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FIRPTA · For real estate professionals

A structured FIRPTA assistance process for your foreign-seller transactions

When the seller is not a U.S. person, the buyer generally withholds 15% of the price at closing — 10% or nothing in some sales of a home the buyer will live in. Introduce your seller early, with their consent, and the FIRPTA side runs in a structured way: a private check, a qualified professional when it is needed, documents in the seller’s secure portal, and closing milestones you can follow if your client shares them.

By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax

Updated

How an introduction works

  1. The seller agrees to be contacted

    Nothing happens without it. You confirm it on every introduction; the seller hears who introduced them.

  2. You introduce them — or share your link

    Use the introduction form on your dashboard, or give the seller your personal link to the FIRPTA check. Both carry your firm's name, never a fee.

  3. The seller sees their situation, privately

    A short check shows the preliminary withholding on their price, their cash at closing and what could change it — the buyer's residence plans, a withholding certificate, an ITIN.

  4. A qualified professional takes it from there, if needed

    The seller asks for a written quote; a CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney engaged through Atamatax does the tax work the quote describes.

  5. You follow the closing — if the seller shares it

    The seller can give you, and the title company, a personal view of the case status and the closing milestones, and revoke it at any time.

Introduce sellers before they list

The withholding is computed on the gross price, so it can exceed what is left after a mortgage payoff — a surprise nobody wants in the closing week. Before listing there is time to gather the purchase and improvement records, settle each seller’s U.S. taxpayer number, and look at the cash with the Closing Cash Map. A seller who is planning to sell gets a preparation plan and dated reminders, if they ask for them.

What you see — and what stays private

Yours to see

  • Your introductions, and how many sellers started or finished the check from your link
  • A seller’s case status and closing milestones — when that seller shares them with you
  • The documents a seller chooses to share with you, and requests you send them

Private to the seller

  • Their answers and figures, including the withholding estimate
  • Their taxpayer-number status and identity documents
  • Quotes, payments and their conversations with the professional

Who does what on the closing

The buyer (withholding agent)
Withholds at closing; files Forms 8288 and 8288-A and pays the IRS by the 20th day after the transfer — usually through the closing agent.
The title / settlement agent
Runs the closing and, typically, the withholding agent's paperwork. Receives the seller-side information it needs, and the written notice if a certificate application is pending.
You
Raise FIRPTA early, introduce the seller with their consent, and keep the dates moving. Tax questions go to the professional, not through you.
Atamatax
Runs the seller's intake, the secure portal and the coordination between the parties, with the seller's written authorization.
The qualified professional
A CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney engaged through Atamatax: the analysis, the workpapers and any certificate application, within the written quote.
The seller
Provides documents in their portal, signs what is theirs, and decides who sees their case.

Documents never travel by email: the seller uploads them to their own portal, and a closing party asks for what it needs through the shared view the seller grants.

Apply to introduce sellers

For real estate agents and brokers, title and escrow companies, settlement and real estate attorneys, and cross-border property advisers. We review each application by hand.

How the partnership works

  • No referral fees are paid, and none is promised: introductions are a service to your client, not a commission arrangement.
  • You introduce a seller only after they have agreed to be contacted, and you confirm that on every introduction.
  • You see how a case is going only if the seller chooses to share it with you. Their answers, figures and documents stay private otherwise.
  • Atamatax and the qualified professional engaged on the case answer the seller directly; tax questions about the case go to them, not through you.
  • You do not send seller documents by email: the seller uploads them to their own secure portal.

Questions

Common questions

Who files Forms 8288 and 8288-A on a sale with a foreign seller?
The buyer is the withholding agent: the buyer withholds, files Forms 8288 and 8288-A and pays the IRS by the 20th day after the transfer — in practice usually through the closing agent. The seller's side prepares the information the forms need and, where it fits, a withholding certificate application. Atamatax works on the seller's side; the withholding agent role stays with the buyer.
When is the best moment to introduce a foreign seller?
Before listing. The purchase records, each seller's U.S. taxpayer number and a realistic cash picture all take weeks; a withholding certificate application needs a contract but should be decided before it. A seller introduced at the closing table has fewer options.
Will I see my client's numbers?
No. You see how the case is going only if your client chooses to share it — their closing status and milestones, and only the documents they pick. Their figures, taxpayer-number status and conversations with the professional stay private.
Is there a referral fee?
No referral fees are paid. Introductions are a service to your client, and keeping it that way keeps the advice independent of who introduced whom.

Already a partner?

Sign in with the email you applied with to find your introduction link, the introduction form and what your introductions became.

Open the partner dashboard

Authorities cited

  • IRS: FIRPTA withholding — IRS — FIRPTA withholding (rate, amount realized, the residence test, multiple transferors)
  • Instructions for Form 8288 — Instructions for Form 8288 (Rev. 01/2026) — rates, the 20-day filing rule, pending applications, multiple transferors, installment sales
  • IRS: exceptions from FIRPTA withholding — IRS — Exceptions from FIRPTA withholding (residence at $300,000 or less, nonforeign certification, withholding certificate, nonrecognition)
  • IRS: withholding certificates — IRS — Withholding certificates (grounds, the 90-day target after a complete application, notice to the transferee)

Primary sources (Cornell Legal Information Institute for the US Code and CFR; IRS.gov for forms, procedures, and treaty documents). This page is general information, not individualized tax or legal advice.

Atamatax provides tax preparation support and educational resources. This website does not constitute legal or tax advice.