The exact line 9a instruction When a U.S. disregarded entity wholly owned by a foreign person requests an EIN for purposes of filing Form 5472 under section 6038A, check “Other” and write “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity-Form 5472.”

Confirm all three parts before using that wording

  1. U.S. entity: the entity is domestic, such as an LLC organized under a U.S. state’s law.
  2. Disregarded entity: it has one owner and has not made an effective election that changes its federal classification.
  3. Wholly foreign owned: its single owner is a foreign person, and the EIN is being requested for the Form 5472 reporting purpose described by the IRS.

The SS-4 disregarded-entity instructions state this wording directly.

Line 9a is not a tax election

The IRS explicitly cautions that line 9a is not an election of tax classification. A domestic single-member LLC is generally disregarded for federal income-tax purposes unless it elects corporate treatment. An election, when appropriate, uses a separate form such as Form 8832—not a label on Form SS-4.

The IRS’s single-member LLC guidance explains the default treatment and the distinct rules for employment and certain excise taxes.

Do not confuse two different entities

Foreign-owned U.S. DEDomestic entity

A U.S.-organized disregarded entity wholly owned by a foreign person.

Foreign disregarded entityForeign entity

A foreign eligible entity; the SS-4 instructions give it different wording when requesting an EIN for a Form 8832 election.

A Wyoming or Delaware LLC does not become a foreign entity merely because its owner lives abroad. Conversely, a business organized under foreign-country law is not a U.S. entity merely because it wants a U.S. EIN.

Why Form 5472 appears on an EIN application

The IRS treats a foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity as separate from its owner and as a corporation only for the limited reporting rules under section 6038A. The current Instructions for Form 5472 say that a required foreign-owned U.S. DE filing uses a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached.

The EIN is not the filing Receiving an EIN does not submit Form 5472, determine whether a transaction is reportable, or satisfy a return deadline. The Form 5472 instructions describe reportable transactions—including certain formation, contribution and distribution transactions—and state a $25,000 failure-to-file penalty. Get qualified tax advice for the actual filing.

What the other common line 9a labels mean

  • “Disregarded entity”: used under the SS-4 instructions when the EIN is needed for employment or excise taxes, or for a non-federal purpose such as a state requirement.
  • Corporation + return form: used when the single-member LLC will file the applicable election and corporate return described in the instructions.
  • Partnership: generally applies to a domestic LLC with two or more members that accepts the default partnership classification.
  • “Foreign disregarded entity”: a different label for a foreign eligible entity requesting an EIN for a Form 8832 classification election.

A focused pre-submission check

  1. Confirm the jurisdiction where the entity was organized.
  2. Confirm the number and identity of owners.
  3. Check whether any Form 8832 or other classification election is effective or planned.
  4. Identify the actual federal or non-federal reason the entity needs its EIN.
  5. Use only the line 9a wording that matches those facts.
Official IRS sources See the Instructions for Form SS-4, the Instructions for Form 5472, and the IRS page on single-member LLCs. Entity classification and Form 5472 filing requirements are fact-specific.