Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Part IV of Form 3520 is for a U.S. person who received gifts or bequests from foreign persons. Line 54 asks whether you received more than $100,000 that you treated as gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien or a foreign estate, line 55 asks about foreign corporations and partnerships, and line 56 asks about nominees. It is a reporting part and produces no tax figure of its own.
What this part is for
The instructions say who completes it: “Complete Part IV if you are a U.S. person who has received gifts or bequests from a foreign person or estate.” The Who Must File list sets the same $100,000 test: “More than $100,000 from a nonresident alien individual or a foreign estate (including foreign persons related to that nonresident alien individual or foreign estate) that you treated as gifts or bequests”. For the broader return, see the Form 3520 guide and Form 3520 for a foreign inheritance.
Two scope notes: “A gift to a U.S. person does not include any amount paid for qualified tuition or medical payments made on behalf of the U.S. person.” And “If a foreign trust makes a distribution to a U.S. person, the U.S. person must report the amount as a distribution in Part III, rather than as a gift in Part IV”. That case is on Form 3520 Part III.
The lines, one by one
| Line | What the form says |
|---|---|
| Page 1 box for Part IV | “You are a U.S. person who, during the current tax year, received certain gifts or bequests from a foreign person.” “Complete all applicable identifying information requested below and Part IV of the form.” |
| 54 | “During your current tax year, did you receive more than $100,000 that you treated as gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien (including a distribution received from a domestic trust treated as owned by a foreign person) or a foreign estate?” |
| 54, if Yes | “complete columns (a) through (c) with respect to each such gift or bequest in excess of $5,000.” |
| 54, columns | “Date of gift or bequest”; “Description of property received”; “FMV of property received” |
| 55 | “During your current tax year, did you receive amounts from a foreign corporation or a foreign partnership that you treated as gifts in excess of the amount provided in the instructions?” |
| 55, if Yes | “complete columns (a) through (g) with respect to each such gift.” |
| 55, columns | “Date of gift”; “Name of foreign donor”; “Address of foreign donor”; “TIN, if any”; “Check the box that applies to the foreign donor” (“Corporation Partnership”); “Description of property received”; “FMV of property received” |
| 56 | “Do you have any reason to believe that the foreign donor, in making any gift or bequest described in lines 54 and 55, was acting as a nominee or intermediary for any other person?” |
The instructions restate the line 54 threshold: “if during the current tax year, you received more than $100,000 that you treated as gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien, including a distribution received from a domestic trust treated as owned by a foreign person or a foreign estate.”
Where the number comes from
Nothing in Part IV is calculated, but the $100,000 test can take adding up. “you must aggregate gifts from different foreign nonresident aliens and foreign estates if you know, or have reason to know, that those persons are related to each other or if one is acting as a nominee or intermediary for the other.”
The instructions give an example: “For example, if you receive a gift of $75,000 from Abby, a nonresident alien individual, and a gift of $40,000 from Brian, a nonresident alien individual, and you know that Abby and Brian are related, you must answer” Yes “and complete columns (a) through (c) for each gift.”
A small-gift rule applies to the columns: “but none of the individual gifts or bequests received exceeds $5,000, do not complete columns (a) through (c).”
For line 55 the foreign corporation and partnership amount is not printed on the form. “To obtain the threshold amount, go to IRS.gov/InflationAdjustment.” The test is “if you received aggregate amounts in excess of the section 6039F threshold amount during the current tax year that you treated as gifts from any of the following.” The list reads “Foreign corporations.” “Foreign partnerships.” and related foreign persons.
Where it goes next
Part IV is a reporting part inside the Form 3520 return, and the instructions explain what a missed report can lead to: “If you fail to timely report foreign gifts that should be reported under section 6039F, the IRS may determine the income tax consequences of the receipt of such gift, and penalties may be imposed.”
Line 56 can redirect the report: “If the ultimate donor is a foreign trust, treat the amount received as a distribution from a foreign trust and complete Part III.” A related filing is mentioned for one donor type: “If you received a gift or bequest from a covered expatriate, you may have to file Form 708.” For other foreign-asset reporting see Form 8938, and for the return itself see Form 1040.
The dollar figures on line 54
| Where | What the IRS prints |
|---|---|
| Line 54 | “did you receive more than $100,000 that you treated as gifts or bequests from a nonresident” |
| Who must file | “More than $100,000 from a nonresident alien individual or a foreign estate” |
| Columns (a) to (c) | “complete columns (a) through (c) with respect to each such gift or bequest in excess of $5,000” |
| When columns are skipped | “none of the individual gifts or bequests received exceeds $5,000, do not complete columns (a) through (c)” |
There are two thresholds: $100,000 decides whether the answer is Yes, and $5,000 decides which individual gifts are listed.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads Form 3520 (Rev. December 2023) and the Instructions for Form 3520 (Rev. December 2025), which the IRS says to use with the December 2023 revision of the form; these are the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. Check the edition printed on your own form and use that edition’s line numbers.
Common mistakes
- Testing each donor alone. The instructions say “you must aggregate gifts from different foreign nonresident aliens and foreign estates if you know, or have reason to know, that those persons are related to each other”
- Reporting a foreign trust’s payment as a gift. The instructions say “If a foreign trust makes a distribution to a U.S. person, the U.S. person must report the amount as a distribution in Part III, rather than as a gift in Part IV”
- Filling in the columns when no single gift is large enough. The instructions say “but none of the individual gifts or bequests received exceeds $5,000, do not complete columns (a) through (c).”
Related: Form 3520, Form 3520 for a foreign inheritance, Form 8938, and Form 1040.
Sources
- Form 3520 (Rev. December 2023), Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3520.pdf
- Instructions for Form 3520 (Rev. December 2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i3520.pdf
- IRS: About Form 3520: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.