Foreign investment in United States real estate

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Foreign investment in United States real estate is a major source of investment in the United States, facilitated by an open economy legislation (foreign individuals and corporations are free to purchase residential or commercial real estate). [1] [ citation needed ]

Contents

Overview

In 2013, foreign buyers made up about 7% ($92.2 billion) of transactions in the $1.2 trillion U.S. real estate market. Canada was the main buyer with 19% of sales (decrease from 23% the year before), China was on the second place with 16% of sales, while on the first place considering total foreign sales by dollar value (24% or $22 billion). Mexico ranked third with 9% of sales and India and the UK both accounted for 5%. [2] Florida is the most popular destination with 31% of sales, followed by California (12%), Texas (9%) and Arizona (6%). [3]

Almost 80% of foreign-born U.S. residents owned a home in 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national homeownership rate at that time was 65.4%. [3]

Taxation

Foreign non-resident real estate owners have two taxation options. One of them is to have the property taxed as Effectively Connected Income (ECI) of a U.S. trade or business. Income from real estate that is "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business is taxed to the owner of the real estate at the same rates that apply to U.S. individuals and corporations. In addition, the owner can claim deductions that arise from the operation of the property.[ citation needed ]

A second option is to have the property treated as an investment property and subject to a flat 30% tax. Most income received by foreign persons from U.S. investments, including rent, is taxed at a flat 30%, and the foreign person is permitted no deductions related to the operations of the property. That means that if there is a mortgage on the property, the interest payments are not deductible. However, many countries have entered into income tax treaties with the U.S. reducing the 30% rate to a lesser amount.[ citation needed ]

Estate tax

All U.S. real estate (and other assets) owned by non-resident aliens (and others) is subject to an estate tax upon the owner's death. However, U.S. citizens and residents are permitted a partial exclusion from estate taxes; non-resident aliens are also allowed a smaller exclusion (prior planning may change the exclusion level to that of a citizen/resident). [4]

Purchase structure

There are various variables to consider when deciding the structure of a real estate purchase in the U.S., like:[ citation needed ]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation in the United States</span> United States tax codes

The United States of America has separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels. Taxes are levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. In 2020, taxes collected by federal, state, and local governments amounted to 25.5% of GDP, below the OECD average of 33.5% of GDP.

A property tax is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.

Imputed rent is the rental price an individual would pay for an asset they own. The concept applies to any capital good, but it is most commonly used in housing markets to measure the rent homeowners would pay for a housing unit equivalent to the one they own. Imputing housing rent is necessary to measure economic activity in national accounts. Because asset owners do not pay rent, owners' imputed rent must be measured indirectly.

A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.

Negative gearing is a form of financial leverage whereby an investor borrows money to acquire an income-producing investment and the gross income generated by the investment is less than the cost of owning and managing the investment, including depreciation and interest charged on the loan. The investor may enter into a negatively geared investment expecting tax benefits or the capital gain on the investment after it is sold to exceed the accumulated losses of holding the investment. The investor would take into account the tax treatment of negative gearing, which may generate additional benefits to the investor in the form of tax benefits if the loss on a negatively geared investment is tax-deductible against the investor's other taxable income and if the capital gain on the sale is given a favourable tax treatment.

Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules are features of an income tax system designed to limit artificial deferral of tax by using offshore low taxed entities. The rules are needed only with respect to income of an entity that is not currently taxed to the owners of the entity. Generally, certain classes of taxpayers must include in their income currently certain amounts earned by foreign entities they or related persons control.

Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same income, asset, or financial transaction.

A real-estate bubble or property bubble is a type of economic bubble that occurs periodically in local or global real estate markets, and it typically follows a land boom. A land boom is a rapid increase in the market price of real property such as housing until they reach unsustainable levels and then declines. This period, during the run-up to the crash, is also known as froth. The questions of whether real estate bubbles can be identified and prevented, and whether they have broader macroeconomic significance, are answered differently by schools of economic thought, as detailed below.

For households and individuals, gross income is the sum of all wages, salaries, profits, interest payments, rents, and other forms of earnings, before any deductions or taxes. It is opposed to net income, defined as the gross income minus taxes and other deductions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income tax in the United States</span> Form of taxation in the United States

The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductions. Income is broadly defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and trusts may be taxable on undistributed income. Partnerships are not taxed, but their partners are taxed on their shares of partnership income. Residents and citizens are taxed on worldwide income, while nonresidents are taxed only on income within the jurisdiction. Several types of credits reduce tax, and some types of credits may exceed tax before credits. An Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) applies at the federal and some state levels.

International taxation is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries, or the international aspects of an individual country's tax laws as the case may be. Governments usually limit the scope of their income taxation in some manner territorially or provide for offsets to taxation relating to extraterritorial income. The manner of limitation generally takes the form of a territorial, residence-based, or exclusionary system. Some governments have attempted to mitigate the differing limitations of each of these three broad systems by enacting a hybrid system with characteristics of two or more.

Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done for fixed assets, notably real estate, as well as for durable and capital goods such as airplanes and trains. The concept can also be applied by national governments to territorial assets; prior to the Falklands War, the government of the United Kingdom proposed a leaseback arrangement whereby the Falklands Islands would be transferred to Argentina, with a 99-year leaseback period, and a similar arrangement, also for 99 years, had been in place prior to the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China. Leaseback arrangements are usually employed because they confer financing, accounting or taxation benefits.

A foreign tax credit (FTC) is generally offered by income tax systems that tax residents on worldwide income, to mitigate the potential for double taxation. The credit may also be granted in those systems taxing residents on income that may have been taxed in another jurisdiction. The credit generally applies only to taxes of a nature similar to the tax being reduced by the credit and is often limited to the amount of tax attributable to foreign source income. The limitation may be computed by country, class of income, overall, and/or another manner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act</span>

The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA), enacted as Subtitle C of Title XI of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-499, 94 Stat. 2599, 2682, is a United States tax law that imposes income tax on foreign persons disposing of US real property interests. Tax is imposed at regular tax rates for the taxpayer on the amount of gain considered recognized. Purchasers of real property interests are required to withhold tax on payment for the property. Withholding may be reduced from the standard 15% to an amount that will cover the tax liability, upon application in advance of sale to the Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA overrides most nonrecognition provisions as well as those remaining tax treaties that provide exemption from tax for such gains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home ownership in Australia</span> Overview of home ownership in Australia

Home ownership in Australia is considered a key cultural icon, and part of the Australian tradition known as the Great Australian Dream of "owning a detached house on a fenced block of land." Home ownership has been seen as creating a responsible citizenry; according to a former Premier of Victoria: "The home owner feels that he has a stake in the country, and that he has something worth working for, living for, fighting for."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian property bubble</span>

The Australian property bubble is the economic theory that the Australian property market has become or is becoming significantly overpriced and due for a significant downturn. Since the early 2010s, various commentators, including one Treasury official, have claimed the Australian property market is in a significant bubble.

The policy of taxation in the Philippines is governed chiefly by the Constitution of the Philippines and three Republic Acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation in South Africa</span>

Taxation may involve payments to a minimum of two different levels of government: central government through SARS or to local government. Prior to 2001 the South African tax system was "source-based", where in income is taxed in the country where it originates. Since January 2001, the tax system was changed to "residence-based" wherein taxpayers residing in South Africa are taxed on their income irrespective of its source. Non residents are only subject to domestic taxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation in Spain</span>

Taxes in Spain are levied by national (central), regional and local governments. Tax revenue in Spain stood at 36.3% of GDP in 2013. A wide range of taxes are levied on different sources, the most important ones being income tax, social security contributions, corporate tax, value added tax; some of them are applied at national level and others at national and regional levels. Most national and regional taxes are collected by the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria which is the bureau responsible for collecting taxes at the national level. Other minor taxes like property transfer tax (regional), real estate property tax (local), road tax (local) are collected directly by regional or local administrations. Four historical territories or foral provinces collect all national and regional taxes themselves and subsequently transfer the portion due to the central Government after two negotiations called Concierto and the Convenio. The tax year in Spain follows the calendar year. The tax collection method depends on the tax; some of them are collected by self-assessment, but others follow a system of pay-as-you-earn tax with monthly withholdings that follow a self-assessment at the end of the term.

The Canadian property bubble refers to a significant rise in Canadian real estate prices from 2002 to present which some observers have called a real estate bubble. The Dallas Federal reserve rated Canadian real estate as "exuberant" beginning in 2003. From 2003 to 2018, Canada saw an increase in home and property prices of up to 337% in some cities. In 2016, the OECD warned that Canada's financial stability was at risk due to elevated housing prices, investment and household debt. By 2018, home-owning costs were above 1990 levels when Canada saw its last housing bubble burst. Bloomberg Economics ranked Canada as the second largest housing bubble across the OECD in 2019 and 2021. Toronto scored the highest in the world in Swiss bank UBS' real estate bubble index in 2022, with Vancouver also scoring among the 10 riskiest cities in the world. By 2023 Canada’s nonfinancial debt exceeded 300% of GDP and household deb surpassed 100% of GDP, both higher than the levels seen in the United States before the 2008 global financial crisis.

References

  1. "Foreign Investment in US Real Estate: Fueling the Economy, Facilitated by Open Doors – Property Web | Buy, Sell, or Rent Properties in USA". 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  2. "Chinese are No 1 buyers of US residential property". China Daily. July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Where Are Foreigners Buying Real Estate in the United States". January 5, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  4. Robert F. Klueger (2012). "Overview of International Estate Planning" (PDF). Valley Lawyer. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.