** FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) Under FIRPTA, a buyer must withhold 10% of purchase price if the seller is a foreign person. Usually Escrow collects this and sends it directly to the tax collection agency.

** No withholding is required if the seller is a U.S. citizen; green cardholder (lawful resident); or resident alien (meets either the physical presence test-present in the U.S. for at least 183 days in the current calendar year; or the substantial presence test-present in the U.S. for a weighted average of 183 days over three years).

** At the time of purchase, inform your foreign buyers that they must acquire a U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN) to have when they go to sale the property. Waiting until the time of sale to obtain a TIN may cause difficulty recovering money withheld pursuant to FIRPTA.