Best way to file taxes when living outside the US as a US citizen

[Ohad Folman]

Hi there BP community! Good to be here. I've started investing in real estate in the US market (currently in Detroit, MI). I've lived outside the US for about a decade now. I'm trying to figure out how do I handle my taxes in regards to these new rental properties (located in the US) while living in a different country.  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks everyone. 

[Charles D.]

@Ohad Folman

If they are directly owned residential rentals, there’s very few nuances about residing outside the US as to the specific to the tax impact and reportIng of the US properties. Generally you would treat it the same as if you were in the US. Of course being outside the US for a while you undoubtedly already know there’s additional complexity associated with other tax issues

One thing you might run into if you sold any of the rentals at a gain is whether your country of residence also taxes them due to being on a worldwide tax system (UK, Japan, and China are a few examples where this might occur but this is not likely to occur in most other countries). In this case, if you paid foreign taxes on the gain, foreign tax credits and/or tax treaties may come into play to avoid double taxation.

Hope it helps