Foreign real estate (property)

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
February 12, 2022
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Hi, good morning.

Every year I bump into a new question since I am an American citizen, but I have lived in a foreign country for the last 24 years of my life with little to no ties to the U.S.

My questions I'm about to list comes because even though my english is quite decent, the cultural differences makes that translations don't exactly add 1 to 1 and you enter the gray zone of "yes, kinda, but no" when trying to imput data on TurboTax

On 2021 I bought my first apartment which is now my main home. To buy this apartment a local bank (foreign to the U.S.) gives me a 20 year credit (loan?) which I pay every month for a certain amount depending on the interest established on the contract. We call this monthly payment dividends.

I'm not planning on deducting anything yet since I apply to the Foreign Earned Income Exlusion that exludes all of my gross income, yet:

1. Do I have to declare somewhere that I bought a property on 2021? (This apartment is not for rental, it's my main home)

2. Do I have to declare the 20 year credit I was given to buy the apartment and that I pay monthly? Is this considered a loan for U.S. taxes purposes?

I'll be awaiting your advice.

Thanks and kind regards.

Best answer by ColeenD3

No, neither of these is a taxable event for US income tax. You don't report the purchase of a home, per se, but if you wished to deduct mortgage interest paid, you would have to enter details about the purchase.

You are also not required to report any loan that you have taken out.