LLC for real estateBuying US property from abroad through an LLC, from deed to sale
An LLC puts a company's name on the deed instead of yours, keeps a tenant's claim inside that company and makes the property easier to hold with partners. It doesn't change how the US taxes your rent, your sale or your estate. Those depend on how the LLC is taxed and who owns it, and that's the choice this page helps you make with your advisers.
Warranty deed
- Property
- A residential property in Florida
- Grantee (new owner)
- Your Property LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company
- Behind the LLC
- You, living abroad, as sole member
The deed shows the LLC. The IRS, the title company, the lender and the bank still know who owns it.
What an LLC changes for a foreign property owner, and what it doesn't
Picture the first rental you buy in the US. Without an LLC the deed carries your name and home address, a tenant's injury claim is a claim against you, and every partner you bring in has to be added to the title. With an LLC, the company owns the property and you own the company.
It changes
The name on the deed. County records show the LLC as owner.
Who gets sued. Claims from the property's business generally stay with the LLC, if you keep it separate: its own bank account, its own lease, no mixing.
How you share or pass it. Partners hold LLC interests instead of slices of the title; selling a share doesn't need a new deed.
It doesn't change
US tax on rent and sale. A single-member LLC is ignored for US income tax; you're taxed as if you owned the property directly.
FIRPTA on a sale. If you're the foreign owner behind a disregarded LLC, the buyer still withholds.
Estate tax exposure. The IRS hasn't said how it treats an LLC interest at death; see stage 6.
Formation state and property state are two different things
You can form the LLC in a cheap state like Wyoming or New Mexico, but the property sits where it sits. The property's state decides recording, transfer taxes, landlord law and, often, whether your LLC has to register there as a "foreign LLC". Choose your property's state to see both sides.
From Fla. Stat. 605.0905, A.R.S. 29-3905, Cal. Corp. Code 17708.03, the Franchise Tax Board and Florida's documentary stamp tax page. "Without more" is narrow: leasing, collecting rent and managing a building can be more, so a local attorney decides.
The short version: if the property is in a state with its own LLC rules and fees, forming the LLC in that state is often simpler than forming elsewhere and registering there too.
One LLC per property, or a series LLC?
Once you own two properties, the question is whether a burst pipe at one can reach the equity in the other. There are two ways to wall them off.
States whose LLC law allows series
These states' statutes provide for series or protected series LLCs. The highlighted ones are states we form in.
New Mexico's LLC Act has no series provisions. Florida added protected series in 2026, under s.605.2101 onward. Other states, Illinois and Tennessee among them, are often listed too; check the current statute before relying on any list, including this one.
A series doesn't always save money. California, for one, recognises series formed elsewhere but treats each series as a separate LLC, with its own return and its own US$800 annual tax.
For most first-time foreign buyers: one LLC per property, in the property's state or in a low-cost state registered there, is the arrangement every lender and title company recognises.
Buying through the LLC: title, lenders and closing reports
Buy in the LLC's name from the start
Forming the LLC before you sign the purchase contract lets the LLC be the buyer, so the deed is made out to it at closing. Moving a property you already own into an LLC later means a second deed, and in some states a transfer tax, a new title policy and a word with your lender first.
The lender will look at the LLC differently
Most US home loans are written to be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae's borrower rules cover individuals and certain trusts, not LLCs, and ask each borrower for an SSN or ITIN. So a loan to your LLC comes from a lender's own investor or commercial programme, with its own rate, deposit and, usually, terms about guarantees. Get those terms in writing before you settle on the structure.
Paying cash avoids the lender question, not the paperwork: the title company will still ask for the LLC's articles, its EIN, the operating agreement and who signs.
Cash purchases by an LLC: the FinCEN report that isn't required right now
FinCEN wrote a rule requiring the closing or settlement agent to report non-financed purchases of homes by entities and trusts, including the people behind them. Reporting was meant to start on 1 March 2026. On 19 March 2026 a federal court in Texas vacated the rule; FinCEN has appealed and says no reports are required while that order stands. Expect your title company to ask for owner details anyway, and watch for the appeal.
Separately, US-formed companies, your LLC included, no longer file beneficial ownership (BOI) reports with FinCEN.
Before you sign: the LLC exists, has an EIN and a bank account, and the contract names it as buyer.
The rent: 30% of gross, or tax on profit with the net basis election
This is the chapter that decides whether a US rental pays you or the IRS. Rent from US property paid to a foreign owner is, by default, taxed at 30% of the gross rent, with no deduction for property tax, insurance, repairs, management or depreciation. The tenant or agent is meant to withhold it.
The way out is the net basis election. A nonresident individual makes it under section 871(d), a foreign corporation under section 882(d). The rent is then treated as business income: you deduct expenses and depreciation and pay ordinary rates on the profit. Residential buildings depreciate over 27.5 years; land doesn't depreciate.
Say your LLC rents out a condo for US$2,600 a month. The figures below are that year. Change them to yours.
Which form, for which structure
| How you hold the property | US tax on the rent | Yearly returns |
|---|---|---|
| You alone, LLC disregarded | You, at individual rates on the profit after the election | Your Form 1040-NR, plus the LLC's Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 |
| Several owners, LLC a partnership | Each owner on their share; the LLC withholds on foreign owners' shares | Form 1065 and K-1s, Forms 8804 and 8805, each owner's own return |
| LLC elected to be a corporation | The LLC itself, 21% on profit; dividends to you taxed again | Form 1120, Form 5472 for the foreign owner |
| Your foreign company owns the LLC | Your company, at 21%, plus the branch profits tax on what it doesn't reinvest | Form 1120-F for your company, Form 5472 for the LLC |
Our Form 5472 guide covers the LLC's own filing; an ITIN is how you file a 1040-NR without an SSN.
The one line to remember: make the net basis election in your first return with rent on it, or the 30% falls on gross rent.
The sale: FIRPTA withholding, with an estimator
When a foreign person sells US real estate, the buyer must hold back part of the price and send it to the IRS. That's FIRPTA, the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. The IRS's rule is 15% of the amount realized, which is usually the price, not the profit.
Who counts as the seller is where the LLC matters. A single-member LLC that's disregarded for tax doesn't shield you: the foreign owner behind it is the seller. An LLC taxed as a US corporation, or a US partnership, is a domestic seller, and the rules move inside the company.
Two exceptions help when an individual buyer will live in the home: no withholding at US$300,000 or less, and 10% above US$300,000 up to US$1 million. A withholding certificate can lower it further; the IRS generally acts on those within 90 days.
An estimate from the published rules, for planning. The closing agent and your tax adviser work out the real figure.
Plan the sale before the listing: apply for a withholding certificate before the transfer, and the buyer can hold back less than 15% while the IRS decides.
Estate tax: why the structure matters if you die owning US property
This is the question nobody asks at the closing table. The US taxes a non-resident's estate on assets "situated" in the US, and US real estate is the plainest case. The threshold is low and the rates are not.
That's why structure matters. Shares of a foreign company aren't US property for estate tax, which is why advisers often put one between the owner and the US property, and why that has its own cost on rent and sale. Our LLC for investing guide covers the same rule for portfolios, and the holding company guide covers the companies people use above an LLC.
Ask early: "If I died owning this, what would my heirs file, and how much?" Your adviser's answer decides the structure.
What it costs to hold US property through an LLC
The LLC itself is the cheap part. These are the figures for the company, from our state pages, with the property-side costs you'll meet listed after.
| Item | Who charges it | Year one |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming LLC, then US$130.44 a year | Heirson, with Wyoming's state fees at cost | US$181.40 |
| New Mexico LLC, then US$69 a year | Heirson, New Mexico has no annual report | US$99 |
| Florida LLC, then US$207.75 a year | Heirson, with Florida's state fees | US$254 |
| Delaware LLC, then US$539 a year | Heirson, with Delaware's US$400 annual tax | US$269 |
| Nevada LLC, then US$419 a year | Heirson, with Nevada's state fees | US$504 |
| Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 | Heirson, for a single-member LLC owned from abroad | US$179 a year |
| Registering in the property's state | That state, plus a registered agent there | State's fee |
| Rental income return (1040-NR, 1065 or 1120) | Your US tax adviser | Adviser's fee |
| Deed, title, closing | Title company and real estate attorney | At closing |
If you already own an LLC through us, a property LLC is the same price as any other. The bank account in the LLC's name comes with our setup and almost always goes through; rent should be paid into it, never into your personal account.
Step by step, and who signs off on each part
- 1Decide the tax structure first
Disregarded LLC, LLC taxed as a corporation, a partnership with co-investors, or a holding company above it. This drives the rent tax, FIRPTA and estate tax.
Tax adviserYou - 2Choose the formation state
The property's state, or a low-cost state registered in the property's state.
AttorneyYou - 3Form the LLC and draft the operating agreement
Articles filed, registered agent in place, an operating agreement that names who signs at closing.
Heirson - 4EIN and bank account
The LLC's EIN, then its US account for the purchase funds and the rent. You'll also want an ITIN for your own US return.
HeirsonYou - 5Register in the property's state, if needed
Foreign LLC registration and a registered agent there.
AttorneyHeirson - 6Contract, financing and closing in the LLC's name
Purchase contract, lender terms, deed to the LLC, title policy, any closing report.
AttorneyYou - 7First rental year: elect net basis and file
The election goes with the first return that reports the rent. Form 5472 by 15 April if the LLC is single-member.
Tax adviserHeirson (5472) - 8Before you sell: plan the withholding
Withholding certificate application, if the tax due is less than the withholding.
Tax adviserAttorney
LLC for real estate: questions foreign buyers ask
Can a non-US citizen buy US property through an LLC?
Yes. No US law stops a foreign person forming an LLC or an LLC owning US property, though a few states restrict buyers from certain countries. Florida, for one, limits buyers domiciled in China and some other countries.
Does an LLC avoid FIRPTA when a foreign owner sells?
Not a single-member LLC that's disregarded for tax: the foreign owner is the seller and the buyer withholds 15%. An LLC taxed as a US corporation or partnership is a domestic seller, so the buyer doesn't withhold, but the company then pays or withholds tax itself.
How is rental income taxed for a foreign owner of a US LLC?
At 30% of gross rent by default. With the net basis election under section 871(d), it's taxed on the profit after expenses and depreciation at normal rates, reported on Form 1040-NR.
Should the LLC be formed in the state where the property is?
Often, yes. An LLC formed elsewhere may have to register in the property's state as a foreign LLC, which means a second agent and a second set of state fees. A real estate attorney there can say whether owning the property alone triggers it.
Does an LLC protect a foreign owner from US estate tax?
The IRS hasn't said how it treats an interest in a disregarded or partnership LLC, and an LLC taxed as a corporation is US property. Estate planning for US property needs a cross-border tax adviser before you buy.
Can I get a mortgage if the property is in an LLC?
Fannie Mae's borrower rules cover individuals and certain trusts, not LLCs, so a loan to an LLC comes from a lender's own investor or commercial programme. Ask about rates, deposit and guarantees before you choose the structure.
What does an LLC for real estate cost?
With us, year one is US$99 in New Mexico, US$181.40 in Wyoming or US$254 in Florida, state fees and registered agent included. Form 5472 preparation is US$179 a year. Registration in another state, tax returns and closing costs are separate.
Changelog
- 13 November 2026: first published, with the FIRPTA estimator and the rent comparison.
More reading: US LLC for non-residents, holding companies, asset protection trusts, Form 5472 guide. A guide, not tax or legal advice.
The company on your US deed.
Formed in the state you choose, with the EIN and the LLC's bank account set up with you, ready before you sign the purchase contract. Paid in crypto.