US LLC, CRS and FATCA: what is reported and what is not

Few subjects are mis-sold as reliably as this one. From the accurate observation that the US does not take part in the common reporting standard, a promise is built that the law does not support. The systems are different, they run in different directions, and none of them removes your own filing duty.

Three systems that are constantly confused

System	Who reports	To whom	About what
FATCA runs into the US	foreign financial institutions	to the United States	accounts of US persons
Common reporting standard the US does not participate	financial institutions in participating states	to the account holder state of tax residence	account holder, balance, income
Form 5472 not an account report but an information return	the US entity itself	to the US tax administration	dealings with the foreign owner

What that means in practice

• Resident in Germany, account in Georgia: Georgia reports to Germany
• Resident in Georgia, account in Georgia: no foreign recipient
• US account of the LLC: what flows depends on the intergovernmental agreement
• In every case: the company Form 5472, independent of all the above
• In every case: your own filing duty in your state of residence

The third line is where providers most like to stop explaining. It is also the one that can change fastest — agreements are amended, and a structure resting on a reporting gap rests on a political decision.

What the structure actually rests on

The US-LLC-plus-Georgia combination works not because something goes unreported but because a particular residence produces a particular taxation. That is a legal relationship, not an information deficit — which is why it holds even when reporting routes change.

How that layer works is set out in US LLC + Georgia; what Georgia reports, in CRS and Georgia.

Reporting — frequently asked

Is the US a reporting gap?

That framing compresses two different systems into one. The US does not take part in the common reporting standard but runs its own regime through FATCA in its own direction, and under intergovernmental agreements data flows back depending on the agreement. Inferring invisibility means planning on a gap that is not one.

What does my Georgian bank report?

It reports to the state of your tax residence — not to the US and not to the state where your company is registered. If you are resident in Georgia there is no foreign recipient for Georgian accounts; if you are not, reporting goes where you are.

Does my LLC US bank report to Germany?

Whether and what flows depends on the intergovernmental agreement in question and is not the same as the common reporting standard. Neither direction should be relied on — your own filing duty exists whether or not a report is made.

What about Form 5472?

That is not an account report but an information return by the company about dealings with its foreign owner. It exists independently of FATCA and of the reporting standard, and whether or not tax is due.

This article is general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The scope and direction of reporting depend on the agreements in question and change; your own filing duty exists regardless. As at August 2026.