Form 5227 is the information return of a split-interest trust. It reports the trust's financial activities and information about charitable deductions and distributions. RepeatForm helps you reuse the trust's details: upload the Form 5227 you completed and the current blank, then review every line. The form is open to public inspection.
Tested with the irs.gov edition dated 2025
Plainly: a moderate fit, and a better one if you are a trustee or preparer with several split-interest trusts. The trust's name, trustee, address, EIN and creation date rarely change, and those can carry across. The value of the assets, gross income and every figure in the schedules change every year, so they never carry as truth. If you prepare returns for several trusts, start each one from that trust's own last copy.
The IRS says to use Form 5227 to "Report the financial activities of a split-interest trust.", "Provide certain information regarding charitable deductions and distributions of or from a split-interest trust." and to "Determine if the trust is treated as a private foundation and subject to certain excise taxes under Chapter 42." RepeatForm does not explain how to treat any item; read the instructions on irs.gov.
The instructions say "A split-interest trust is a trust that: Is not exempt from tax under section 501(a); Has some unexpired interests that are devoted to purposes other than religious, charitable, or similar purposes described in section 170(c)(2)(B); and Has amounts transferred in trust after May 26, 1969, for which a deduction was allowed under one of the sections listed in section 4947(a)(2)." Whether your trust is one is a question for the instructions or a preparer; RepeatForm does not decide it.
The instructions say "All CRTs described in section 664 must file Form 5227." and "All pooled income funds described in section 642(c)(5) and all other trusts such as charitable lead trusts that meet the definition of a split-interest trust under section 4947(a)(2) must file Form 5227 unless the Exception next applies." The instructions set out that exception; read it on irs.gov.
The instructions say "For calendar year 2025, file Form 5227 by April 15, 2026." and "In the case of a final short-year period, the return is due by the 15th day of the 4th month following the date of the trust's termination." For an extension they say "Use Form 8868 to request an automatic extension of time to file. The request for an automatic extension must be filed by the due date of the return." Check irs.gov for the date that applies to you.
The instructions say "A filer required to file at least 10 returns of any type during the calendar year ending with or within the tax year must file their returns electronically." and "On a year-by-year and form-by-form basis, the IRS may waive the requirement to file electronically in cases of undue hardship." RepeatForm fills the PDF form; follow the IRS instructions, or your software or preparer, for how your return is submitted.
The instructions say "Form 5227 is open to public inspection." and "Schedule A of Form 5227 isn't open to public inspection." The form adds "Do not enter social security numbers on this form (except on Schedule A) as it may be made public." Before you export, look at the new copy and make sure nothing that should stay private carried into the public part.
Upload a Form 5227 you completed and the current blank; RepeatForm carries the matching details across; you go through a review step, then preview the PDF before you export. Use last year's copy as the source, then change what differs. This helps most if you prepare returns for several trusts.
The IRS publishes a new Form 5227 for each tax year. Carrying an earlier copy into the new one works for many answers, but some fields are renamed or moved and match only partly, so check every line on the new form in Review before you export.
The PDF checked for this page is the 2025 Form 5227. The About Form 5227 page on irs.gov links the current form and its instructions. RepeatForm does not supply the blank form: get it from irs.gov.
Every trust that completes this return needs an EIN. Applying by mail or fax uses Form SS-4.
Line 4 asks you to attach a Schedule E for rents, royalties and partnerships: Schedule E.
Upload the two versions, check what matched, then inspect the finished PDF before paying.
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The instructions say "A split-interest trust is a trust that: Is not exempt from tax under section 501(a); Has some unexpired interests that are devoted to purposes other than religious, charitable, or similar purposes described in section 170(c)(2)(B); and Has amounts transferred in trust after May 26, 1969, for which a deduction was allowed under one of the sections listed in section 4947(a)(2)." RepeatForm does not decide whether your trust is one.
The instructions say "A filer required to file at least 10 returns of any type during the calendar year ending with or within the tax year must file their returns electronically." and the IRS "may waive the requirement to file electronically in cases of undue hardship." Follow the IRS instructions, or your software or preparer. RepeatForm fills the PDF; it does not file anything for you.
The instructions say "All CRTs described in section 664 must file Form 5227." They also name pooled income funds and other split-interest trusts, with an exception that you can read on irs.gov. RepeatForm does not decide whether your trust must file.
You can reuse the details that stay the same, such as the trust's name, the trustee, the address, the EIN and the date the trust was created. The amounts and year-specific answers change, so enter them again and check every line on the new form in Review. The form is open to public inspection, so check the new copy before you share it.
