Form 8288-A: FIRPTA Withholding, Credits, and Refunds

Form 8288-A is the IRS statement that records how much tax was withheld when a foreign person sold U.S. real property. The buyer, acting as the withholding agent, files it with Form 8288 within 20 days of closing to report the withheld amount, and the foreign seller later attaches the IRS-stamped copy to their U.S. tax return to claim credit for that prepaid tax.¹ Two people care about this form for different reasons: the buyer, whose personal liability depends on filing it correctly, and the foreign seller, who cannot get their refund without a stamped copy of it.

Who Files Form 8288-A and When

The buyer is the withholding agent by law under FIRPTA, and that responsibility does not transfer just because a closing attorney or title company is running the transaction.² The withholding agent prepares a separate Form 8288-A for each foreign person who received proceeds from the sale.

The filing deadline is the 20th day after the date of transfer. Form 8288, Copies A and B of Form 8288-A, and payment of the withheld tax (payable to the U.S. Treasury) all go in one envelope to:¹

Ogden Service Center
P.O. Box 409101
Ogden, UT 84409

Copy C stays with the withholding agent as their file copy. Missing the 20-day deadline triggers penalties and interest that fall on the buyer personally, not the seller.

One exception to the 20-day clock: if either party has applied for a withholding certificate on Form 8288-B before closing, the buyer must still withhold at closing, but the deadline to remit the funds is extended until the 20th day after the IRS mails its decision on the application. If the IRS decides the application was filed to delay payment, interest and penalties apply retroactively to the 21st day after the transfer.

What Information Goes on the Form

Form 8288-A captures the identity of both parties and the mechanics of the withholding. It asks for:³

The foreign seller’s full name, address, and U.S. taxpayer identification number (usually an ITIN for individuals, sometimes an SSN)
The withholding agent’s name, address, and TIN
A description of the property and its location
The date of transfer
The amount realized on the sale
The amount withheld

The name and TIN of the foreign seller must exactly match what that seller will use on their U.S. tax return. This is the most common failure point in the entire process. A misspelled name, a transposed digit, or an expired ITIN will prevent the IRS from matching the withholding to the return, and the seller loses the credit until the mismatch is resolved.

If the foreign seller does not yet have a TIN at closing, they apply for one using Form W-7, and the W-7 can be submitted along with the withholding forms. FIRPTA is one of the recognized exceptions that permits an ITIN application without an attached tax return.⁴ A seller can actually start the ITIN process as soon as a binding sales contract exists, which avoids the last-minute scramble on closing day.

The withheld amount reported on Form 8288-A has to match the corresponding line on Form 8288. Any inconsistency between the two forms delays processing.

How Much Is Withheld

The number that lands in the “amount withheld” box on Form 8288-A depends on the transaction. The default withholding rate is 15% of the amount realized, which includes cash paid, the fair market value of any property exchanged, and any debt the buyer assumes.⁵⁶

Two situations change that number. If the buyer is acquiring the property as a residence and the amount realized is between $300,001 and $1,000,000, the rate drops to 10%. If the amount realized is $300,000 or less and the buyer or a family member will use the property as a residence for at least 50% of the days it is used by anyone during each of the first two 12-month periods after closing, no withholding is required at all, and no Form 8288-A is filed. The residential-use requirement is a real condition, not a formality; a buyer who claims it and then rents the property out has exposure.

A withholding certificate issued on Form 8288-B can also change the amount. The IRS issues certificates when the seller’s actual tax liability is less than the standard withholding, when nonrecognition treatment applies, or under installment sale rules.⁷ The IRS generally acts on complete applications within 90 days.

What the IRS Does With It

Once the IRS processes Form 8288 and the accompanying 8288-A copies, it stamps Copy B and mails it directly to the foreign seller. The stamped copy does not come back to the buyer or the closing agent.³

The IRS will only send the stamped Copy B if the form is complete and the seller’s TIN is present and valid. If the TIN is missing, expired, or does not match IRS records, the stamped copy is not issued, and the seller has no way to claim the credit on their return. This is why the TIN check at filing time matters so much.

Processing times vary. Foreign sellers who have not received a stamped Copy B within a few months of closing should follow up with the IRS or with the withholding agent to confirm the filing was accepted.

Using Form 8288-A to Claim the Credit or a Refund

The stamped Copy B is the foreign seller’s proof that the tax was paid to the Treasury. Without it, the seller cannot claim credit for the withheld amount. The seller attaches Copy B to their U.S. income tax return for the year of the sale:

Individuals file Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return.⁸
Foreign corporations file Form 1120-F, U.S. Income Tax Return of a Foreign Corporation.⁹

The return calculates the actual tax owed on the capital gain from the sale. Because the 15% withholding is applied to the full amount realized rather than to the profit, the withheld figure very often exceeds the real tax liability, and the seller receives a refund of the difference. If the actual tax comes in higher than the withholding, the seller pays the balance with the return.

Refunds on paper-filed FIRPTA returns commonly take six months or more after the IRS receives them. The name and TIN on the return must line up with the Form 8288-A exactly. Missing or expired ITINs are the leading cause of delayed or denied credits.

What Happens if the Buyer Gets It Wrong

The withholding agent is personally liable for the full tax that should have been withheld, plus penalties and interest. The specific penalties are:¹

Failure to file Form 8288: 5% of the tax owed per month or partial month late, up to 25%.
Failure to pay the withheld tax: 0.5% per month or partial month, up to 25%.
Willful failure to collect and pay: up to $10,000.

Interest accrues from the 21st day after the transfer. A buyer who closes with a foreign seller and simply skips withholding can end up owing the IRS the full 15% out of pocket, on top of the purchase price already paid. Settlement agents and closing attorneys can share this exposure, so the withholding usually gets handled at the closing table rather than left to the buyer afterward.

State Withholding Is Separate

FIRPTA and Form 8288-A are federal only. Many states impose their own withholding on real property sales by non-residents, with separate rates, forms, and deadlines. Filing Form 8288-A correctly satisfies the federal obligation but does nothing for state requirements. Check the rules for the state where the property sits before assuming the withholding is done.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8288 (Rev. January 2026)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Exceptions From FIRPTA Withholding
3
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8288-A – Statement of Withholding on Certain Dispositions by Foreign Persons
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1445 – Withholding of Tax on Dispositions of United States Real Property Interests
6
Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding
7
Internal Revenue Service. Application for Withholding Certificate for Dispositions by Foreign Persons of U.S. Real Property Interests
8
Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Nonresident Aliens
9
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 1120-F