BIG Tax Bill if you BUY Real Estate from a FOREIGN SELLER

[Jonathan Van Dyke]

Make sure you educate yourself on FIRPTA and your title company knows to withhold the 15% FIRPTA tax or you could be liable for a BIG Tax Bill. If you buy a home from a foreign seller in the USA and the title company does not withold the 15% FIRPTA tax on the gross sale of the home and the foreign person does not pay the FIRPTA tax the buyer would be liable. So if you bought a home for 1,000,000 dollars from a foreign seller and there was no escrow withholding and the seller did not pay the FIRPTA tax yo the buyer would be liable for 15% or $150k.

Make sure you remember this when buying real estate from a foreign seller.