Do You Need to File the BE-577? A New Jersey Business Owner’s Guide to Quarterly BEA Reporting
In the last few articles, we’ve explored how U.S. businesses with foreign affiliates report their direct investment abroad, first through the BE-10 (every five years), then the BE-11 (every year).
Now, in this ninth part of our series on BEA reporting requirements in New Jersey, we turn to the BE-577: the form that doesn’t wait. This quarterly survey helps the Bureau of Economic Analysis collect data on your ongoing financial relationship with a foreign affiliate, whether that affiliate is an incorporated or an unincorporated foreign business enterprise.
If you're a business enterprise holding a 10% or greater voting interest in a foreign legal entity, understanding your reporting requirements under the Services Survey Act is important. This article will walk you through the BE-577 reporting instructions, clarify who must file, and give you practical guidance to stay compliant, quarter after quarter.
Key Terms to Know
Before we break down the form itself, let’s take a moment to explain a few key terms. These are the concepts that form the backbone of BE-577 reporting instructions and show up repeatedly in the survey.
U.S. Reporter: A U.S. person or business that owns 10% or more of the voting securities or equivalent interest in a foreign affiliate. This includes parent companies that are fully consolidated in financial reporting.
Foreign Affiliate: A foreign business, either incorporated or unincorporated, in which a U.S. person holds direct or indirect ownership of 10% or more.
Direct Investment: A cross-border investment in which a U.S. business gains lasting interest and influence in a foreign legal entity, generally by owning at least 10% of its voting stock.
Equity Interest: Your share of ownership in a foreign affiliate, measured by your stake in its assets, profits, or control.
Translation Adjustment: An accounting term reflecting currency-related changes in value when foreign financials are converted into U.S. dollars.
Certification of Exemption: The section of the form used if your affiliate doesn’t meet reporting thresholds. Certain private funds and small foreign entities often use this to limit filing obligations.
What Is the BE-577?
The BE-577 is a quarterly survey form issued by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to track the flow of direct investment abroad between U.S. businesses and their foreign affiliates. Unlike the more occasional BE-10 or BE-11 filings, this one repeats every fiscal quarter — ensuring up-to-date information is available for the government’s broader economic analysis efforts.
Whether the affiliate is an incorporated foreign business enterprise or an unincorporated one, the BE-577 captures quarterly data such as intercompany debt, dividend payments, equity transactions, and the income earned by or from the foreign affiliate. The form is part of a larger system under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, which allows the BEA to collect data that helps shape U.S. economic policy on foreign direct investment.
Understanding what this form does is the first step toward staying compliant and avoiding unnecessary confusion around reporting requirements.
Who Must File?
Filing the BE-577 begins with a careful look at your ownership structure. If your company holds 10% or more of the voting interest in a foreign affiliate, you fall within the entities required to file. That affiliate might be a foreign parent, a branch, or a legal entity you’ve helped launch abroad. And if there were any intercompany transactions or financial ties in the last fiscal quarter, then under the reporting requirements set by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, you’ll need to file.
If your affiliate had no reportable financial activity, and its total assets, sales, or net income didn’t exceed $60 million (subject to BEA confirmation), you may qualify for exemption using Part V. This also applies to indirect ownership scenarios and some private fund structures. The BEA wants to collect data that matters — and when it doesn’t, the agency gives you the option to opt out. Just remember: failing to file any part of the form, even just to requestwhen an exemption, is still a misstep.
When Is the BE-577 Due?
This survey form must be submitted on a rolling deadline throughout the year. If your foreign affiliate meets the BEA’s reporting requirements, make sure your team has these dates circled:
30 days after the end of each quarter
45 days if you're reporting the final quarter of your financial reporting year
The four standard fiscal quarter periods:
Q1: Jan 1 – Mar 31 → Due April 30
Q2: Apr 1 – June 30 → Due July 31
Q3: Jul 1 – Sep 30 → Due October 31
Q4: Oct 1 – Dec 31 → Due January 31 (or Feb 14–15 for eFile)
Following the BE-577 reporting instructions carefully means you’ll stay in sync with the Bureau of Economic Analysis and prevent disruptions to your internal compliance systems.
What Happens if You Don't File?
Compliance with the BE-577 doesn’t start when you’re contacted by the BEA. It starts when your ownership interest crosses the 10% threshold in a foreign affiliate, and there's activity to report.
Failing to file this form can trigger real consequences. Civil penalties range from $4,527 to $45,268 as of April 2025, and willful failure to comply may lead to criminal penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison. More commonly, companies face forced retroactive filing requirements or detailed audits that slow operations and create avoidable stress.
Conclusion
Reporting your foreign investments on time and accurately allows the Bureau of Economic Analysis to conduct the kind of economic analysis that ultimately impacts national policy. We’ll see you in the next article, where we explore how New Jersey companies can comply with Form BE-180.
Are you wondering about any of the issues mentioned above? Please email us at Info@staturelegal.law or call (732) 320-9831 for assistance.
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