FIRPTA withholding calculator: what you take home at closing
Enter an expected price and the map shows the preliminary federal withholding — 15%, 10% or none — and the cash you would actually receive after the mortgage payoff and selling costs. It keeps four things apart that closing statements blur: the withholding, your final tax, a possible refund, and your proceeds.
By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax
Updated
Your Closing Cash Map
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The full price, before the mortgage payoff or any costs.
Reduces your cash — not the withholding base.
Commission, closing fees, transfer taxes.
For the certificate screen only.
Some states apply their own withholding when a nonresident sells. It is a separate system from FIRPTA, with its own forms and rates.
Enter an expected sale price to see the withholding and your cash at closing.
Why the figure looks large: price, not profit
Suppose you bought a condo for $500,000 and sell it for $800,000. Your gain is about $300,000 before costs, but the buyer withholds 15% of $800,000 — $120,000 — because FIRPTA withholding is a percentage of the amount realized. If you still owe $650,000 on the mortgage and pay $45,000 in commission and fees, the cash left before withholding is $105,000, and the withholding is more than that. The closing cannot simply proceed on autopilot; that gap is the reason sellers look at their options weeks before the closing date rather than at the table.
The calculator shows the gap explicitly. A negative “estimated cash at closing” is not an error — it is the situation a closing agent will raise with you, and the moment to talk to a professional about a withholding certificate.
The two thresholds, read exactly
| Amount realized | Buyer will live there | Buyer will not (or a company buys) |
|---|---|---|
| $300,000 or less | No withholding | 15% |
| $300,000.01 to $1,000,000 | 10% | 15% |
| More than $1,000,000 | 15% | 15% |
Both limits are “or less”: a sale at exactly $300,000 to a qualifying buyer carries no withholding, and one at exactly $1,000,000 carries 10%. The thresholds look at the whole amount realized for the property, not at each seller’s share. And the residence treatment belongs to the buyer: it needs an individual buyer with definite plans to live there (family members count, vacant days do not), and the buyer bears the consequences if those plans were not real — which is why many closing agents ask for a signed statement before they apply it.
What this calculator deliberately leaves out
- State withholding. Some states run their own nonresident withholding on real estate sales. It is a separate system with its own forms; a federal rate is never applied to it here. Florida has no personal income tax, so there is no Florida income-tax withholding on the sale.
- Your final tax. That depends on your gain, how long you held the property, any depreciation while it was rented, and your other U.S. income — settled on the return, not at closing.
- Several sellers or an entity. The map assumes individual sellers. With a co-owner who is a U.S. person, the withholding applies to the foreign sellers’ share; if a company, trust or estate sells, different rules apply. The situation check asks about those cases and routes them to a professional.
Questions
Common questions
- How much FIRPTA withholding applies to my sale?
- Generally 15% of the amount realized — the full price, not your profit. When an individual buyer acquires the property to live in it, the rate is 10% if the amount realized is $1,000,000 or less, and there is no withholding at $300,000 or less. Above $1,000,000 the rate stays at 15% whatever the buyer's plans.
- Is it 10% or 15%?
- 15% is the general rate for sales after February 16, 2016. 10% applies only when two things are true: the amount realized is more than $300,000 and not more than $1,000,000, and the buyer — an individual — has definite plans to live in the property at least half the days it is used in each of the first two years. A house sold to an investor who will rent it out is withheld at 15%.
- Does my mortgage reduce the withholding?
- No. The amount realized includes the cash paid to you and any debt the buyer takes over or that the property is subject to. A mortgage paid off from the sale proceeds is part of the price, so the withholding is computed before it comes out. That is why the withholding can be larger than the cash you would otherwise receive.
- What exactly is the amount realized?
- The cash paid or to be paid (principal only), the fair market value of any other property transferred, and any liability the buyer assumes or that the property is subject to immediately before and after the transfer. For an ordinary cash sale it is the contract price.
- Is the withholding my tax?
- No. It is a prepayment. Your actual tax on the gain is computed on a U.S. return for the year of the sale; the amount withheld is credited against it, and any excess can be refunded after the return is processed.
See it on your own sale
A few questions — estimates are fine — and you see the preliminary withholding, your cash at closing and what could change it. Nothing is filed or sent to anyone.
Check my FIRPTA situationAuthorities 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)
- 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.
Atamatax provides tax preparation support and educational resources. This website does not constitute legal or tax advice.