FileAbroad

Foreign home sale consultation

Selling a Home Abroad? Map the U.S. Tax Before You File.

A foreign home sale can produce a U.S. tax result that does not match the local closing statement. Ownership, principal-residence and rental history, U.S.-dollar basis and proceeds, depreciation, and the foreign tax actually imposed can all change the answer. In a paid consultation, I map the Section 121, gain, currency, foreign-tax-credit, and reporting questions that need to be resolved before preparation begins.

Start My Foreign Home Sale Intake

Send a free inquiry first. I review it personally and explain whether a paid assessment is appropriate before you book or pay.

30 minutes · $100 · directly with Chip

The consultation

What we'll review

The consultation focuses on the facts that determine what needs further attention.

Property and ownership history

The property location, acquisition and sale dates, acquisition method, legal title, co-owners, marital or community-property facts, and any estate, trust, entity, or ownership change that may alter the taxpayer or transaction.

Principal-residence and use timeline

When you and your spouse used the property as a main home, second home, vacant property, rental, home office, or other business property, together with any prior home-sale exclusion that may affect the Section 121 analysis.

Basis, proceeds, and currency

Purchase or other basis, acquisition costs, capital improvements, sale proceeds, selling expenses, debt, installment terms, transaction dates, currencies, and the records needed for a U.S.-dollar workpaper.

Rental use and depreciation

Rental or business periods and portions, placed-in-service dates, prior Schedule E and Form 4562 treatment, depreciation allowed or allowable, and whether a separate-use allocation or Form 4797 analysis may be needed.

Foreign tax and reporting path

The foreign levies assessed or paid, the legal taxpayer, refunds or contests, prior federal and state filings, foreign-account proceeds, and which creditability, reporting, state, entity, trust, estate, or referral questions require separate work.

After the call

What you leave with

By the end of the consultation, you'll have a clear map of the issues that need attention and the next practical step.

  • The ownership, residence, rental, and sale timeline that controls the next analysis.
  • The basis, proceeds, depreciation, currency, and foreign-tax records still needed before a reliable computation.
  • The likely reporting channels and technical questions that need separately scoped preparation, research, or referral.
  • Whether FileAbroad can accept the next stage, what that engagement would cover, or which professional should handle it.
  • Foreign-country legal, tax, valuation, banking, remittance, title, and local-filing conclusions are outside FileAbroad's scope; confirm those with the relevant foreign authority and a licensed local professional.

You are not required to hire FileAbroad for preparation after the consultation.

Scope

What the consultation does not include

The consultation is a review and scoping session. It does not include preparation or filing of a tax return, FBAR, information return, amended return, or Streamlined submission.

It also does not create an open-ended support engagement. Additional research, document review, preparation, or follow-up work is included only when it is specifically agreed or purchased.

FileAbroad does not provide legal advice or tax litigation services.

Current pricing

Optional $100 scope assessment

30-Minute Expat Tax Scope Assessment

$100

Focused review of your filing situation with a written list of the years and forms that need attention, a document checklist, key scope flags, and an exact preparation quote when FileAbroad can accept the work.

Preparation is priced separately. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed; it is not required for every preparation engagement. Straightforward tax-year-2025 federal expat returns start at $575, and standalone current-year FBAR preparation starts at $100. Prior-year, delinquent, amended, entity, trust, partnership, PFIC, Streamlined, and other complex international work is quoted after review.

See preparation services and pricing

The process

How the paid assessment works

  1. 1

    Start the intake.

    Tell me the broad facts of your situation without uploading sensitive tax documents through the public form.

  2. 2

    I review the inquiry.

    I personally review the intake to determine whether a FileAbroad consultation appears appropriate.

  3. 3

    Book the consultation.

    If the situation fits, you'll receive the scheduling and payment link for the $100 30-minute consultation.

  4. 4

    We review the situation together.

    We use the call to identify the relevant filing questions, missing information, and next practical step.

  5. 5

    Preparation is separate.

    If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you receive the written scope and price before preparation begins.

Before you book

Questions we'll use to map your foreign home sale

Where is the property; when was it acquired and sold or expected to sell; and did you acquire it by purchase, gift, inheritance, divorce, or another transfer?
Who held legal title at each stage — you, your spouse or another co-owner, an estate or trust, or a foreign entity — and did ownership change before the sale?
When did you or your spouse use the property as a main home, second home, vacant property, rental, home office, or other business property, and has either of you used the home-sale exclusion within the last two years?
What records are available for purchase or other basis, capital improvements, sale proceeds, selling expenses, mortgages or seller financing, depreciation, and the currencies and transaction dates involved?
What foreign taxes were assessed, withheld, paid, refunded, or contested, and what U.S. federal or state returns have reported the property, its rental activity, or the sale?
Do I need a paid assessment before hiring FileAbroad?

Not for every engagement. Start with a brief intake to discuss needs, timing, process, and pricing. Straightforward preparation can proceed directly to an accepted written scope. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed, with the fee explained before you decide.

What should I send before the consultation?

Start with the public intake and describe the broad facts of your situation. Do not send Social Security numbers, tax returns, bank statements, or other sensitive tax documents through the public intake form. If documents are needed later, I will provide secure upload instructions.

Will you tell me exactly what I need to file?

The consultation is designed to identify the filing issues that need attention and the information required to determine the next step. Some questions can be resolved during the call; others may require records, additional research, or preparation work outside the consultation.

Do I have to hire FileAbroad afterward?

No. The consultation stands on its own. If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you can decide whether to proceed after the scope and price are confirmed.

Can you review documents during the consultation?

Limited document review may be possible when agreed in advance, but the consultation is not a substitute for a full document review or tax-preparation engagement.

Related paths

If this is not the right starting point

Selling property in Ecuador

Review the country-specific records and U.S. issue map when the property is in Ecuador.

Foreign rental property records

Use this records guide when prior Schedule E activity, depreciation, or a final rental year is part of the sale.

Foreign real estate held through an entity

Start here when a corporation, partnership, trust, estate, or other arrangement — not the individual directly — held title.

Foreign tax credit guide

Review how creditability, sourcing, categories, and the limitation can affect foreign tax paid on a sale.

Business abroad consultation

Use this path when the transaction is an entity-level asset sale or a sale of an ownership interest rather than a directly owned home sale.

State tax termination consultation

Use this path when a former state’s residency, domicile, or ongoing filing claim may reach the gain.

FBAR catch-up consultation

Use this path when sale proceeds in a foreign account created or exposed a prior FBAR filing gap.

Expat tax filing

See the broader preparation service when the sale is one part of an accepted expat return engagement.

Inherited foreign property sale guide

Use this guide when the home was inherited, the decedent was a non-U.S. person, or valuation and basis records are central.

Start here

Tell me what's going on.

You don't need to know which form, filing procedure, or service you need. Start with the broad facts, and I'll review whether intake or a paid assessment is the appropriate next step.

Start My Foreign Home Sale Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form or ordinary email.