Who this desk is for
- Foreign owners selling South Florida property — individuals, and entities whose classification needs resolving up front (that 'foreign' LLC may be a U.S. person)
- Agents listing for international owners who need FIRPTA raised before the contract is signed, not at the table
- Buyers purchasing from a foreign seller — under FIRPTA, the buyer is the withholding agent the IRS holds responsible, which is why we screen seller status on every single file
- International parties who want remote signings and service in English, Español, Русский, or Українська
How the desk runs
- Step 1 — Screen at file opening: seller status is screened on every file, both to protect buyers and to keep foreign sellers out of amended-filing purgatory
- Step 2 — Compute and explain: generally 15% of the gross sales price — not the gain — with the exceptions flagged for your tax professional: the buyer's-residence exception at $300,000 or less, the reduced 10% rate for $300,001–$1,000,000 with the same use, and non-foreign certification where the seller is actually a U.S. person
- Step 3 — Buy back time: withholding-certificate applications to the IRS take time, so they get filed early — and the closing can escrow the withheld funds pending the IRS determination, keeping your sale on schedule while preserving the reduced-withholding benefit
- Step 4 — Run the closing-table mechanics: the withholding is computed, collected from proceeds at closing, the Forms 8288 and 8288-A remittance package prepared, and the stamped 8288-A copies delivered — they become your credit when you file your U.S. return
- Step 5 — Handle the border logistics: RON or coordinated mail-away signings, apostilles, translated entity documents, and international wire coordination under our verified-instruction discipline
Start here
Run the FIRPTA Estimator — withholding education with the statutory brackets — to see how the numbers work on your price. Under contract already? Upload the contract and flag the foreign-seller status so the desk opens with the file.
One boundary, stated plainly: we run the mechanics with precision; the strategy — certificate applications, treaty questions, entity classification, your ultimate tax position — belongs with your tax professional or tax counsel. We coordinate with them as a standing practice, and can point you toward the questions to ask if you don't yet have one.