i am not an American citizen but my husband is, so if i bring in money to US from some real estate that i sell back home in Russia, would i have to pay a tax in US on that money? if yes what would it be, and if no, then how do you know for sure?
2007-07-27 08:36:04 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
If you are a Russian citizen (and not an american citizen) selling an asset in Russia then you pay tax to Russia, not the US. In fact, I can't even think how the IRS would find out about that unless you told them. Once you become an american citizen you will have to pay taxes to the US even for the property you sell in other countries - but not until you are a US citizen.
In fact, you can even invest in the US and not pay taxes on gains off US stocks if you are a citizen of another country (thats why some really rich people renounce their citizenship and go live in other countries where there are no taxes - but they can keep investing in the US).
2007-07-27 08:43:48 · answer #1 · answered by Slumlord 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
If you are a US resident, any gain from the sale of real estate anywhere is fully taxable in the US. The tax rate would depend upon how long you owned the property. If you owned it for one year or less, it would be taxed as a short-term capital gain, at your marginal tax rate. If you owned it for over one year it would be taxed as a long-term capital gain, normally at 15%.
However, if you owned the home and lived in it as your principal residence for at least 2 full years of the 5 years immediately prior to the sale you would qualify to exclude all or part of the gain from US tax, just as if the home were here in the US. The amount of the exclusion varies, depending upon your filing status. If you file as Single, the exclusion is $250,000. If you file Married Filing Jointly, it's $500,000. However, to get the $500,000 exclusion, your husband would have had to live there for the 2 out of the 5 years as well. If he did not, you'd still get the $250,000 exclusion.
If you do not live in the US and do not file a joint return with your husband it would not be taxable in the US.
2007-07-27 08:47:11 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
check irs.gov
2007-07-27 08:39:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋