Key Takeaways:
- The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has announced that it is once again time to file the BE-10 Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad. The benchmark survey covers the universe of U.S. direct investment abroad.
- The BE-10 forms are due no later than May 30, 2025, for U.S. reporters required to file fewer than 50 forms, and June 30, 2025, for U.S. reporters required to file 50 or more forms.
- Unlike some other BEA surveys, a response is mandatory from all persons subject to the BE-10 reporting requirements, whether or not they are contacted by the BEA.
The BE-10 is a benchmark survey which is conducted every five years. A BE-10 report is required of any U.S. person that had a foreign affiliate in 2024 (that is, that had direct or indirect ownership or control of at least 10% of the voting stock of an incorporated foreign business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated foreign business enterprise at the end of the U.S. person’s 2024 fiscal year). Certain private funds are exempt from BE-10 reporting. For more information on reporting requirements for private funds, visit here.
Entities subject to the filing requirements must complete the BE-10A form and one or more of the following forms:
- BE-10B for majority-owned foreign affiliate(s) whose assets, sales, or net income exceed $80 million.
- BE-10C for majority-owned foreign affiliate(s) whose assets, sales, or net income exceed $25 million but none of these items are greater than $80 million. Also for minority-owned affiliate(s) whose assets, sales, or net income exceed $25 million.
- BE-10D for all foreign affiliate(s) whose assets, sales, and net income do not exceed $25 million.
If you were contacted by the BEA but are exempt from filing, you should file a BE-10 Claim for Not Filing.
The data collected by the BEA is used for statistical and analytical purposes and is not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The BEA is also prohibited from granting another agency access to the data for tax, investigative or regulatory purposes.
Clients are reminded to review their activities in connection with the BE-10 and all BEA and Department of the Treasury reporting requirements to ensure they are in compliance. BEA/Treasury Department reporting may apply to companies that have cross-border structures or investments. For more information on the Form BE-10 visit https://www.bea.gov/be-10-benchmark-survey-us-direct-investment-abroad or www.bea.gov.
Data collected from Form BE-10 will be used to identify entities that meet reporting criteria for BEA’s related annual (Form BE-11) and quarterly (Form BE-577) surveys of U.S. direct investment abroad.
