Form 3520 vs Form 3520-A: Which One Do You File?
Tax Research Desk
The short version
- Form 3520 is filed by US persons who received a foreign gift, made a transfer to a foreign trust, or received a distribution from a foreign trust.
- Form 3520-A is filed by the foreign trust itself (or, if the foreign trust will not file, by the US owner on its behalf) to report the trust's activity for the year.
If you got an inheritance from your foreign aunt → Form 3520, no Form 3520-A.
If you set up a Cook Islands trust and you are the grantor under US tax rules → both forms, with Form 3520-A filed by the trustee and Form 3520 filed by you.
When you file ONLY Form 3520
The most common case. You received a foreign gift or inheritance and there is no foreign trust involved at all. The cash hit your US bank account directly. The donor was an individual or a foreign estate. You file Form 3520 Part IV. No 3520-A.
When you file BOTH
If a foreign trust exists and you are treated as the owner of any portion of it under the grantor trust rules (IRC §§ 671–679), the trust is required to file Form 3520-A by the 15th day of the third month after the trust's tax year ends (typically March 15 for a calendar-year trust). The trustee files it.
If the trustee will not file or cannot file, the US owner files a "substitute" Form 3520-A by the same deadline. The form requires:
- An income statement and balance sheet for the trust.
- Lists of trust accumulated distributions.
- A statement explaining the ownership percentage.
Then the US owner also files their own Form 3520 reporting their own transfers to the trust, their owner-status, and any distributions received.
When you file ONLY Form 3520-A
Almost never for a US person. Form 3520-A is filed by the trust. If you happen to be the trustee of a foreign trust that has a US owner, you file Form 3520-A, but you might not need to file Form 3520 yourself if you did not personally receive a distribution or contribute to the trust.
Deadlines side by side
| Form | Default deadline | Extended deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Form 3520 | April 15 (with your 1040) | October 15 (via Form 4868) |
| Form 3520-A | March 15 (15th day of 3rd month after trust's year end) | September 15 (via Form 7004) |
Form 3520-A's deadline is one month earlier than Form 3520. That trips up people every year. If you have a foreign trust, do not assume the deadlines are the same.
What our app does
Our V1 covers Form 3520 Part IV only — foreign gifts and bequests from individuals, estates, corporations, and partnerships. We do not file Form 3520-A. We also do not file the trust-related parts of Form 3520 (Parts I, II, III). If your situation involves a foreign trust, talk to a CPA who specializes in international tax — this is genuinely complex territory.
How to know if a trust is "foreign" for US tax purposes
A trust is "foreign" unless both of the following are true:
- A US court can exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust ("court test"); AND
- One or more US persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust ("control test").
Fail either test and the trust is foreign. This means a trust set up under Cayman, BVI, Jersey, Guernsey, Cook Islands, Liechtenstein, or many other offshore jurisdictions is automatically foreign. A trust set up under New York or Delaware law with a US trustee is generally domestic.
3520file is software, not a CPA firm or law firm. We prepare IRS Form 3520 based on the facts you provide. For advice on your specific situation, talk to a tax attorney or CPA. The above is plain-English explanation, not tax advice.