Many Americans look overseas for vacation homes, rental income properties, and places to settle down during retirement—whether that’s two or 20 years away.
There are differences between financing and buying foreign property and doing the same in the United States. Also, the local customs and ownership rules in some countries make it harder to own real estate as a non-resident.
However, the tax benefits of owning property located abroad are similar to those of owning in the U.S., with a few exceptions.
Key Takeaways
- The tax treatment of homes is similar whether the property is in the U.S. or a foreign country.
- You generally can deduct mortgage interest and mortgage points up to $750,000 ($375,000 if married filing separately) of secured mortgage debt.
- To claim the deductions, you must itemize on Schedule A when filing your tax return.
- If you receive any rental income, the tax rules depend on how many days you use the home for personal use rather than rental use.
- Foreign real property taxes are no longer deductible on your U.S. tax return. The deduction was eliminated in 2017.
Beneficial Tax Treatment Overview
The foreign property ownership tax benefits that you get under U.S. tax law depend on how you use the overseas property. For example:
- If you live in the home, you generally can claim the mortgage interest deduction and deduct mortgage points.
- If you earn rental income from the property, you can deduct the “ordinary and necessary expenses for managing, conserving, and maintaining” the home. These expenses include mortgage interest, property and liability insurance, repair and maintenance costs, and local and long-distance travel expenses related to maintaining the property.
Foreign Property for Personal Use
Mortgage Interest Deduction
If you use the property as a second home and not as a rental you can deduct mortgage interest and mortgage discount points just as you would for a second home in the U.S.
You can deduct the interest that you pay on the first $750,000 ($375,000 if married and filing separately) of qualified mortgage debt on your first and second homes. That’s the total amount for both properties combined.
Note that if you bought your properties before Dec. 16, 2017, you receive the previous deduction limit of $1 million of qualified mortgage debt. Check with a tax expert to be sure of which applies.
As with a primary residence, you can’t write off expenses such as utilities, maintenance, or insurance unless you’re eligible to claim the home office deduction.
Foreign Property Taxes
While the mortgage interest deduction is the same whether the home is in the U.S. or abroad, property taxes work differently. Foreign property taxes are not deductible for tax years 2018 through 2025.
The interest deductions on the first $750,000 ($375,000 if married filing separately) of mortgage debt on a first or second home are the caps through the 2025 tax year. At that time, unless Congress enacts new legislation, the limit will rise to $1 million ($500,000 for separate filers).
Foreign Rental Property
The tax rules are more complicated if you earn rental income on the foreign property. Different rules apply, depending on how many days you use the home for personal rather than rental use. In general, you’ll fall into one of two categories: personal residence and rental property.
Personal Residence
You rent out the home for 14 days or fewer and use it for more than 14 days or 10% of the total days when it was rented, whichever is greater.
You can rent the house to someone else for up to two weeks (14 nights) each year without having to report that income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Even if you rent it out for $5,000 a night, you don’t have to report the rental income as long as you didn’t rent for more than 14 days.
The house is considered a personal residence, allowing you to deduct mortgage interest under the standard second-home rules. However, you can’t deduct rental losses or expenses.
Rental Property
You rent out the home for more than 14 days and use it for fewer than 14 days or 10% of the total days when it was rented, whichever is greater.
In this case, the IRS considers the home a rental property and views the rental activities as a business. As such, you must report all rental income to the IRS.
Still, the good news is that this permits you to deduct rental expenses, such as mortgage interest, advertising expenses, insurance premiums, utilities, and property manager fees. You must allocate the expenses between rental and personal use based on the number of days when the home was used for each purpose.
Keep in mind that if a member of your family uses the house (e.g., your spouse, siblings, parents, grandparents, children, and grandchildren), the usage counts as personal days unless you collect a fair rental price.
Note that foreign properties are depreciated over a 30-year period, instead of the current 27.5 years for domestic residential properties. In either case, you can depreciate the value of the building only; the land is not depreciable.
Capital Gains on Foreign Home Sales
If you sell your foreign home, the tax treatment is similar to that for selling a home in the U.S.
If you lived in and owned the property for at least two of the last five years, it qualifies as your primary residence. You you can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains (or up to $500,000 for married taxpayers) from the sale.
This primary-home sale exclusion does not apply if the home was not your primary residence, in which case you’ll owe the usual capital gains tax on the entire gain.
Keep in mind that the gain counts as a source of foreign income, so it will be eligible for the foreign tax credit. However, it won’t be considered foreign earned income, so you can’t claim the foreign earned income exclusion.
1031 Exchanges
If you sell your foreign property, you may be able to make a 1031 exchange (also called a like-kind exchange), in which you swap one investment property for another similar property on a tax-deferred basis. Many investors use this strategy to defer paying capital gains and depreciation recapture taxes.
However, property in the U.S. is not considered like-kind to any property overseas. U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 allows only domestic-for-domestic and foreign-for-foreign exchanges.
The U.S. considers any property outside the U.S. to be like-kind with any other similar property outside the U.S. So, it is possible to 1031 exchange a house in Panama for another in Panama—or in Ecuador or a country in Europe, for that matter. It just won’t be considered like-kind with any U.S. property.
To report a like-kind exchange per Section 1031, taxpayers should use IRS Form 8824.
Tax Reporting for Foreign Property
Be aware that you may be required to file a number of U.S. tax forms, depending on your exact situation as a foreign property owner.
For example, if you rent out your home abroad and open a bank account to collect rent, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) form if the aggregate value of all your foreign accounts is $10,000 or more “at any time during the calendar year.”
Other forms include Form 5471, Information Return of U.S. Persons with Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations (if your property is held by a foreign corporation); and Form 8858, Information Return of U.S. Persons with Respect to Foreign Disregarded Entities and Foreign Branches (if your property is held by a foreign limited liability company).
Avoid Double Taxation
If you operate your home abroad as a rental property, you may owe taxes in the country where the property is located. To prevent double taxation, you can take a tax credit on your U.S. tax return for any taxes that you paid to the foreign country relating to the net rental income.
However, there is a maximum allowable tax credit. You can’t take a credit for more than your U.S. tax on the rental income after deducting expenses.
In addition to taking a tax credit for any rental income taxes paid, you can also claim a foreign tax credit if you sell the property and pay capital gains tax in the foreign country.
Can I Deduct Mortgage Interest on My Foreign Property?
Yes. The same rules apply whether the home is in the U.S. or abroad. You can deduct mortgage interest on the first $750,000 ($375,000 if married filing separately) of mortgage debt on your first or second home. The debt must be used to buy, build, or substantially improve a home, and that home must secure the debt.
To claim the deduction, you must itemize on Schedule A Form 1040 or 1040-SR. You can’t take the deduction if you claim the standard deduction.
Can I Deduct Foreign Property Taxes?
No. Foreign property taxes have not been deductible since 2017. The deduction may return after the 2025 tax year or it may not, depending on Congressional action.
Will I Owe Capital Gains on the Sale of My Foreign Property?
Maybe. The same rules apply whether the property is in the U.S. or abroad. If you lived in and owned the home for at least two of the previous five years, you can exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 if married filing jointly) of gains. Gains above those thresholds are taxed at the short-term or long-term capital gains tax rate, depending on how long you owned the home.
Generally, you’re not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded gains from another home sale within the last two years.
Is Foreign Property Depreciable?
Yes. If your property is considered a rental property, you can depreciate it on your income tax returns. Unlike U.S. property, which is depreciated over 27.5 years, foreign residential property is depreciated over 30 years. You can only depreciate the value of the building. Land is never depreciable because it doesn’t get used up.
The Bottom Line
Foreign property ownership and tax laws are complicated and change from time to time. You can protect yourself by consulting with a tax accountant, a real estate attorney, or both, in the U.S. and abroad.
When you buy abroad, take extra care with the planning and details. Many countries have rules and regulations about who can own property and how it can be used.
In the U.S., homebuyers receive title to property. This distinction is not as clear in other countries.So, if you buy a home overseas, make sure that the transaction is conducted in a manner that protects your property rights.
