Free · about 4 minutes · estimates are fine
Check my FIRPTA situation
If you are not a U.S. person for tax purposes and you sell U.S. real property, the buyer generally withholds 15% of the price at closing and pays it to the IRS — 10% or nothing in some sales of a home to a buyer who will live in it. That withholding is a prepayment, not your final tax. The check shows the figure on your price, your cash at closing, and what could change it.
Six short screens: who is selling, the property, where the sale stands, a few figures, what already exists, and what would help. Planning to sell next year? Say so — the result becomes a preparation plan rather than a closing checklist. Just want numbers? The Closing Cash Map works without any questions.
Check your FIRPTA situation
Who is selling, the property, where the sale stands and a few figures — estimates are fine. You see the preliminary withholding and your Closing Cash Map before any email. No taxpayer numbers, passports or addresses are asked for.
About 4 minutes. Results before any email.
What the assessment looks at
- Whether FIRPTA withholding applies
- From whether each seller is a U.S. person for tax purposes — never from nationality alone.
- The preliminary withholding
- 15%, 10% or none, from the price and the buyer's plans — with the conditions each rate depends on.
- Your cash at closing
- Withholding comes off the gross price, so it can exceed the cash left after a mortgage payoff.
- Whether a certificate is worth a look
- A screen comparing the withholding with a rough tax on your gain — a professional decides.
- Taxpayer numbers and state rules
- Whether an ITIN is needed, and whether the property's state has its own withholding.
Who it is for
Foreign owners selling — or planning to sell — a U.S. home, condo or investment property, and owners whose sale has already closed.
What it does not do
It does not decide anyone's tax status, apply for a certificate, compute the final tax or contact the buyer or closing agent. It reads published rules against your estimates and says what may apply, what may not, and what a professional should look at.
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)
- IRS: ITINs for foreign property sellers — IRS — ITIN guidance for foreign property buyers and sellers (Form W-7, the FIRPTA exception, the stamped Form 8288-A)
- IRS: reporting and paying tax on U.S. real property interests — IRS — Reporting and paying tax on U.S. real property interests (the transferor's return and the stamped Form 8288-A)
- IRC §1445 — IRC §1445 — Withholding of tax on dispositions of United States real property interests
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.
Questions people ask
Is FIRPTA withholding the same as my U.S. tax on the sale?
No. The withholding is a prepayment the buyer holds back at closing — generally 15% of the price, not of your gain. Your actual tax is settled on a U.S. return for the year of the sale, and if it is lower than what was withheld, the difference can come back after you file.
I'm Canadian. Does that make me a foreign seller?
Not automatically. FIRPTA turns on whether you are a U.S. person for tax purposes — a U.S. citizen, a green-card holder, or someone who meets the days-present test. A Canadian who spends long winters in the U.S. can meet that test. The check asks the facts that decide it.
Why do you ask for the price but not my name or tax number?
The 15% / 10% / no-withholding rules turn on exact thresholds — $300,000 and $1,000,000 — so a range would not do. Nothing else is needed for a preliminary reading. A taxpayer identification number is never typed into this check; if you go ahead, documents are exchanged in a secure portal.
What happens after the result?
You can keep it, download the Closing Cash Map, or ask for a professional to take it from there. A request sends your answers with it, so you are not asked again — and you receive a written quote before anything is charged.