FIRPTA and Partnership Interest Withholding Rules Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
By Anthony Diosdi The passing of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act brought many changes to the Internal Revenue Code. One change relates to the handling of the sale of partnership interests by foreign persons. In particular, Sections 864(c)(8) and 1446(f) withholding rules were added to the Internal Revenue Code.Explanation of Withholding Tax and Substantive TaxThe withholding tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 1446(f) requires a 10 percent withholding on the sales price of a partnership interest by foreign persons unless certain exceptions are met. One such exception is if the seller furnishes an affidavit to the buyer stating, among other things, the seller is not a foreign person. The 10 person withholding, similar to the 15 percent Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (“FIRPTA”) withholding on sales…