How are foreign property sales and income taxed when working in the US on a visa?

The short answer is yes - as a US resident for tax purposes (which you likely are on a work visa), you generally need to report worldwide income regardless of where it's earned. For your property sale, you'll likely need to report it on your US tax return, but you may qualify for the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) if you pay taxes on the sale in your home country. This helps prevent double taxation. As for your coffee farm income, the IRS wouldn't consider this a "gift" - it's income from property you own, similar to rental income. You'll need to report this on Schedule E or possibly Schedule C depending on your involvement. The fact that others invested in the operation doesn't change your tax obligation on the profits you receive. Using the money to buy stocks or more property doesn't affect whether the initial income is taxable. It's the source of the income that matters. I'd strongly recommend consulting with a tax professional who specializes in international taxation, as there may be specific tax treaties between the US and your home country that could affect your situation.

After dealing with a similar situation last year, I discovered this AI tax tool that really helped me understand my foreign property obligations. I was completely confused about reporting requirements for rental income from my apartment in Thailand while working in California. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze all my foreign income documents and it flagged exactly what I needed to report on my US taxes. The system explained how the foreign tax credit worked with my specific situation and identified a tax treaty provision I hadn't known about. The best part was that I could upload documents in my native language and it could still interpret the tax implications for US reporting. Saved me hours of research and probably a potential audit flag!

Just wanted to follow up on my experience with taxr.ai after asking about it earlier. I finally tried it for my situation with properties in Singapore while working here in Texas. Honestly, I'm impressed. The system identified that I needed to report my rental income on Schedule E, but also showed me how to properly claim the housing expenses against that income. The big revelation was about Singapore's tax treaty with the US that affected how my property sale would be taxed - something I had completely missed. The document analysis feature was super helpful. I uploaded my Singapore tax assessments and property documents, and it extracted all the relevant information automatically. Wish I had found this before I filed incorrectly last year and had to do an amended return!

If you're trying to contact the IRS about international tax questions, good luck! I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone who could answer questions about my foreign property sale. Called the international taxpayer line repeatedly and either got disconnected or waited hours. After wasting so much time, I tried https://claimyr.com and was honestly shocked at how well it worked. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They got me a callback from the IRS international department in under 2 hours when I'd been trying for weeks. Got clear guidance on how to report my condo sale in Malaysia and learned I was eligible for an exclusion I didn't know about. The IRS agent walked me through exactly which forms to file and how to claim foreign tax credits properly. Totally worth it after all the frustration of trying to get through myself.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my earlier comment. After struggling for another week trying to reach someone at the IRS about my foreign property questions, I broke down and tried it. Within 3 hours, I got a direct callback from an IRS international tax specialist. They answered all my questions about reporting my rental property in Brazil and explained exactly how to handle the sale of my apartment in Sao Paulo. The agent even emailed me the specific publications I needed to reference. What surprised me most was how the IRS agent actually seemed prepared for my call - they knew exactly what information I needed when they called. No transferring me around or putting me on hold again. After months of frustration, I finally got clear answers in one conversation. Definitely changed my mind about this service.

A tip from someone who's been in your situation: make sure you're also checking if you need to file Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) if the value of your foreign properties exceeds certain thresholds. I got hit with a nasty penalty for missing this even though I reported all my income correctly. The thresholds depend on whether you're filing single or married, and whether you live in the US or abroad. For someone on a work visa living in the US filing single, the threshold is $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or $75,000 at any time during the year.

Don't forget that timing matters for establishing tax residence too! Your tax obligations depend on whether you pass the Substantial Presence Test for the tax year. If you're in the US on a work visa and have been here for most of the year, you'd typically be considered a US tax resident and need to report worldwide income. But if you just arrived on your work visa this year, you might be a dual-status alien or a nonresident for part of the year, which could affect how your foreign property sale is taxed.