Status the text uses
Foreign person (CFIUS, 31 CFR Part 802). Foreign person who acquires, disposes of, or holds an interest in United States agricultural land (AFIDA, 7 CFR Part 781). Foreign person, when selling (FIRPTA, IRC 1445).
What the text supports
Some states restrict land purchases by nationals of certain countries (CRS LSB11013). State laws are not covered here. No federal law comprehensively regulates all foreign purchases of US real property (CRS LSB11013). CFIUS can review certain purchases, leases and concessions by foreign persons of covered real estate in or near listed military installations, airports and maritime ports, but a single housing unit, with fixtures and adjacent land incidental to its use as a home, is excepted (31 CFR 802.216(d)). A foreign person who acquires, disposes of, or holds an interest in US agricultural land must report it to the Secretary of Agriculture, generally within 90 days of an acquisition or transfer, as a disclosure rule rather than a purchase ban (7 CFR Part 781). When a foreign owner later sells, the buyer generally must withhold 15 percent of the amount realized (usually the sales price) under FIRPTA, or 10 percent if the buyer acquires the home as a residence for $1,000,000 or less, and nothing if an individual buyer does so for $300,000 or less (conditions apply). While a foreign owner who is a nonresident alien rents out the home, the tenant or other withholding agent generally must withhold 30 percent of the gross rent, or a lower treaty rate, unless the owner elects under IRC 871(d) to treat all their US real property income as effectively connected, files Form 1040-NR each year and gives the withholding agent Form W-8ECI, in which case only net rent is taxed, at graduated rates (conditions apply). If a foreign owner who was neither a US citizen nor domiciled in the US dies, the executor must file Form 706-NA when the owner's US-situated assets, including US real estate, are worth more than $60,000 at death, with certain lifetime gifts added to that total, and an estate tax treaty may give more favorable treatment. Lending, visa pathways, and EB-5 are left open.
Updated .
Official sources
- State Regulation of Foreign Ownership of U.S. Land: January 2023 to July 2024
- FIRPTA withholding
- Exceptions from FIRPTA withholding
- Instructions for Form 8288 (Rev. January 2026), U.S. Withholding Tax Return for Certain Dispositions by Foreign Persons
- 26 U.S.C. 1445, Withholding of tax on dispositions of United States real property interests
- 31 CFR Part 802, Regulations Pertaining to Certain Transactions by Foreign Persons Involving Real Estate in the United States
- 31 CFR 802.216, Excepted real estate transaction
- Do the regulations cover the sale or lease of residential property?
- Definition of Military Installation and the List of Military Installations in the Regulations Pertaining to Certain Transactions by Foreign Persons Involving Real Estate in the United States
- 7 CFR Part 781, Disclosure of Foreign Investment in Agricultural Land
- 7 U.S.C. 3501, Reporting requirements
- Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA)
- Nonresident aliens – Real property located in the U.S.
- Publication 515 (2026), Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
- Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
- Some nonresidents with U.S. assets must file estate tax returns
- Instructions for Form 706-NA (09/2025), United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, Estate of nonresident not a citizen of the United States
Full method and the matrix: Foreign and non-resident buyer rules.