Structuring Foreign Investment in US Real Estate

Foreign investors and their American counterparts generally share the goal of minimizing income tax liabilities from their US real estate investments. This rather straightforward aim is complicated by the fact that non-US investors must be concerned not only with income taxes in the United States, but in their home country as well. What's more, the United States has a special income tax regime that’s applicable to foreign persons. It’s quickly evident to those involved that this is a complex area subject to new developments as the US Congress continually entertains new tax laws (and other statutes with relevant impact like the PATRIOT Act), the Internal Revenue Service promulgates regulations, rulings, announcements and interpretations, and the US courts issue opinions impacting the area. This timely and highly practical resource is designed to explore the considerations that are of unique concern to foreign individuals and entities making US real estate investments. To that end it details the US income, estate and gift tax aspects of inbound investment in US real property and the various structural techniques that may be employed to reduce or eliminate US tax liability under these domestic laws. This work's single-minded focus on real estate, the encyclopedic coverage of relevant tax considerations, and extensive materials on non-tax issues (asset protection, non-tax reporting, limits on foreign ownership of U.S, real estate, etc.) make it an essential resource for non-US investors and their advisers. Structuring Foreign Investment in US Real Estate covers:

• General rules for taxing inbound investments by non-US persons

• System for taxing operating income from foreign-owned US real estate

• Regime for taxing dispositions of US real estate by non-US owners

• Withholding obligations of purchasers of US real estate from non-US sellers

• Impact of tax treaty network on US taxation of inbound real estate investment

• Limitations on non-US ownership of US real estate

• Reporting obligations for non-US owners of US real estate

• Planning for acquisitions and dispositions of US real estate by non-US persons

• Estate and gift tax planning for foreign-owned US real estate

This one-volume looseleaf answer questions, such as:

• How is direct foreign investment in US real estate taxed?

• How is portfolio investment in US real estate taxed?

• What are the seller’s and buyer’s tax obligations when foreign-owned US real estate changes hands?

• What planning techniques are available to non-US persons for holding and disposing of US real estate?

• What reporting obligations are associated with foreign ownership of US real estate?

• Are there limitations on the ability of non-US persons to own US real estate?

• What impact do tax treaties have on planning for foreign investment in US real estate?

• What state and local tax issues arise on inbound investment in US real estate?

• What estate and gift planning should be done for non-US owners of US real estate?