I am not sure if the gift has to be reported to the Treasury Department or not since the giver is not a U.S. Citizen, green card holder, or non-resident alien. So you may want to seek the services of a professional in your local area. This is especially true if your state taxes personal income. However, here's a few facts concerning it.
- Gifts of more than $15K are reported by the giver. The recipient of said gift doesn't have to report anything. (This is what *MIGHT* be different for your specific situation, so seek professional help.)
- When you receive a gift, you also receive the cost basis of the giver of that gift. So what the property is worth now is irrelevant. Whatever the giver paid for the gift, is *your* cost basis also. This would include the cost of any property improvements done by the giver while the giver owned it.
- All rental income & expenses is reported on SCH E as a part of your personal tax return. In your case, make *SURE* you identify in the program that this is *FOREIGN* rental property. That's because foreign rental property is depreciated over 40 years, unlike domestic rental property that is depreciated over 27.5 years.
- Accurate and detailed book keeping of your acquisition of the property as well as all rental income and expenses is a must. You need to be able to account for every single penny received and every penny spent on this rental property. You will understand this more at tax filing time when dealing with the SCH E.
-"My father wants to give me an apartment under his name"
The property needs to be transferred to your name so that you are the legal owner of it. If that is not done, then you don't own the property and you can not depreciate or claim any expenses on rental property you do not own. That will make 100% of any rental income paid to you, fully taxable. I'm sure you don't want that.
