The US estate tax most foreign investors discover too late
A US resident gets millions in estate tax exemption. A non-resident gets sixty thousand dollars. If you own a Miami condo, US stocks or a US business in your own name, this article concerns you — and it's worth reading early, because this is planned while alive.
🌐 También en español: Estate tax para no residentes
The number that changes everything
The federal estate tax applies to what you leave at death. For residents, the exemption is in the millions and almost nobody pays it. For a non-resident, the exemption on US-situs assets is just USD 60,000, with rates scaling to 40%.
A USD 300,000 Miami condo in your own name can leave your family a six-figure bill with the IRS — one that must be resolved before they can dispose of the property.
What counts as a US-situs asset
- Counts: US real estate in your own name; shares of US companies (Apple, Tesla, any of them — even through a broker in your country); physical property in the US (car, art, jewelry).
- Generally does not count: ordinary bank deposits; proceeds of life insurance on your own life — two exceptions worth gold for planning.
- Depends: your LLC membership interest. It can fall inside or outside depending on how it's structured and what it holds. Exactly the kind of question you answer by planning, not by googling.
How it's planned (while alive)
1 · Know your number. Add up what you hold in your own name with US situs. Under USD 60,000? Breathe, and re-check periodically. Over it? Keep reading.
2 · Life insurance as the liquidity cushion. It doesn't reduce the tax, but it gives your family the cash to pay it without a fire sale — and the proceeds generally stay out of the base.
3 · The ownership structure. For estates that justify it, structures exist (foreign corporations, trusts, combinations) that change the situs of assets. Each has costs, maintenance and tax effects in both countries: choose with real numbers on the table. Internet recipes are especially dangerous here.
4 · Estate tax treaties exist, but they are few. The US has estate treaties with a handful of countries — most of Latin America isn't on the list. Verify yours before counting on that coverage.
The other half of the problem
The tax is half; the other half is the process: who can operate the accounts, how ownership transfers, which papers cross borders with apostilles. The short conclusion: both halves are planned together — and planned now.
📄 Take this with you as a PDF
This article is also a free printable guide: The US estate tax for non-residents.
Your specific case?
Everything above is the general rule — real cases live in the details. In a 15-minute consultation (USD 29, credited toward any service) we review your situation and you leave with a concrete next step: book here →