US gift tax for non-residents — what part of this actually needs a professional?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: tangible property located in the US is generally within the gift tax while certain intangibles are not, and the exemptions available to a non-resident are narrower.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
I want to give my Florida condo to my son. Is it taxed?
A gift of real property situated in the United States is capable of falling inside US gift tax even where the person giving it is a non-resident who has never filed there. Tangible property located in the United States is generally within the gift tax, and land does not get much more located than that. The exemptions available to a non-resident giver are narrower than those a US person relies on, so the size of the gift starts to matter sooner. Before signing anything, work out what is being transferred, to whom, and what, if anything, is coming back the other way.
Are US shares treated as a US asset when I give them away?
Not necessarily, and this is where the gift and estate rules part company. For gift purposes certain intangibles held by a non-resident sit outside the US net, while the same holdings can be US-situs when the owner dies. The asymmetry is genuinely useful and genuinely easy to get wrong, because people reason from what they were told about their estate. The safe approach is to test the specific asset against the gift rules rather than the estate rules, and to record the conclusion at the time of the transfer, while the facts are still to hand.
Can I transfer our US property to my wife if she is not a US citizen?
You can, but the transfer is not ignored the way a gift between spouses often is. Gifts to a non-citizen spouse are limited rather than unlimited, so a transfer that would pass without consequence between two US citizens can be a taxable gift here. This catches couples restructuring ownership of a holiday property after advice given about something else entirely. Establish the spouse's status and the property's situs before the deed is drawn, because unwinding a registered transfer afterwards is a different and harder piece of work.
Why are the US gift rules different from the estate rules?
Because they use separate situs tests. For gift purposes the emphasis falls on tangible property located in the United States, with certain intangibles outside the net; for estate purposes the reach is wider. The practical consequence is that advice about what an estate will face does not answer what a lifetime transfer will cost, and the reverse is equally true. Anyone planning to move US assets during their lifetime should have both analyses in front of them, because the cheaper route on one test can be the expensive one on the other.
Does adding my daughter to the title of my US house count as a gift?
It can. Putting another person on title transfers an interest in real property situated in the United States, and the gift rules look at what was actually transferred and what, if anything, was given in return. People do this for convenience and expect it to sit outside tax because no money changed hands. The absence of money is what makes it a gift. If the plan is to move the property eventually, decide the route before the registry does it for you, because the transfer is the event the rules attach to.
Do I need to file a US gift tax return if no tax is due?
Whether a return is required and whether tax is payable are separate questions, and the first turns on what was given and where it was situated rather than on the arithmetic. A non-resident's exemptions on the gift side are narrower than a US person's, which means a transfer that would be unremarkable for an American can need reporting here. Establish the position before the filing date rather than afterwards, and keep the valuation evidence with the file. The hardest part of a late gift analysis is proving what the property was worth on the day it moved.
How do I get back tax withheld in another country?
By the route that country provides, and it is rarely automatic. Where an elective return is available — on rent or pension income, for instance — filing it recomputes the tax on net income and refunds the difference. Where it is not, you file a refund claim with the withholding authority, supported by evidence of your residence and entitlement to the treaty rate. Both take time, which is why fixing the rate before payment is worth more. See withholding refund and recovery.
Am I a US tax resident if I live overseas?
If you are a US citizen or a green card holder, yes — the United States taxes on status, not location, and living abroad changes the reliefs available rather than the obligation to file. If you are neither, residence turns on the substantial presence test, a weighted day count over three years, with exceptions for certain visa categories and a closer-connection claim available in some circumstances. The two paths lead to completely different returns. See filing US taxes from abroad.
