Tax Planning for Foreign Individuals That Own U.S. Real Property
By Anthony Diosdi As I have discussed in previous articles, nonresident alien domiciliaries are generally subject to U.S. estate tax on his or her U.S. situs assets. The most common example of a U.S. situs asset is U.S. real estate. In this context, it is important to remember that a nonresident alien domiciliary does not benefit from the same “Unified Credit” as a U.S. citizen or resident alien domiciliary. Instead, a nonresident alien domiciliary is only entitled to a $60,000 deduction (equivalent to a $13,000 credit). Because the value of U.S. real estate owned by a nonresident alien domiciliary almost always exceeds this $60,000 “threshold,” the estate of a nonresident alien domiciliary can be subject to a U.S. estate tax on such real estate.In this context, many nonresident alien domiciliary’s…