When a parent, grandparent or other relative in Guatemala dies and leaves you money or property, or gives you a large gift while alive, there are two separate processes. The Guatemalan side, the proceso sucesorio that transfers the assets, is covered in our inheritance and succession guide. This page covers the US side only: when a US citizen or resident must report the gift or inheritance to the IRS on Form 3520, Part IV, by when, where to mail it, and what happens if it is late.
Quick summary: If you are a US person (a US citizen or resident) and, during the tax year, you receive more than USD 100,000 in gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien or a foreign estate (counting related givers together), you file Form 3520, Part IV, and list each gift over USD 5,000. For gifts from foreign corporations or partnerships the threshold is USD 20,116 (2025) and USD 20,573 (2026). The form is due April 15 for calendar-year filers, June 15 if you live outside the US and Puerto Rico and your place of business or post of duty is also outside them, and no later than October 15 with an income tax extension. It is mailed separately from your 1040 to the IRS in Ogden, Utah. Late or incomplete Part IV: penalty of 5% of the gift per month, up to 25%, unless you have reasonable cause. The inheritance itself is not income in most cases, according to IRS Publication 525.
Who has to file: US person, foreign giver
The Form 3520 instructions define a US person as, among others, “A citizen or resident of the United States, including dual residents who claim the benefits under an income tax treaty” and point to Publication 519 for guidance on resident-alien status.
The giver has to be a foreign person. The IRS lists a nonresident alien individual, a foreign corporation, a foreign partnership and a foreign estate, plus a domestic trust treated as owned by a foreign person. A parent who lives in Guatemala and is neither a US citizen nor a US resident is the plain case of a nonresident alien individual. If the relative giving you money is a US citizen or US resident, they are a US person, not a foreign person, and Form 3520 Part IV is not the form for that gift.
Distributions from a foreign trust go on Part III of Form 3520, not Part IV.
The thresholds
| Who gave it | Report on Part IV when the year’s total | What you list |
|---|---|---|
| Nonresident alien individual or foreign estate (aggregate with foreign persons you know or have reason to know are related) | Exceeds USD 100,000 | Each gift or bequest over USD 5,000, separately; if none exceeds USD 5,000, the instructions say to enter No gifts or bequests exceed $5,000 on the first line |
| All foreign corporations and foreign partnerships combined, plus foreign persons you know or have reason to know are related to them (purported gifts) | Exceeds USD 20,116 for 2025; USD 20,573 for 2026 (adjusted annually for inflation) | Each gift and the identity of the donor; the IRS may recharacterize these purported gifts |
| Qualified tuition or medical payments made on your behalf | Not a foreign gift | Nothing |
The aggregation rule matters for Guatemalan families, where an inheritance can arrive from both parents or from several relatives. The Form 3520 instructions illustrate it: a USD 75,000 gift from one nonresident alien and a USD 40,000 gift from a second, related nonresident alien add up to more than USD 100,000, so both are reported.
Deadlines
The IRS gifts-from-foreign-person page states the rules and gives tax year 2025 as the worked example; the Form 3520 instructions spell out the full condition for the June 15 date:
| Your situation (calendar-year individual) | Rule | Tax year 2025 date given by the IRS |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends | April 15, 2026 |
| US citizen or resident who, on the due date of the income tax return, lives outside the US and Puerto Rico and whose place of business or post of duty is outside the US and Puerto Rico (or is in military or naval service on duty outside the US and Puerto Rico) | 15th day of the 6th month; include a statement with Form 3520 showing you meet the condition | June 15, 2026 |
| Income tax extension filed on Form 4868 | No later than the 15th day of the 10th month | October 15, 2026 |
| Extra discretionary 2-month extension to December 15 | Does not extend Form 3520 | Still October 15 |
On that last row the IRS is explicit: “This discretionary additional 2-month extension does not apply to the Form 3520 due date”. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the instructions move it to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. If you extended your income tax return, check Box 1k on Form 3520 and enter the form number of your income tax return, so the 3520 is not treated as filed late.
Where and how it is filed
Form 3520 is filed separately from your income tax return. The mailing address in both the IRS page and the instructions is:
Internal Revenue Service Center P.O. Box 409101 Ogden, UT 84409
The instructions add that “Only a complete Form 3520 is considered timely filed” and that a form is complete only if all required attachments are included.
Penalty for a late or wrong Part IV
| Consequence | Source text |
|---|---|
| The IRS may determine the income tax consequences of the gift or bequest | IRS gifts-from-foreign-person page and Form 3520 instructions |
| Penalty under IRC section 6039F(c): 5% of the value of the gift or bequest for each month it is not reported, capped at 25% | IRS gifts-from-foreign-person page |
| No penalty if you show reasonable cause and not willful neglect | Form 3520 instructions |
In the IRS’s own words, the penalty is “five percent of the value of the gift or bequest for each month in which the gift or bequest is not reported, not to exceed 25 percent of the gift”.
Is the inheritance taxed in the US?
Reporting is not the same as tax. IRS Publication 525 (2025) says: “In most cases, property you receive as a gift, bequest, or inheritance isn’t included in your income”. It goes on to say that income the property later produces, such as interest, dividends or rents, is taxable to you. So rent from an inherited house in Guatemala, or interest on an inherited bank account, belongs on your US return even though, per Publication 525, the inheritance itself usually does not.
If you later sell inherited property, IRS Publication 551 says the basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally one of several options it lists; the first is the fair market value of the property at the date of the individual’s death. Check Publication 551 for the full list before you calculate a gain.
On gift tax, the IRS gift tax FAQ says “The donor is generally responsible for paying the gift tax”. The exception that reaches the recipient is a gift or bequest from a covered expatriate, a former US citizen or former US lawful permanent resident treated as such under IRC section 877A: section 2801 imposes a transfer tax on US persons who receive those gifts or bequests, and the Form 3520 instructions say you may have to file Form 708. That can matter if a parent was once a US lawful permanent resident and later moved back to Guatemala; whether someone is a covered expatriate is a technical test under section 877A, best checked with a tax professional.
Other forms the same money can trigger
Both the IRS page and the Form 3520 instructions note that you may also have to file FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) and Form 8938 for foreign financial accounts and assets, for example if the inheritance stays in a Guatemalan bank account in your name. The thresholds for those are on our tax obligations when returning to Guatemala page.
The other direction: you sending money to Guatemala
The Part IV reporting on this page is about money coming to a US person (other parts of Form 3520 cover foreign-trust transactions and ownership). When you give money to family in Guatemala, the US rules are the gift tax rules on the donor: the IRS says the annual exclusion for gifts is USD 19,000 for 2026, per recipient, and the 2026 basic exclusion amount is USD 15,000,000. The practical side of sending money home is on our USA to Guatemala remittances page. Gifts to a spouse who is not a US citizen have their own exclusion, covered in our guide to US taxes when married to a Guatemalan nonresident spouse.
This page explains IRS rules as published; it is not tax advice. For a large inheritance, a US CPA or enrolled agent can review your filing. More guides for Guatemalans in the United States are on our diaspora hub.
Sources (all checked 15 October 2026): IRS, Gifts from foreign person (last reviewed 17 April 2026); IRS, Instructions for Form 3520 (last reviewed 30 April 2026); IRS, About Form 3520 (last reviewed 29 April 2026); IRS Publication 525 (2025); IRS Publication 551 (12/2025); IRS, Frequently asked questions on gift taxes (last reviewed 23 July 2026); IRS, What’s new: estate and gift tax (last reviewed 23 July 2026); IRS, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay US tax on an inheritance from my parents in Guatemala?
IRS Publication 525 (2025) says that, in most cases, property you receive as a gift, bequest or inheritance isn’t included in your income; income the property later produces, such as interest, dividends or rents, is taxable to you. Receiving the inheritance is a separate question from reporting it: if you are a US person and the total from a nonresident alien or foreign estate passes USD 100,000 in the tax year, you must report it on Form 3520, Part IV.
What is the Form 3520 reporting threshold for a gift or inheritance from Guatemala?
For gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien individual or a foreign estate, the IRS requires Part IV only if the aggregate received from that person or estate (and foreign persons you know or have reason to know are related to them) exceeds USD 100,000 during the tax year. Above that, each gift over USD 5,000 is listed separately. For purported gifts from foreign corporations or partnerships the threshold is USD 20,116 for 2025 and USD 20,573 for 2026, counted on the aggregate from all foreign corporations and foreign partnerships combined, plus foreign persons you know or have reason to know are related to them.
When is Form 3520 due?
The IRS says the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of your tax year (April 15 for calendar-year individuals). The Form 3520 instructions move it to the 15th day of the sixth month (June 15) for a US citizen or resident who, on the due date of the income tax return, lives outside the US and Puerto Rico and whose place of business or post of duty is also outside the US and Puerto Rico, or who is in military or naval service on duty outside the US and Puerto Rico; a statement showing you meet the condition must be included with the form. An income tax extension moves it to no later than October 15. For tax year 2025 the IRS gives the dates as April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026 and October 15, 2026. The discretionary extra two-month extension to December 15 does not apply to Form 3520.
What is the penalty for filing Form 3520 late?
The IRS gifts-from-foreign-person page says that if you fail to timely file Part IV, or the information is incomplete or incorrect, the IRS may determine the income tax consequences of the gift or bequest, and a penalty under IRC section 6039F(c) of 5 percent of the value for each month it is not reported, up to 25 percent, may apply unless you have reasonable cause.
Do I file Form 3520 with my 1040?
No. The IRS says to file Form 3520 separately from your income tax return and to mail it to Internal Revenue Service Center, P.O. Box 409101, Ogden, UT 84409. If you extended your income tax return, check Box 1k on Form 3520 and enter the form number of the income tax return so the 3520 is not treated as late.
My mother in Guatemala paid my tuition or my hospital bill, or sent me money to pay it. Is that a reportable gift?
The IRS says a foreign gift does not include amounts paid for qualified tuition or medical payments made on behalf of the US person. If the money was sent to you rather than paid on your behalf, check with a tax professional before leaving it out of the USD 100,000 aggregate.
Who pays gift tax on money my family in Guatemala gives me?
The IRS gift tax FAQ says the donor is generally responsible for paying the gift tax. What the IRS asks of you as the recipient, once the threshold is passed, is the Form 3520, Part IV report. A different rule applies if the giver is a former US citizen or former US lawful permanent resident treated as a covered expatriate: section 2801 can impose a transfer tax on the US recipient, and the Form 3520 instructions say you may have to file Form 708.
I inherited land in Guatemala. What is my US tax basis if I sell it?
IRS Publication 551 says the basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally one of several options it lists; the first is the fair market value of the property at the date of the individual’s death. Check Publication 551 for the full list. The Guatemalan side of transferring the land (the succession process) is a separate procedure covered in our inheritance and succession guide.
