Country-by-Country Guide

How Form 3520 and Form 3520-A apply to foreign pensions, retirement accounts, trusts, and gifts, organized by country. Select a country to see what triggers a filing obligation and what to report.

• 🇨🇦Canada North AmericaModerate relevanceRRSPs, RRIFs, registered pension plans, and other Canadian retirement plans within Article XVIII(7) of the treaty need no Form 3520 or 3520-A under Rev. Proc. 2014-55. Trust-form TFSAs and FHSAs have no exemption; whether they are trusts for U.S. purposes is not settled, so the cautious course is full reporting. RESPs and RDSPs may qualify under Rev. Proc. 2020-17 §5.04, with open questions.
• 🇲🇽Mexico North AmericaModerate relevanceWhether an Afore account is a trust isn't settled. On the cautious course a worker files nothing until their own money and any cuota social pass the employer's or a payout isn't reported as pay; an Afore or broker plan only you fund is fully reported. A pension fideicomiso is a foreign trust on our reading; a land one matching Rev. Rul. 2013-14, not rented regularly, needs no Form 3520 or 3520-A.
• 🇧🇷Brazil South AmericaModerate relevanceINSS is social insurance, not a trust. Closed pension funds (Petros, Previ, Valia) are likely foreign trusts, and so is a PGBL managed by a fund company with segregated assets; a VGBL's trust status is debated. There is no U.S.–Brazil treaty, but that does not by itself disqualify closed pension funds from Rev. Proc. 2020-17; eligibility instead depends on whether the fund independently satisfies the revenue procedure's conditions.
• 🇨🇴Colombia South AmericaHigh relevanceColombian AFP pension funds are likely foreign trusts. Cesantías are severance funds paid out on termination of employment, so they are unlikely to be ‘retirement trusts’ under Rev. Proc. 2020-17 even though their housing and education withdrawals are of a kind the revenue procedure permits; the lack of a U.S.–Colombia income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify either plan. Gifts and inheritances from Colombian family can trigger Part IV reporting.
• 🇬🇧United Kingdom EuropeHigh relevanceA UK workplace pension held in trust reads as a §402(b) trust: Part II and Form 3520-A for the part you fund once it exceeds your employer's; cautiously, Part III for cash on request from the rest, taken or not, unless reported as compensation. Personal pensions and SIPPs held in trust, and cautiously stocks and shares ISAs, need full reporting; cash ISAs and public service schemes, none.
• 🇨🇭Switzerland EuropeHigh relevanceCompulsory cover means a pension foundation or public-law fund. Whether those are trusts is not settled; cautiously, they are foreign employees' trusts. Compulsory shares count as the employer's on Chief Counsel advice, so alone they reach no Part II; buy-ins can. Vested benefits accounts and Pillar 3a with a bank foundation take File, cautiously. Insurer policies need no Form 3520 or 3520-A.
• 🇩🇪Germany EuropeModerate relevanceDirect insurance, a stock-company Pensionskasse, Riester or Rürup with an insurer or bank, and pay-as-you-go cover need no Form 3520 or 3520-A. Mutual Pensionskassen, Pensionsfonds, pure contribution plans, support funds and funded public-law schemes are not settled: cautiously, report what your own money funds once it exceeds your employer's, or in full if only you pay in, as with Riester funds.
• 🇫🇷France EuropeModerate relevanceA PERECO or former PERCO, a securities-account PER and a plan with a provident body are not settled: on the cautious course a company plan can need Part II once your own money passes the employer's, and a securities PER gets full reporting. Insurer contracts, assurance-vie, a PEE and a PEA need no Form 3520 or 3520-A. The treaty taxes French employment pensions to a U.S. resident only in France.
• 🇮🇪Ireland EuropeHigh relevanceIreland exempts occupational schemes only under irrevocable trusts, bar a Revenue direction, so we read them as foreign employees' trusts: Part II and 3520-A once your own money exceeds your employer's. Trust RACs get full reporting; on the cautious course so do PRSAs and ARFs, and My Future Fund has Part II from the first top-up. Insurer RACs and buy-out bonds are contracts. No treaty deferral.
• 🇳🇱Netherlands EuropeModerate relevanceWhether a Dutch pension fund or PPI is a trust is not settled. On the cautious course and Chief Counsel advice, compulsory shares count as the employer's, so Part II turns on money you add. Article 19(10) can relieve a U.S. citizen working there. A lijfrente in securities gets full reporting, cautiously. Insurer contracts and deposits need neither form. Moves between plans are not settled.
• 🇮🇹Italy EuropeModerate relevanceItalian supplementary pension funds (fondi pensione) are likely foreign trusts. TFR (severance) depends on whether assets are segregated. INPS is social insurance. The U.S.–Italy treaty exists; Rev. Proc. 2020-17 may apply to large negotiated funds; individual PIPs require §5.03(1)–(5) analysis. Large inheritances from Italy are a common Part IV trigger.
• 🇵🇱Poland EuropeModerate relevancePolish PPK (auto-enrolled workplace pension) and PPE employer pension plans are likely foreign trusts. ZUS is social insurance. The U.S.–Poland treaty exists; Rev. Proc. 2020-17 may apply to large PPK/PPE funds; individual IKE/IKZE require §5.03(1)–(5) analysis. Gifts from Polish family can trigger Part IV.
• 🇯🇪Jersey Crown DependenciesHigh relevanceApproved schemes read as foreign employees' trusts: Part II and 3520-A arise once your own money passes your employer's (required contributions are its), or at once if you control it (cautious); payouts, and lump sums open from 50 (cautious), go on Part III. Retirement trusts, and drawdown and SIPPs (cautious): full reporting. Jersey-run trusts and foundations (cautious) are foreign. No treaty.
• 🇬🇬Guernsey Crown DependenciesHigh relevanceWorkplace and secondary pension schemes in trust are read as foreign employees' trusts: opt-out money is yours, so Part II and 3520-A start once it passes your employer's (2026 at the minimum rates, 2028 if you join in 2027); payouts, moves and money made available go on Part III. RATS: full reporting. Trusts, and foundations holding property for people (cautious), are foreign trusts. No treaty.
• 🇮🇲Isle of Man Crown DependenciesHigh relevanceThe Isle of Man has occupational pension schemes and is a Crown Dependency with trust legislation under the Trustee Act 1961 as amended. The Isle of Man is not covered by the U.S.–UK income tax treaty, but that does not by itself disqualify occupational pension schemes from Rev. Proc. 2020-17, which does not require a treaty; the revenue procedure does not apply to express trusts because they are not retirement vehicles.
• 🇮🇱Israel Middle EastHigh relevanceOn our reading Israel's pension, provident and study funds are foreign trusts. IRS advice, not precedent, counts compulsory deposits as the employer's; your extra money, or cautiously money moved to your name after a job ends, brings Part II. Part III takes payouts and moves not reported as pay. Cautiously, the self-employed file in full. Managers' insurance needs neither form.
• 🇦🇪United Arab Emirates Middle EastModerate relevanceUAE end-of-service gratuity may not be a trust, but DEWS, the DIFC's workplace savings scheme, is a foreign trust, and similar schemes are being adopted in ADGM and other free zones. DIFC/ADGM express trusts are clearly foreign trusts and are not retirement vehicles, so Rev. Proc. 2020-17 does not apply to them. There is no U.S.–UAE income tax treaty, but that does not by itself disqualify DEWS from Rev. Proc. 2020-17; eligibility instead depends on whether the plan independently satisfies the revenue procedure's conditions.
• 🇮🇳India South AsiaHigh relevanceOn our reading, India's EPF and NPS are foreign trusts. The EPF, and an NPS account an employer pays into, read as §402(b) trusts: no Part I, and no Part II or Form 3520-A until your own contributions exceed your employer's. An NPS account only you pay into, and Tier II, are yours from the first contribution. An EPS pension is likely taxable only in India; a PPF account isn't a trust.
• 🇵🇰Pakistan South AsiaModerate relevancePakistani employer provident funds and voluntary pension schemes may be foreign trusts. EOBI is social insurance. A U.S.–Pakistan income tax treaty (1957, in force since 1959) is in force, but its pension article exempts only certain pension payments at source, excludes pensions from Pakistan-recognized superannuation funds, and contains no provision deferring U.S. tax on plan earnings. Whether each plan qualifies for the Rev. Proc. 2020-17 reporting exemption depends on meeting all Section 5.03 conditions. Gifts and inheritances from Pakistani family are a common Part IV trigger.
• 🇦🇺Australia Asia-PacificHigh relevanceOn our reading, Australian superannuation funds are foreign trusts. Read as §402(b) employees' trusts, the employer-paid part needs no Part I, Part II, or Form 3520-A, and payouts reported as compensation stay off Part III. Rev. Proc. 2020-17 is unlikely to cover super, since family and friends can contribute; the proposed regulations may. An SMSF only its members pay into needs full reporting.
• 🇳🇿New Zealand Asia-PacificHigh relevanceOn our reading, KiwiSaver and other New Zealand superannuation schemes are foreign trusts. KiwiSaver's employer-paid part reads as a §402(b) employees' trust; once tax comes off the employer's share, a member at the same rate owns the part their own money funds: Part II and Form 3520-A each year. Rev. Proc. 2020-17 is unlikely to cover KiwiSaver; the proposed regulations may.
• 🇸🇬Singapore Asia-PacificHigh relevanceIRS counsel's 1997 advice, not precedent, reads the CPF as a foreign employees' trust. Part II and Form 3520-A apply once your own money passes your employer's and compulsory shares combined; payouts and uses go on Part III unless reported as compensation. Cautiously, CPF investments, CPF accounts without employer money and invested SRS accounts are fully reported; cash-only SRS accounts aren't.
• 🇭🇰Hong Kong Asia-PacificHigh relevanceHong Kong's MPF schemes are trusts by law, read as foreign employees' trusts; no IRS guidance addresses them. Your compulsory 5% counts as your employer's, so Part II and Form 3520-A apply once your own money passes your employer's and your 5% combined, and cautiously to voluntary money moved when a job ends, also on Part I. Payouts, sums made available, severance offsets and moves take Part III.
• 🇯🇵Japan Asia-PacificModerate relevanceA corporate DC plan in trust reads as a §402(b) employees' trust. Since April 2026 your contributions can exceed your employer's if the plan allows, and elective money counts as yours if you can remake the choice, bringing Part II and Form 3520-A. Wholly elective plans and iDeCo get full reporting on the cautious course. NISA and mutual aid contracts need no Form 3520. The treaty defers nothing.
• 🇰🇷South Korea Asia-PacificModerate relevanceNational Pension is social insurance, not a trust. Corporate DB/DC plans and IRPs are likely foreign trusts. The U.S.–Korea treaty exists but lacks pension deferral. Rev. Proc. 2020-17 may apply to employer DB/DC plans that meet all §5.03 conditions.
• 🇹🇼Taiwan Asia-PacificCase-by-caseTaiwan's Labor Pension Fund has debated trust status. The lack of a U.S.–Taiwan tax treaty does not by itself disqualify it from Rev. Proc. 2020-17; eligibility instead turns on the fund's substantive conditions and requires plan-specific analysis. Labor Insurance is social insurance, not a trust.
• 🇵🇭Philippines Asia-PacificModerate relevanceSSS and GSIS are social insurance, not trusts. Private employer retirement plans under RA 4917 may be foreign trusts. The U.S.–Philippines treaty exists but lacks modern pension deferral. Gifts and inheritances from Filipino family are among the most common Part IV triggers.
• 🇨🇳China Asia-PacificModerate relevanceEnterprise annuities are likely foreign trusts; the Housing Provident Fund has a stronger trust argument than the basic pension but works mainly as housing savings. Social insurance (yanglao baoxian) is likely not a trust. The U.S.–China treaty gives a U.S. citizen no relief on Chinese pension payments and does not affect 3520/3520-A reporting. Gifts from Chinese family are a very common Part IV trigger.
• 🇻🇳Vietnam Asia-PacificCase-by-caseVietnamese social insurance is likely not a foreign trust, so §6048 reporting does not apply to it regardless of Rev. Proc. 2020-17. Gifts and inheritances from Vietnamese family are a very common Part IV trigger given the large Vietnamese-American community.
• 🇹🇭Thailand Asia-PacificModerate relevanceThai provident funds are likely foreign trusts. The Social Security Fund is social insurance. The U.S.–Thailand treaty exists; Rev. Proc. 2020-17 may apply to large provident funds; individual RMFs/SSFs require §5.03(1)–(5) analysis. Thailand is a popular retirement destination for U.S. persons; retirees who worked there may keep vested provident fund balances, and gifts from Thai family can trigger Part IV.
• 🇲🇾Malaysia Asia-PacificHigh relevanceMalaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF/KWSP) is a mandatory savings scheme likely treated as a foreign trust. Its Akaun Sejahtera housing, education, and medical withdrawals are largely of a kind Rev. Proc. 2020-17 permits, but the Akaun Fleksibel (which EPF describes as accessible at any time for emergencies and immediate needs) and the permanent-departure withdrawal are not, so qualification is uncertain; the lack of a U.S.–Malaysia income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify it. Private Retirement Schemes (PRS) are also likely foreign trusts.
• 🇨🇰Cook Islands Pacific IslandsHigh relevanceThe Cook Islands is the most commonly chosen jurisdiction for U.S. persons' asset protection trusts under the International Trusts Act 1984; a Cook Islands trust is a foreign trust, and a U.S. settlor is nearly always its owner. The Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund (CINSF) is a foreign trust only if it operates as a trust. The lack of a U.S.–Cook Islands income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify the CINSF from Rev. Proc. 2020-17, though the revenue procedure is not relevant to Cook Islands asset protection trusts, which are not retirement vehicles.
• 🇿🇦South Africa AfricaHigh relevanceSouth Africa's retirement funds own their assets. Whether they are trusts is not settled; we cautiously read them as foreign trusts. Required contributions count as your employer's; Part III reaches payouts, two-pot savings and leaving. Individual funds and living annuities get full reporting. No treaty deferral in practice: Article 18(6) needs a competent authority agreement; none is published.
• 🇳🇬Nigeria AfricaHigh relevanceNigerian pension funds under the Contributory Pension Scheme are likely foreign trusts. The lack of a U.S.–Nigeria income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify them from Rev. Proc. 2020-17; eligibility instead requires plan-specific analysis of the revenue procedure's substantive conditions. Gifts and inheritances from Nigerian family are a common Part IV trigger.
• 🇰🇾Cayman Islands CaribbeanHigh relevancePension plans are read as foreign employees' trusts: your required 5% counts as your employer's, so Part II and 3520-A arise once your own money passes your employer's share, or at once if you control the employer (cautious); payouts go on Part III. Self-employed: full reporting (cautious). Trusts, and foundation companies holding property for people (cautious), are foreign trusts. No treaty.
• 🇻🇬British Virgin Islands CaribbeanHigh relevanceThe BVI is widely used for express trusts, particularly VISTA trusts, and BVI trusts are foreign trusts. Its Social Security Board, which provides employee benefits, is a statutory social insurance program and generally not a trust. The lack of a U.S.–BVI income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify a private pension plan from Rev. Proc. 2020-17, and the revenue procedure does not apply to express trusts because they are not retirement vehicles.
• 🇧🇸Bahamas CaribbeanHigh relevanceThe Bahamas offers purpose trusts, executive entities, and SMART fund structures under a no-tax regime, and Bahamian trusts are foreign trusts. Its National Insurance Board, which provides employee pensions, is a statutory social insurance program and generally not a trust. The lack of a U.S.–Bahamas income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify a private pension plan from Rev. Proc. 2020-17, and the revenue procedure does not apply to purpose trusts or executive entities because they are not retirement vehicles.
• 🇧🇲Bermuda CaribbeanHigh relevanceBermuda mandates employer pensions under the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998 and has a long history of express trust law with reserved powers trusts, purpose trusts, and insurance-linked structures. The lack of a U.S.–Bermuda income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify mandatory occupational pensions from Rev. Proc. 2020-17, and the revenue procedure does not apply to express trusts because they are not retirement vehicles.
• 🇰🇳St. Kitts & Nevis CaribbeanHigh relevanceNevis is a leading asset protection jurisdiction, and a Nevis international exempt trust is a foreign trust that creates significant Form 3520 exposure; a Nevis LLC the trust owns falls under Form 5471 or 8865 if it is a corporation or partnership. The Social Security Fund, which provides employee pensions, is a statutory social insurance program and generally not a trust. The lack of a U.S.–St. Kitts & Nevis income tax treaty does not by itself disqualify a private pension plan from Rev. Proc. 2020-17, though the revenue procedure is not relevant to Nevis international exempt trusts, which are not retirement vehicles.
• 🇵🇷Puerto Rico U.S. TerritoriesModerate relevancePuerto Rico trusts are foreign trusts for Forms 3520 and 3520-A, and residents who are citizens are U.S. persons who file them, U.S. tax or not. A Puerto Rico IRA is a trust under Puerto Rico law: full reporting, since whether Rev. Proc. 2020-17 reaches a territory is not settled. A plan with a U.S. trust files nothing.
• 🇻🇮U.S. Virgin Islands U.S. TerritoriesModerate relevanceVirgin Islands trusts are foreign trusts for Forms 3520 and 3520-A, and residents who are citizens are U.S. persons, though their income tax return goes to the Virgin Islands. A bona fide resident who relies on the 2024 proposed regulations reports nothing for a trust located there; otherwise the cautious course is to file.
• 🇬🇺Guam U.S. TerritoriesModerate relevanceGuam trusts, the Government of Guam's retirement plans among them, are foreign trusts for Forms 3520 and 3520-A, and Guam's citizens are U.S. persons, though their income tax return goes to Guam. A bona fide resident who relies on the 2024 proposed regulations reports nothing for a trust located in Guam; otherwise the cautious course is to file.
• 🇲🇵Northern Mariana Islands U.S. TerritoriesModerate relevanceTrusts in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Settlement Fund likely among them, are foreign trusts for Forms 3520 and 3520-A, and residents who are citizens are U.S. persons, though their income tax return goes to the Commonwealth. A bona fide resident who relies on the 2024 proposed regulations reports nothing for a trust located there.
• 🇦🇸American Samoa U.S. TerritoriesModerate relevanceAmerican Samoa trusts are foreign trusts for Forms 3520 and 3520-A, but most people born there are U.S. nationals, not citizens, and a national without a green card is a nonresident alien who files none of them. Citizens and residents file; American Samoa is not a mirror code territory, so the 2024 proposed exception for residents does not apply.

Showing 44 of 44