What it is. A form attached to the US owner's return for each PFIC held directly or indirectly: foreign funds, offshore feeders and cash-rich foreign holding companies. It reports distributions, gains and annual income, and carries the elections that decide how the PFIC is taxed.
Who has to file. Any US shareholder, at any percentage, in a year with a distribution, a sale, a QEF or mark-to-market inclusion, or an election. The annual report (Part I) is also required unless the holding is a default-regime fund worth $25,000 or less in total ($50,000 joint) with no distribution or gain. Holdings inside an IRA or qualified plan don't count.
When it's due. With the filer's income tax return, including extensions. There is no stand-alone dollar penalty, but a missing 8621 keeps the IRS's time to audit the whole return open, and missing the first year usually means missing the QEF election.
Worked example
A US LP holds shares in a Cayman credit fund organised as a corporation. The fund sends a PFIC Annual Information Statement, so in year one the LP files Form 8621 with a QEF election and reports its share of the fund's income each year, keeping capital gains as capital gains.
Where you'll see it: Investor tax packages for offshore funds, PFIC Annual Information Statements, and expat portfolios holding non-US funds.
Full explainer: who files and the three PFIC regimes →
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This glossary is general information, simplified for learning. It is not tax, legal or investment advice, and real structures turn on facts and documents not shown here.