Selling Your Florida Property as a Foreign Owner

Selling as a foreign owner is straightforward — but only if the tax mechanics are handled before the closing date rather than at it. Selling Florida property from outside the United States is not harder than selling it from Sarasota; it just needs more lead time. The item that surprises people is FIRPTA.

FIRPTA, in One Paragraph

When a foreign person sells US real property, the law requires the buyer to withhold 15% of the gross sale price and send it to the IRS. Not 15% of your profit — 15% of the entire price. On an $800,000 sale that is $120,000 held back at closing, even if your actual gain was modest or nil. It is a prepayment against your US tax bill rather than a tax in itself, and you recover the difference by filing a US return. That refund typically arrives many months later.

The Exceptions Worth Knowing

Withholding falls away entirely when the sale price is $300,000 or less and the buyer signs that they will use the property as their own residence for a defined share of the next two years. A reduced rate exists in a band above that under similar conditions. Neither is automatic — the buyer has to be willing to sign, which is a point to raise while the contract is being negotiated, not afterwards.

How to Avoid Lending the IRS Your Money

If your real tax liability will be far below 15% of the price, your CPA can apply for a withholding certificate on IRS Form 8288-B, which reduces or eliminates the amount held back at closing. It has to be filed well ahead: the IRS takes months, and you will need a US tax identification number (ITIN) first if you do not already have one. That is why we ask foreign sellers to talk to us three to four months before they want to close, not three to four weeks.

Selling as a Foreign Owner: What We Do, and What We Do Not

We price and market the property, negotiate the FIRPTA affidavit language into the contract, coordinate with the title company so the withholding is handled correctly at closing, and refer you to CPAs who file 8288-B applications routinely for European owners. We are licensed real estate brokers. We are not tax advisors or attorneys, and nothing on this page is tax or legal advice — the rules summarised here are general and they change, so confirm your own position with a US tax professional before you sign anything.

Read Further

Our detailed guide is FIRPTA: what foreign property sellers must know. If the property has been rented out, selling an investment property in Florida covers depreciation recapture and the 1031 question. Estate planning while you still own it is in US estate tax for foreign owners. And if you want the number before the tax conversation, start with a free valuation.