Guide for buyers living in United States
Buying property abroad from United States
Rules last checked 30 October 2026 · 12 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
What a buyer living in United States meets before and after buying a home abroad: sending the money out, tax at home on the rent and the sale, and the forms to file.
The three things to know
- Sending money abroad
The United States sets no annual limit in the sources read; a FinCEN Form 105 report is due only when more than USD 10,000 in currency or monetary instruments is physically moved out of the country at one time, and ordinary bank transfers are not reported on that form.
- Tax at home
US citizens and resident aliens are taxed on worldwide income, so foreign rent and any gain on a foreign home are reported in the US, with a credit or deduction for foreign tax paid. The home sale exclusion of USD 250,000 (USD 500,000 jointly) is not limited by location in its text.
- Reporting at home
A foreign home held directly is not reported on Form 8938 or the FBAR, according to the IRS comparison table; the home held through a foreign entity, and any foreign account that holds rent or sale money, can be. Form 8938 starts at USD 50,000 for a person living in the US, and the FBAR at USD 10,000 across foreign accounts.
Sending money abroad
A report
- Rule
A person who physically transports, mails or ships currency or other monetary instruments totalling more than USD 10,000 at one time out of the United States files FinCEN Form 105; a transfer through normal banking procedures that involves no physical movement is not reported on that form.
- Limit
10,000 USD per per physical movement at one time
For buying a home abroad
- Rule
The sources read do not treat the purpose of buying a foreign home differently from any other purpose for sending money abroad.
Tax at home
A US citizen is taxed on worldwide income wherever living, so spending part of the year abroad does not by itself change the US return.
Rent from a home abroad
- Rule
A US citizen or resident alien is taxed on worldwide income, so rent from a home abroad is reported on the US return; the IRS depreciation table sets 30 years under the alternative depreciation system for residential rental property, and that system is required for tangible property used predominantly outside the United States.
Gain on selling a home abroad
- Rule
Gain on selling a home abroad is gross income from whatever source derived, and the home sale exclusion in section 121 (USD 250,000, or USD 500,000 on a joint return) has no location condition in its text, but needs ownership and use as a principal residence for 2 years in the 5 years before the sale; real property outside the United States is not like kind with real property inside it for a section 1031 exchange.
Relief for tax paid abroad
- Rule
Foreign income taxes can be taken as a credit against US tax on Form 1116 or as a deduction on Schedule A, and the IRS publishes the list of income tax treaties in force.
How Freeholt models United States residents with property abroad
Reporting at home
Form 1040 with the rental and sale schedules
- Who
US citizens and resident aliens with foreign rental income or a gain on a foreign home
- Threshold
worldwide income above the filing level for the filing status
- Deadline
with the annual income tax return
- Covers a foreign home
Yes
Form 8938 Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets
- Who
Specified individuals whose foreign financial assets exceed the threshold
- Threshold
USD 50,000 at year end or USD 75,000 at any time for an unmarried person living in the US; USD 200,000 and USD 300,000 for a person living abroad; double for a joint return
- Deadline
attached to the annual income tax return
- Covers a foreign home
only through accounts or entities
FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR)
- Who
US persons with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts
- Threshold
aggregate value of foreign financial accounts above USD 10,000 at any time in the calendar year
- Deadline
15 April after the calendar year, with an automatic extension to 15 October
- Covers a foreign home
only through accounts or entities
Form 1116 Foreign Tax Credit
- Who
Individuals claiming a credit for foreign income tax paid, including tax on foreign rent or gain
- Threshold
none stated on the page read
- Deadline
with the annual income tax return
- Covers a foreign home
Yes
Where to look
Choose a country to see what its rules say for a buyer with a United States passport living in United States.
Check a country for a passport
Australia
Depends on the propertyPassport: United States. Buyer lives outside Australia. Reading for a home.
Different property types carry different readings. The country guide lists each one.
Australia requires a foreign person to obtain foreign investment approval before buying residential land, and from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 buying an established dwelling is generally banned, while vacant land and new dwellings stay open with approval. Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens are not caught.
Rules last checked 29 October 2026
Questions people ask
What if a US citizen buys a home abroad with a wire transfer of USD 400,000?
The pages read set no annual limit on bank transfers out of the United States. FinCEN Form 105 covers physical movement of more than USD 10,000 in currency or monetary instruments, and the IRS states that a transfer through normal banking procedures is not reported on it.
What if the foreign home is owned directly and never rented out?
The IRS comparison table lists foreign real estate held directly as not reportable on Form 8938 or the FBAR. The sale is still a taxable event if the gain exceeds the home sale exclusion or the exclusion conditions are not met.
What if the foreign home is held through a foreign company?
The IRS table says the real estate is not itself reported on Form 8938, but the foreign entity is a specified foreign financial asset and its maximum value includes the real estate.
How does the US tax rent from a home abroad that already paid foreign tax?
The rent is part of worldwide income reported in the US. The foreign income tax can be claimed as a credit on Form 1116 or deducted, so the same income is not fully taxed twice.
What if a US citizen lives abroad for most of the year?
The IRS states that a US citizen or resident alien is subject to tax on worldwide income wherever living and files under the same rules as in the US, with special benefits available only by filing a return.
How does depreciation work for a rental home abroad?
The IRS table shows residential rental property recovered over 30 years under the alternative depreciation system, which Publication 946 requires for tangible property used predominantly outside the United States.
What if a foreign bank account holds the rent and the balance passes USD 10,000?
The FBAR applies when the combined value of foreign financial accounts exceeds USD 10,000 at any time in the calendar year, even if the account produced no taxable income.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- A statement that the United States has no exchange controls on bank transfers could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The number of income tax treaties in force was not stated on the page read.
- Whether an annual federal wealth tax applies to a home abroad could not be confirmed from an official source beyond the absence of one in the pages read.
- How the net investment income tax and state income tax apply to foreign rent and gain was not researched.
- The treatment of a foreign home held through a company, trust or partnership is only touched on through the Form 8938 table.
Sources
Official pages these figures come from (12)
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property abroad next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 30 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.