Foreign Trust Reporting And Compliance - Part 2

Filing Mechanics: Form 3520 and 3520-A

A. Form 3520

Form 3520 has several uses, which may cause confusion. Generally, Part 1 covers transfers to a foreign trust by a U.S. person, including a U.S. citizen or resident alien, a U.S. domestic partnership, corporation, trust or estate. Part II provides information on the owner of a foreign trust settled by a U.S. person. However, Part III is only used for beneficiaries of nongrantor trusts and should not be completed by U.S. foreign trust settlors. Part IV is not at all related to trust distributions and is only used for U.S. persons that receive large gifts from foreign donors. Note that a trust distribution will not constitute a foreign gift and should be reported on Part III rather than Part IV.