Form 8621 PFIC Reporting: Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
Subpart F Expansion, New U.S. Shareholder Rules, Dealing With Dual CFC/PFIC Status, QEF Elections, Calculating Tax and Interest
Note: CLE credit is not offered on this program
Recording of a 110-minute CPE webinar with Q&A
This webinar will furnish tax advisers with a thorough and practical guide to the reporting of investments in a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) on IRS Form 8621. The panel will identify those investments that require PFIC reporting, outline the various elections available to taxpayers holding interests in PFICs, and discuss the tax implications of those elections. The panel will provide an example of a completed Form 8621 to illustrate reporting requirements.
Outline
- Code provisions governing PFIC treatment, purging, and deemed distribution rules
- Section 1291 default treatment
- Section 1295 QEF provisions
- Section 1296 mark-to-market option
- Section 1298 special rules
- Ownership rules
- When a pass-through entity owns PFIC shares
- When a trust or estate owns PFIC shares
- Rules when a foreign corporation or entity is classified as both a PFIC and a CFC
- Purging elections to remove PFIC "taint"
- Making election in the year of purchase
- Making election in a subsequent year after initial purchase
- Mark-to-market elections
- Entity classification elections
- Completing Form 8621
Benefits
The panel will discuss these and other relevant topics:
- The legal background of PFICs and general rules
- Locating and interpreting PFIC information on foreign fund statements
- Identifying and calculating "excess distributions" under the PFIC rules
- Calculating tax and interest on eligible distributions
- Tax treatment of distributions not considered "excess"
- Alternate options and elections for PFICs
Faculty

Jason B. Freeman
Founder and Managing Member
Freeman Law
Mr. Freeman is a dual-credentialed attorney-CPA, author, law professor, and trial attorney. He represents clients in... | Read More
Mr. Freeman is a dual-credentialed attorney-CPA, author, law professor, and trial attorney. He represents clients in litigation and disputes, with a particular focus on federal and state tax controversies. Mr. Freeman handles IRS audits and other investigations and represents clients facing tax and white-collar or financial-related charges. He also advises and assists clients with tax and regulatory compliance, including domestic and international tax planning and regulatory reporting requirements. He serves on the law school faculty at SMU’s Dedman School of Law, where he teaches a course in the law of federal income taxation, and he is a frequent public speaker across the country, presenting and educating on various legal topics.
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Mehrdad Ghassemieh
Partner
Harlowe & Falk
Mr. Ghassemieh's practice focuses on assisting companies of all sizes, in all business and tax matters,... | Read More
Mr. Ghassemieh's practice focuses on assisting companies of all sizes, in all business and tax matters, including advising closely held businesses to establish new business entities, advising on regulatory and tax matters, succession planning, and tax efficient planning for purchases or sales of existing businesses. He also provides tax consulting services to clients with international operations. His clients include both U.S.–based companies that have expanded abroad and foreign companies with U.S. ties. He also consults with U.S.–based exporting companies to determine whether they qualify for IC–DISC tax incentive benefits, and assists in both implementation and maintenance of IC–DISC structures.
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