Form 3520: Reporting Large Gifts and Foreign Trusts
Published November 5, 2026
Form 3520 is an annual information return. It reports certain gifts a U.S. person receives from outside the country, and certain transactions with foreign trusts. It is separate from your income tax return. Most people never need it. But the penalties for a required filing that is missing or late can be serious.
This guide is general information. It is not advice about your own situation. Read the current form and instructions, or ask a tax professional.
Who must file
The instructions describe three main reasons to file. You must file if you received large gifts or bequests from a foreign person. You must file if you transferred money or property to a foreign trust. And you must file if you are a U.S. owner of any part of a foreign trust. One person can have more than one reason, and each reason is covered by a different part of the form.
Gifts from foreign persons
Part IV of the form asks whether you received more than $100,000 that you treated as gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien individual or a foreign estate during the year. If you answer yes, you list each gift or bequest over $5,000 in the columns of Part IV. A separate question covers amounts from a foreign corporation or foreign partnership that you treated as gifts. That question uses its own threshold, set in the instructions.
Foreign trusts
Parts I, II, and III of the form cover foreign trusts. Part I covers U.S. persons who transfer money or property to a foreign trust. Part II covers U.S. owners of a foreign trust. Part III covers U.S. persons who receive a distribution from a foreign trust, or who receive certain loans or use of trust property. The instructions say a separate Form 3520 must be filed for each foreign trust.
Due date
The instructions say Form 3520 is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of your tax year. For most calendar-year individuals, that is April 15. Taxpayers who live and work outside the United States have until the 15th day of the sixth month, which is June 15. If you get an extension for your income tax return, the instructions give Form 3520 an extended due date of the 15th day of the tenth month after the end of your tax year.
The instructions also say only a complete Form 3520 counts as timely filed. A form is complete only when all required attachments are included.
Penalties
The instructions describe penalties for a late or missing form, and for failing to report certain gifts or trust transactions. Penalties can be large. If you had reasonable cause, the instructions explain how to ask for relief. The IRS decides whether relief applies.
How Form 3520 differs from Form 709
Form 709 is the gift tax return for gifts you give. Form 3520 is for gifts you receive from abroad and for certain trust activity. Both forms can apply to the same person in different years. For the other side, see our guide to Form 709 gift tax returns.
If you live abroad
If you live outside the United States, read U.S. citizens living abroad: filing and the exclusion as well. Receiving a gift and reporting it are different questions. A gift can need reporting on Form 3520 even when your income tax return does not change.
Next steps
List every gift and trust transaction that might apply to you. Gather names, addresses, dates, and descriptions of the property. Work through the parts in order, keep copies, and file the complete form with all attachments by the due date for your situation.
Sources: Sources: IRS, Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts (Rev. December 2023) (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3520.pdf); Instructions for Form 3520 (Rev. December 2025) (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i3520.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
