A Step-by-Step Guide to Filling BE-12 Benchmark Survey of BEA

BE-12 Benchmark Survey is a mandatory survey conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the US Department of, which is used to collect data on foreign direct investment in the United States every five years. For more information, you can read the “Navigating the BE-12 Survey: Understanding Requirements, Deadlines, and Penalties” and discover everything you need to know about the BE-12 Survey.

In simple terms, U.S. entities that have foreign ownership or interests exceeding 10% at the end of the reporting year are obligated to file the BE-12 benchmark survey.

In this blog post, we will guide you on how to file the BE-12 benchmark survey and provide an example to show you how to fill out the survey. However, please note that we will only cover the criteria listed below for filing the BE-12 Benchmark Survey:

• Who is required to file the BE-12C Benchmark Survey, and
• Who prefers submitting the survey via the eFile system, and
• Companies not required to file part II, III, Supplement A, and B.

If you're unsure about which form to file or have other questions whether you meet the criteria listed above, don't worry… We cover listed topics below in this blog post and the first three steps for filing the BE-12 form are the same for everyone. However, once you start answering the survey questions, the steps may differ depending on your responses. Since the form questions vary based on your answers, we won't be able to cover all of them in this blog post. Nevertheless, we hope that this post will provide you with an approach to filling out the form.

1. Create/login account to file the survey via eFile system,
2. Link a BE-12 Benchmark Survey with your user account,
3. Determine your BE-12 form type to file
4. How to fill BE-12C form

IMPORTANT! This is a general guidance and does not replace specific BEA instructions linked here. When in doubt, please refer to specific BEA instructions. In this guide, we tried to summarize the requirements and steps for easier understanding with the specific screenshots. You are responsible to ensure that you meet the requirements and answer the questions as required by BEA.

We can also easily complete the survey for you.

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If you don't want to do it yourself or you need help to manage this process, simply click on the image below for a hassle-free checkout experience.

Create/ Login to Your Account to File Your Survey via eFile System

To file your survey using the eFile system, the first step is to create or log in to your account on the BEA website. This will allow you to access the online filing system and complete your survey.

To create or login to your account, go to the BEA website and click “File online here with eFile”.

If you don't already have an account, you need to create one by clicking “Create Account” by providing some basic information such as username, email address, and a secure password and then login to your account.

Link a BE-12 Benchmark Survey with Your User Account

After logging in to your account, you can find linked surveys at the bottom of the User Account Homepage. If you don't see the BE-12 Benchmark Survey listed there, you need link it to your account in order to file your survey. After linking, you'll be able to see the "BE-12/15 Benchmark/Annual Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States" listed under linked surveys on your User Account Homepage. Simply follow the steps to link the survey.

Navigate to Survey Tools, review the available options, and select the “BE-12/15 Benchmark/Annual Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States” if it is listed among the options. If you don’t see BE-12 Benchmark Survey listed there, follow the steps below.

• If you have previously filed a BE-12, BE-15, or BE-605 survey or have received a notification in the mail with a BE-12 ID number, select Link a BE-12 Survey.
• If this is your first time filing and you didn’t receive a notification with a BE-12 ID number, or you received a notification with a BE-12 Lead ID starting with “R”, select Add New BE-12 Report.

If you have previously filed, after selecting Link a BE-12 Survey, complete all required information. Then, click next steps and submit your request. Once your request is verified, an email notice will be sent to your provided e-mail address, and you will be able to access the new ID/Survey by login into the eFile system. Your linked survey will appear under Linked Surveys on the User Account Homepage.

If this is your first-time filing, after selecting Add New BE-12 Report, complete all required information (if you received a letter with a Lead ID beginning with “R” before, you should provide that ID in the “BE-12 Lead ID” Box, or if you don't have a BE-12 Lead ID, you can leave it blank) and click “Submit”. Your linked survey will appear under Linked Surveys on the User Account Homepage.

Determine Your BE-12 Form Type to File

Determining the appropriate BE-12 form type to file is an important step in the filing process. Go to eFile – Survey Homepage (you can go eFile – Survey Homepage after selecting BE-12 survey under listed surveys on the eFile – User Account Homepage) scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Select. You will be directed to eFile – Report Homepage this time.

To determine the correct form type, click "Determine Form Type" button located on the eFile - Report Homepage. This will take you to a questionnaire that will ask you several questions to determine the correct form type based on your responses. It is essential to answer the questions accurately to ensure that you file the correct form type.

If you want to see the decision tree for determining form type, please find the pdf document here. After finishing the survey questions, you will receive information about the appropriate form type that you need to file, as indicated below. Then, click “File using this form” and you will be directed to the eFile – Report Homepage.

Scroll down on the eFile – Report Homepage, you should be able to see the form type determined by system based on your answers.

Download the Form

You can download the appropriate form by clicking on the "Download Form" button located at the bottom of the eFile – Report Homepage, as shown above.

IMPORTANT! The BEA eFile PDFs will only work with Adobe Acrobat or Reader (click here for more information). That’s why be sure that the browser has used Adobe Acrobat when you click the download button, and the forms open in a browser tab.

If you are using the Google Chrome browser or the latest Chromium based version of Microsoft Edge and having a problem with the BEA eFile system, please see more detailed instructions here.

Fill the Form (BE-12C)

Please keep in mind that, we describe how to fill the BE-12C form in the next steps.

The downloaded form is customized to your company, and the section containing the name and address of your U.S. business enterprise is already pre-filled. You should only complete the “Contact Information” and “Certification” parts on this page.

Let’s continue with Part I…

Q1) According to the BEA definitions, foreign parent is the FIRST person or entity outside the U.S. in a chain of ownership that has a 10 percent or more voting interest (direct or indirect) in this U.S. affiliate. 

This statement is asking whether a foreign parent company owns multiple subsidiaries in the U.S., and if one of those subsidiaries owns a majority (more than 50%) of the voting interest in another U.S. company.  If more than 50 percent of the voting rights owned by another U.S. affiliate of the foreign parent at the end of fiscal year ending in calendar year 2022, click Yes, otherwise, click No.

If “Yes” — Do not complete this report unless exception IV.1.c described in the consolidation rules apply. This exception states that a U.S. affiliate in which a direct ownership interest and an indirect ownership interest are held by different foreign persons should not be fully consolidated into another U.S. affiliate but must complete and file its own Form BE-12 report.  Unless the exceptions discussed below apply, any deviation from these consolidation rules must be approved in writing by BEA.

If “No”, complete this form according with the consideration rules.

IMPORTANT! Consolidation rules… When filing the BE-12 report, a U.S. affiliate must report on a fully consolidated domestic U.S. basis. This means that all U.S. business enterprises proceeding down each ownership chain whose voting securities are more than 50 percent owned by the U.S. business enterprise above must be included in the full consolidation. The BE-12 form should be filed as a consolidated report by the topmost U.S. affiliate of a foreign parent that cannot be consolidated into another U.S. affiliate of such foreign parent. The fully consolidated entity is then considered one U.S. affiliate for the purposes of the BE-12 report.

In other words, the consolidation rules require companies to include the financial data of all subsidiaries in which they own more than 50% of the voting stock. If the company owns less than 50% of the voting stock in a subsidiary, the subsidiary's financial information may not require to be consolidated. 

As an example, according to the diagram 1 below, consolidate U.S. business enterprise B on BE-12 report for A, since B is over 50% owned by A.

As another example, a U.S. affiliate in which a direct ownership interest and an indirect ownership interest are held by different foreign persons should not be fully consolidated into another U.S. affiliate but must complete and file its own BE-12 report. (See diagram 2)

Q2) EIN (Employer Identification Number), a 9-digit number (e.g., 12-3456789), is your company's ID number with IRS - the federal tax authority. If you don’t know your EIN number, you can check the SS-4 form or your company’s filed income tax returns. Enter your IDs without hyphens.

Be aware that EIN number is different than the state File ID number, don’t mix them.

Q3) Select the state the U.S. affiliate located. If your company operates in more than one state, then select the state where the greatest number of employees was based at the end of the fiscal year ending in 2022. If there were no employees and no physical location, then select the state of incorporation.

Q4) The report covers the U.S. affiliate’s 2022 fiscal year. The affiliate’s 2022 fiscal year is defined as the affiliate’s financial reporting year that had an ending date in calendar year 2022.

In the absence of a financial reporting year for a U.S. affiliate, its fiscal year is considered to be identical to the calendar year 2022.

You should file a 2022 BE-12 report that covers 12 months of operation. If there was a change in fiscal year, please review the page 15 to see which period you should report.

We can complete all the steps and file the survey for you, just click the image below to purchase our service.

Q5) While business enterprise means any organization, association, branch, or venture which exists for profit making purposes or to otherwise secure economic advantage, and any ownership of any real estate, U.S. affiliate means an affiliate located in the United States in which a foreign person has a direct investment.

If the U.S. business enterprise was not a U.S. affiliate at the beginning of its fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2022 but became one at some point during that fiscal year, this question would be answered "yes." Conversely, if the U.S. business enterprise was already a U.S. affiliate at the beginning of its fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2022 and did not undergo any changes in affiliation status during that fiscal year, this question would be answered "no."

IMPORTANT! Newly established U.S. business enterprise in fiscal year 2022 should file a report from establishment date until end of fiscal year. Existing U.S. business enterprise becoming U.S. affiliates in FY 2022 should file a report covering 12 months of operations.

Q6) Asking whether the total ownership of the U.S. affiliate by all its foreign parents, both directly and indirectly, through voting securities or any other equivalent interest, was more than 50 percent at the end of the U.S. affiliate's fiscal year that ended in 2022. In other words, it is asking if the foreign parents collectively held a controlling interest in the U.S. affiliate during the stated period.

Q7) A U.S. business enterprise that is more than 50 percent owned based on voting interest should be fully consolidated in the report, except as noted in the consolidation rules on page 15. It should be noted that foreign business enterprises or operations owned by the U.S. affiliate should be excluded from the consolidation.

Reminder! If your answer is greater than one, you should complete the Supplement A on page 9. We don’t cover Supplement A in this blog post.

Q8) To complete this part of the form, the number of such affiliates should be entered in the box, which would be counted as separate entities from the fully consolidated U.S. affiliates reported earlier.

Report investments in U.S. business enterprises that are not fully consolidated and that are owned 20 percent or more using the equity method of accounting. Don’t report employment, land, and other property, plant, and equipment and don’t eliminate intercompany accounts (e.g., receivables or liabilities) for holdings reported using the equity method.

Reminder! If your answer is greater than one, you should complete the Supplement B on page 10. We don’t cover Supplement B in this blog post.

Q9) The purpose of this question is to gain a better understanding of the nature of the U.S. affiliate's business activities and the products or services that it provides. Enter detailed description of the primary products and/or services of the fully consolidated U.S. affiliate.

Q10) Provide the 4-digit International Surveys Industry (ISI) code of the industry in which the U.S. affiliate generated the highest sales or gross operating revenues. You can see the 4-digit ISI codes here.

You can access Income Statement for Q11-12 and Balance Sheet for Q14-15 (both for Q17).
If you're a business owner who doesn't have an income statement or balance sheet for your company, our accounting company can help you prepare this necessary document to complete your BE-12 report. If you need help with our services, you can schedule your free call.

We can also support your U.S. company with its bookkeeping, accounting, taxes, payroll and more. Just click below to set up free Discovery Call over Zoom.

Q11) Enter total revenue generated by a company. The amount reported should exclude sales or consumption taxes levied directly on the consumer and excise taxes levied directly on manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. It should also take into account returns, allowances, and discounts provided to customers. However, gains or losses from the disposal of discontinued operations should be excluded from the figure. If a company has discontinued a particular business segment during the year, any revenues generated from that segment during the year should be included in the figure reported.

Reminder! Report currency amounts in U.S. dollars rounded to thousands where a value must be entered (e.g., if the amount is $1,334,891.00 report as $1,335).

Q12) Enter the profit or loss that a company has made after paying its income taxes to the U.S. government and any applicable state and local governments.

Q13) Enter the number of employees at close of fiscal year 2022. You should consider the number of full-time and part-time employees on the payroll at the end of FY 2022, excluding contract workers and other workers not carried on the payroll of the U.S.

Q14) Please recall that foreign operations are not to be combined with the financial statements of the U.S. affiliate for reporting purposes and the balance includes all unconsolidated foreign operations using the equity method. "Foreign operations" refers to any business activities of the U.S. affiliate that take place outside the United States.

Enter the amount of total assets by considering above.

Q15) Enter the amount of total liabilities by considering above. If your company has no liabilities, check the box.

Q16) Asking for information about the balances owed directly to and due directly from the affiliated foreign group of the U.S. affiliate. Short-term balances refer to amounts that are expected to be paid or received within one year. Long-term balances, on the other hand, are amounts that are expected to be paid or received beyond the next 12 months.

Report the balances owed directly to and due directly from the affiliated foreign group separately and not net them against each other. This means that payables should not be subtracted from receivables to arrive at a net balance. Each balance should be reported separately.

Q17) Asking whether the U.S. affiliate had any of the following items exceeding $20 million at the end of its fiscal year in 2022: total assets, sales or gross operating revenues (excluding sales taxes), or net income (loss). If any one of these three items exceeded $20 million, the answer to the question would be "Yes."

Reminder! We don’t cover part II and III in this blog post.

Q18) Asking for the country of incorporation or residence of the foreign parent that has a 10 percent or more voting interest in the U.S. affiliate. The foreign parent is the FIRST person or entity outside the U.S. in a chain of ownership that has a 10 percent or more voting interest in this U.S. affiliate. Please see the diagram to help illustrate this concept.

Q19) Asking for the country of incorporation or organization of the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of the U.S. affiliate. The UBO is that person or entity, proceeding up the ownership chain beginning with and including the foreign parent, that is not more than 50 percent owned or controlled by another person or entity. See diagrams on page 6 for illustrations of UBO.  Please see the diagram to help illustrate this concept.

Submit the Form

We recommend ensuring that you are still logged in to your BEA user account before submitting the form. Review the form, go to submission page and click Submit Data if you are finished completing the form. You should receive confirmation as below once your submission is received.

Then, go to the eFile – Report Homepage in your account and click Update Submission Status.

To check whether BEA has received your electronic filing, look at the Submission Status column in the list of forms for the period you filed.  

Save a copy of your completed BE-12 survey for your records.

Congratulations...That is it!

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