Form 3520-A vs Form 3520: Which Filing Applies to You?

Form 3520 and Form 3520-A are forms that a person or entity may be required to submit under IRS requirements. If a required form is not submitted on time and there is no extension, a CP15 notice will be issued if the IRS catches the problem. The CP15 notice is what triggers the penalty assessment. Not every late filing results in a CP15 notice or a penalty.

Foreign trust reporting gets confusing fast. Form 3520 and Form 3520-A serve different purposes, yet both can apply to the same arrangement. Knowing which applies helps you meet your 3520 filing requirements and avoid IRS penalties.

What is the core difference between Form 3520 and IRS Form 3520-A?

Form 3520: U.S. person reports. Form 3520-A: foreign trust reports.

Form 3520 is filed by the U.S. person. It reports transfers to a foreign trust, ownership of a foreign trust, distributions received from one, and certain large foreign gifts or bequests. A separate Form 3520 is generally required for each foreign trust.

Form 3520-A is the foreign trust's annual information return when the trust has a U.S. owner. It reports the trust's income, assets, owners, and U.S. beneficiaries, and it must be signed by the trustee. The framework contemplates a U.S. agent for IRS information requests; without one, extra trust documents apply — but the filing obligation remains. The IRS Form 3520 instructions and IRS Form 3520-A instructions explain these requirements.

Who files each form, and who must sign the return?

You may need Form 3520 if you are a U.S. person who:

• Created or transferred money or property to a foreign trust.
• Are treated as owning part of a foreign trust.
• Received a distribution, loan, or trust property use.
• Received certain large foreign gifts or bequests.

Form 3520 is signed by the individual, fiduciary, or authorized officer responsible for filing; spouses reporting the same trust with a joint income tax return may file one joint Form 3520.

The trust files Form 3520-A through its trustee; a partnership or corporate trustee signs through an authorized partner, member, or officer. A substitute Form 3520-A is different — the U.S. owner signs when the trust fails to file. For a broader explanation, review this Form 3520 and Form 3520-A overview.

What are the Form 3520 and Form 3520-A deadlines?

Form 3520 is due on the 15th day of the fourth month after your tax year ends — generally April 15 for a calendar-year individual. A U.S. citizen or resident living and working abroad, or serving in the military abroad, generally gets an automatic two-month extension to June 15. An income tax extension may further extend the deadline as described in the instructions. Under Notice 2026-63, affected taxpayers in Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza, along with the other affected-taxpayer categories, have the Form 3520 deadline postponed to September 30, 2027 when the due date falls within the postponement window. Form 3520 is covered as a time-sensitive act under Rev. Proc. 2018-58, section 12, item 49.

Form 3520-A is due on the 15th day of the third month after the foreign trust's tax year ends, generally March 15 for a calendar-year trust. The trust may request an extension by filing Form 7004 with its EIN. Form 3520-A remains the foreign trustee's return and is not expressly listed in item 49.

Form 3520 is filed separately at:

Internal Revenue Service Center P.O. Box 409101 Ogden, UT 84409

What if the foreign trust does not file Form 3520-A?

When the trust fails to file, the U.S. owner should complete a substitute Form 3520-A, attach it to a timely filed Form 3520, and provide the required owner and beneficiary statements to the applicable U.S. persons.

This substitute filing is due on the Form 3520 deadline, not the normal Form 3520-A deadline. The IRS Form 3520-A compliance guide provides additional practical detail.

What if the trustee is overseas or unresponsive?

A trustee's overseas location, reluctance, or failure to provide records does not automatically shift responsibility away from the U.S. owner. Preserve records, document your efforts to obtain missing information, and file what you have promptly and accurately.

The IRS states that foreign-country disclosure penalties and a foreign fiduciary's reluctance generally do not establish reasonable cause.

What penalties apply to Form 3520 and Form 3520-A?

If the IRS catches a required Form 3520 or Form 3520-A that was submitted late, incomplete, or incorrect and there was no extension, it may issue a CP15 notice that triggers the penalty assessment. The amount may be the greater of $10,000 or:

• 35% of transferred property for Form 3520 Part I failures.
• 35% of distributions for Form 3520 Part III failures.
• 5% of trust assets treated as owned by the U.S. person for Form 3520-A failures.

Additional penalties may apply when noncompliance continues after a CP15 notice. Certain foreign-gift failures under section 6039F can carry a 5% monthly penalty, up to 25%. The IRS international penalty guidance emphasizes complete compliance and well-documented reasonable-cause arguments.

If you received a CP15 notice, timely legal review can help determine whether the assessment is correct and whether abatement is available. Our Form 3520 and 3520-A penalty appeal guide explains that process.

Don't know where to start? A confidential consultation can help you assess your filing history, documentation, and options, with attorney-client privilege applying once an engagement letter is signed.

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