously Taxed Earnings and Profits of U.S. Shareholder of Certain Foreign Corporations Guide
- Schedule R (Form 5471): PDF & Distributions From a Foreign Corporation Guide