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Form 8621 · Passive Foreign Investment Company

Check your
PFIC risk

If you hold a non-U.S. mutual fund or ETF, the IRS may treat it under a punitive tax regime. Screen it in two minutes, then get a rough sense of what Form 8621 could cost under each method — a planning estimate, not a determination.

The screening runs in your browser
Designed by a U.S. CPA for educational screening

Quick signal

Start with your fund's ISIN

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🌐 Type your fund's 12-character ISIN. The first two letters usually point to where the issuer is organized.

The country prefix is a triage signal, not a verdict. For a pooled fund, a non-U.S. prefix is a strong PFIC risk flag — but final treatment depends on the entity's U.S. tax classification, its assets and income, the account wrapper, and any elections. Watch for edge cases: XS international issues, depositary receipts, multi-share-class funds, and foreign funds with U.S.-listed tickers.

First — how do you hold it?

Two routes into Form 8621

01

Screen it for PFIC risk

A few quick questions. The PFIC rules reach a foreign corporation (for U.S. tax) that meets either the 75% passive-income test or the 50% passive-asset test — so the legal form matters as much as what it holds.

Answer the questions to continue
Result

    Before you file

    You might fall under the Part I reporting threshold

    For a specific section 1291 fund, you may not have to complete Form 8621 Part I if your total PFIC stock is below the threshold and you had no excess distribution or recognized gain. This is narrower than "you don't need Form 8621" — an election, QEF/MTM reporting, a distribution, a disposition, or another §1298(f) trigger can still require the form.

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    Form 8621 is rarely the only form

    Other foreign filings this may trigger

    A quick risk flag, not advice — confirm each against your own facts with your preparer.

    • FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) — foreign brokerage and fund accounts count toward the $10,000 aggregate that triggers it.
    • Form 8938 (FATCA) — foreign financial assets over the FATCA thresholds; this does not replace the FBAR.
    • Schedule B — the foreign-account questions in Part III.
    • Form 1116 — if you paid foreign tax and want the foreign tax credit.
    • State conformity — many states don't follow the §1291 regime; check your state separately.
    02

    Rough idea of the tax — if you sold today

    A planning estimate, not a Form 8621 computation. It compares the three methods — §1291 default, QEF, and Mark-to-Market — on a single ratable sale. It doesn't do acquisition dates, multiple lots, partial sales, prior-year distributions, or daily-compounded quarterly interest; those are items for your preparer to calculate.

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    $
    %
    Estimates for planning — see the note at the bottom.
    Rough planning estimate — not Form 8621-ready These are order-of-magnitude figures to show how the methods differ, on a single ratable sale today. A filing-grade number needs your actual dates, lots, distributions, and the daily-compounded quarterly interest — those are items for your preparer to calculate, not this screen.
    If this were an equivalent U.S. fund, the gain would be taxed about $0 LTCG baseline
    The default — no election
    §1291 Excess Distribution
    $0
    —
    Gain is spread across your holding period, taxed at the highest ordinary rate for each past year, plus a compounding interest charge for deferral. No capital-gains rates.
    ✓ Always applies by default
    Best treatment — if timely
    QEF Election
    $0
    —
    You include the fund's earnings yearly, and capital gains keep their character (taxed at LT rates). Usually the lowest tax — but only with a PFIC AIS, and only clean if elected in year one.
    —
    The practical middle
    Mark-to-Market
    $0
    —
    You report the yearly increase in value as ordinary income — no capital-gains rate, but no deferral interest either. Available only for exchange-traded ("marketable") PFICs.
    —
    The first-year window has passed for this fund
    Currency matters here. PFIC gain is computed in U.S. dollars. Because this fund is priced in another currency, translate your basis at the exchange rate on the day you bought, and the proceeds at the rate on the day you sell — a chunk of what looks like investment gain can be currency gain, and the two are taxed differently. The figures above assume the dollar amounts you entered are already translated.
    The PFIC penalty. Compared with normal U.S. fund treatment, the default §1291 method adds an estimated
    $0

    03

    Your summary & preparer checklist

    Get a free checklist of the documents and details to send your tax preparer before they tackle Form 8621.

    The PFIC preparer checklist

    Your free screen gives you the headline. The checklist helps you gather what a preparer actually needs to evaluate the PFIC issue and prepare any required forms.

    • Fund identification details — fund name, ISIN or ticker, country of domicile, legal form, and where you hold it.
    • Transaction history — purchase dates, sale dates, lots, cost basis, proceeds, year-end values, and currency used.
    • Income and election documents — distributions by year, PFIC Annual Information Statements, prior Forms 8621, and any QEF or MTM election history.
    • K-1 / K-3 support — Schedule K-3 Part VII details if the PFIC came through a partnership, fund, S corp, trust, or estate.
    • Related filing flags — FBAR, Form 8938, Schedule B, Form 1116, and state reporting items to discuss with your preparer.

    Why this helps: PFIC prep often gets expensive because the preparer has to chase missing dates, statements, AIS pages, and K-3 details. This checklist gives you a cleaner starting point before you email your CPA.

    Free/ checklist

    Email yourself the PFIC document checklist to gather what your tax preparer will likely need.

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