Reclaiming Your Excess FIRPTA Taxes: Form 8288A Guide

Jan 24, 2024 | FIRPTA, IRS, ITIN, tax returns, Uncategorized, US Tax | 0 comments

Reclaiming Your Excess FIRPTA Taxes

Foreigners Who Sold American Residential or Commercial Property, FIRPTA Tax Withholding Paid via Escrow or Title Company. Did You Reclaim Your Excess Taxes Paid?

Foreigners who have USA-based property investments are often ignorant of their rights to claim back the excess FIRPTA taxes paid when their US property is sold. Even the title company is not very helpful in detailing the relevant information to the individual sellers who are not aware of the US tax laws. The majority of the time if taxes are paid via title company reporting on Form 8288A the investors tend to assume I have paid my taxes I do not wish to be dragged into the USA revenue system with tax reclaim etc.

As the old saying goes, “If you don’t ask, you won’t get it.”. The same rule applies to your obligation to file the relevant forms and paperwork with the IRS.

Form 8288a Firpta Tax Reclaim

If you are a foreign person [not a green card holder or US citizen] who sold your America-based property during the period January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023 and have filed a FIRPTA Tax Withholding Report via Form 8288A, then you file for a tax reclaim for any excess tax withheld.

  • If your Escrow/title company or selling agents withheld FIRPTA tax of 15% for individuals with no ITIN or 10% of sale proceeds for ITIN holders, then ensure you get your Form 8288A and IRS check FIPRTA payment proof.
  • You can file a USA non-resident alien tax return and claim your FIRPTA tax in full if your net profit or capital gains on property are less than $40,000.

Please note that you need a valid USTAX ID or ITIN number to file a non-resident alien tax return to claim your FIRPTA tax refund.

For more information on FIRPTA 

We are one of the IRS-approved Certified Acceptance Agents (CAA) with many years of experience dealing with IRS ITIN applications and Federal tax return refund claims. If you are looking for expert advisory tax reclaim or ITIN application service with passport certification and to ensure ITIN is approved with a 100% success rate, reach out to the US via our website with the service required.

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