Funds with U.S. investors, U.S. family offices, and individual U.S. investors (collectively, “U.S. Investors”) must be cognizant of whether their foreign investment in private companies is an investment in a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”). Typically, a foreign portfolio company would be classified as a corporation for U.S. income tax purposes unless an election was made to have it taxed otherwise. The issue with PFICs is that unless certain elections are made, distributions from a PFIC may be subject to an excess distribution regime resulting in a punitive tax and interest charge. In certain bad circumstances, the punitive tax and interest charge can be the amount of the distribution.
