The Founder’s Year-End Map: 3 US Compliance Dates That Decide Your 2026

Three dates are already on your calendar for the rest of this year, whether you have looked at them or not. Each one is quiet today. Each one gets expensive if you meet it late. I put all three on one page so you can see them together, the way I would if we were sitting on the same side of a desk.

Here they are, in order.

July 18: the stablecoin rail shifts

A lot of founders hold their dollars as USDT because it moved easily into and out of a US business account. On July 18 that changes. Under the GENIUS Act, US business accounts at Mercury, Relay, and the fintechs built on the same banks stop clearing USDT. The account keeps working. The Tether balance sitting inside it no longer moves the way it did.

USDC and USAT still clear. Both are issued under US oversight and settle through a compliant US bank, so they stay usable for the same accounts.

What to do: before the 18th, convert or move any USDT balance you hold for US access, and confirm the account you land in clears the coin you actually have. This is a small task if you handle it this week. The people who read the notice early barely feel it.

October 15: Form 5472 falls due

Every foreign-owned US LLC files Form 5472, even one that owes zero US tax. The form reports the money that moved between you and your own company. If you funded your LLC’s bank account, that transfer is a reportable transaction, and October 15 is the extended deadline to file it with your Form 1120.

For years there was a quiet way out. A founder who missed the form and sent a written explanation was usually forgiven. That grace ended with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. The penalty is $25,000 per form, per year, according to the IRS Form 5472 instructions. There is no floor, and there is no first-time pass.

What to do: if your LLC had any activity in 2025 and you are not a US citizen or resident, ask whoever prepares your return to confirm the 5472 is filed with the 1120. If you are not certain it was, that uncertainty is the thing to resolve now, not in October.

December 31: an ITIN can lapse

An ITIN is your tax identity inside the US system. If yours was not used on a federal return in 2023, 2024, or 2025, it expires on December 31. The rule counts three consecutive years of non-use, not the age of the number, and it comes from IRS Notice 2016-48.

Renewal means filing Form W-7, and the IRS takes seven to eleven weeks to process it under normal conditions, per the current W-7 instructions on IRS.gov. The fourth quarter is not normal conditions. A certified copy of your passport that takes three weeks to obtain in July is an errand. The same three weeks in November is a problem, because by then the Austin processing center is moving toward peak season and your application waits behind millions of others.

What to do: check whether your ITIN appears on a filed return for any of those three years. If it does, you are outside the expiration window. If it does not, start the W-7 now. The comfortable margin closes in September.

The point of a map

None of these is an emergency today. Each one becomes an emergency only if it is met late. That is what a map is for. You look at it before you need it, not while you are lost.

We keep this map current for the founders we work with. If you are not certain which of these three dates applies to your structure, book a call. We will map them with you in fifteen minutes.

Cristián Leirós

Leirós Consulting

Frequently asked questions

Do I file Form 5472 if my LLC made no money?

Yes. A foreign-owned single-member US LLC files Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 whenever there was a reportable transaction with the owner, including money you moved into the LLC to fund it. Zero profit does not remove the filing.

Does the July 18 stablecoin change affect a personal wallet?

The change stops US business accounts at the affected fintechs from clearing USDT. If your plan was to move USDT through a US business account, that path closes. Converting to USDC or USAT, or using an account that still supports USDT, keeps you clear.

My ITIN was issued years ago but I never filed. Is it still valid?

If it was not used on a federal return in 2023, 2024, or 2025, it expires on December 31 regardless of when it was issued. Renewal reuses the same number through Form W-7.

How long does an ITIN renewal take in 2026?

The IRS estimates seven to eleven weeks under normal conditions. That estimate does not hold in the fourth quarter, so filing Form W-7 by September keeps you inside a comfortable window.

Sources: GENIUS Act (stablecoin issuance framework); IRS Form 5472 instructions; Form 5472 penalty provisions as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; IRS Notice 2016-48 and Form W-7 instructions, IRS.gov.*

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