Is Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust a PFIC?
SMT · London · ISIN GB00BLDYK618 · incorporated in United Kingdom · Financials
PFIC (fund)
Investment trust: a pooled fund for U.S. tax, almost certainly a PFIC (Form 8621, punitive tax).
Checked 2026-11-15Xpat's reading · Xpat's reading of PFIC screen for individual stocks: Xpat screens by type of company: operating businesses pass, funds, investment trusts and cash-rich holding companies are excluded. The test is annual and only the company can confirm it, so a stock is PFIC-screened, not certified. Banks and insurers pass only through the active banking or insurance exception, so they are shown as screened with that caveat. Where a company has published a statement, the stock records its year and source. · 26 U.S.C. §1297 — passive foreign investment company (official)
What it means for a U.S. citizen or green-card holder
Owning a PFIC means filing Form 8621 every year for each holding. Without an election, gains and large distributions are spread over the years you held the shares, taxed at the top rate of each year and charged interest. A QEF election needs an annual statement from the company or fund; a mark-to-market election taxes the yearly rise in value as ordinary income. Most expats avoid PFICs altogether.
Company type: Investment trust (closed-end fund). Educational tool, not tax advice: PFIC status is decided each year on figures only the company has.