Overview of the reporting requirements

The BE-10 Report covers the 2024 fiscal year, with a filing deadline of 30 May 2025, for US persons submitting fewer than 50 Forms BE-10B, BE-10C, and/or BE-10D and 30 June 2025, for those required to file 50 or more Forms BE-10B, BE-10C, and/or BE-10D.

Extension requests are typically granted, provided they are submitted prior to the applicable filing deadline. All requests must be made through the BEA's eFile system.

Reasonable requests for extension of the reporting deadline will be granted. Requests for an extension of more than 30 days must be submitted in writing and should explain the basis for the request.

Reporting is mandatory and does not require a direct request to the filer from BEA. Failure to file BE-10 report may lead to significant civil penalties including monetary fines of between USD 2,500 and USD 25,000 (subject to inflationary adjustments). In some circumstances, criminal penalties and even imprisonment may be warranted.

Any US person (meaning US resident individuals, corporations, partnerships, branches, disregarded entities, estates and trusts - and not just US tax residents) who at the end of 2024, owned, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the vote of a foreign business (referred to by the BEA as a "foreign affiliate"), including a branch (whether the business is incorporated or unincorporated) is subject to reporting to BEA.

Notably, ownership of non-US real estate, unless the real estate is held exclusively for the personal use of the US person, is treated as a foreign affiliate.

As the BE-10 Report is not a tax return or related form, US federal tax rules on the default and by election classification of business entities as corporations, partnerships, or entities disregarded as separate from their sole owners are not generally relevant in determining whether there is a reportable foreign investment or whether a US resident has a filing obligation. Similarly, US federal income tax rules that treat certain "grantors" of trusts as the owners of all or a portion of a trust’s assets and corresponding income, deductions, and credits would also not be relevant.

Outbound investment reports

In addition to the BE-10 Report every five years, there is an annual survey (Form BE-11) applicable under certain circumstances, as well as a quarterly survey (Form BE-577) for particularly large investments. All these surveys focus on the outbound investment by US persons outside the United States, as summarized by the BEA in the table below:

How to complete the BE-10 Report for outbound purposes

The BE-10 Report consists of several forms:

• BE-10A Form is used to disclose information of the US person.
• BE-10B Form is for foreign affiliates that are majority-owned by a US person and have assets, sales, or net income over USD 80 million.
• BE-10C Form is for foreign affiliates that are partly or mostly owned by a US person, and that have assets, sales, or net income between USD 25 million and USD 80 million.
• BE-10D Form is for foreign affiliates with assets, sales, or net income under USD 25 million.

The type of form to be filed for each foreign affiliate will depend on specific information with respect to the ownership structure, assets, income, and sales of the foreign affiliate.

There is no minimum threshold amount to trigger reporting. Reporting is required whenever a US person controls at least 10% of a foreign affiliate.

Foreign affiliates in the same country may be consolidated into a single form when the foreign businesses/companies are in the same detailed industry or when they are integral parts of the same business operation. Otherwise, each foreign affiliate must be reported on a separate form.

Next steps

The BE-10 Report is mandatory and needs to be completed by every US person who is required to file, whether notified or not. The filing deadline is 30 May 2025; however, filers may be able to extend the deadline through a specific extension request. US persons who may need more time to file the BE-10 Report or determine whether or not a filing obligation exists should consider filing the extension request directly via the BEA eFile system or seeking an extension through their tax or legal advisors. In addition, such investments made by US persons outside the United States (including through commonly used US limited liability companies) may be subject to further reporting to the BEA on an annual or even quarterly basis as noted above.

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Inbound investments report

Reporting to the BEA is required under certain circumstances not only for outbound investments but also for inbound investments by non-US persons into the United States, as summarized by BEA in the table below.

In particular, Form BE-13 (Foreign Direct Investment in the US) might apply when a foreign (non-US) entity acquires a US business enterprise worth more than USD 3 million (including, for example, US real property rented to third parties), determined by applying non-tax, economic statistics rules.

The BE-13 report consists of several forms:

• BE-13A Form is for foreign entities that acquire at least 10% of the voting interest in a US business enterprise for over USD 3 million, either directly or through a US affiliate.
• BE-13B Form is for foreign entities that establish a new legal entity in the US with projected costs over USD 3 million and acquire at least 10% of its voting interest, directly or through a US affiliate.
• BE-13D Form is for existing US affiliates of foreign entities that expand operations by opening a new facility in the US with projected costs over USD 3 million.
• BE-13E Form is for US business enterprise that previously filed a BE-13B or BE-13D, requiring annual updates for up to three years or until the project is completed.
• BE-13 Claim for Exemption is for US businesses that either meet all BE-13A/B/D criteria except the USD 3 million threshold, or were contacted by BEA but do not meet the filing requirements.