What Is IRS Form 8288-B?

Form 8288-B is an IRS Form required for the application for a withholding certificate for dispositions by foreign persons of United States real property interests. In other words, any foreigners who are going to transfer their real estate interests to the United States need to fill out and file this form with the IRS.

As you can do these on your own, you can always hire a professional to file your IRS Form 8288-B without any challenge. If you are planning to handle it on your own, then here is everything you need to know.

How to Fill Out IRS Form 8288-B?

Any foreigner who transfers their real estate interests in the United States needs to file Form 8288-B. Although it is a one-page form, it can still be quite challenging to fill it out. Moreover, any mistake on the form may lead to additional charges such as interest or penalties when its submission date is overdue.

In the first article, you need to fill out basic information regarding the transferor, including the identification number and address. If there are multiple transferors, you need to fill out a second sheet and attach it to the original form. You will also be repeating the same for the transferee in the second article.

You have to choose the role of the applicant in the third article, and in the fourth one, you are going to provide information about the withholding agent. This is usually the buyer or the transferee. The fifth article requires you to provide an address so that the IRS can send the issued certificate.

The sixth article requires information about the property and the transfer. Applicants need to provide a reason for the issue of a withholding certificate. All you need to do is check the appropriate box to do so. Articles 8 and 9 can be pretty confusing for many people, but you can always consult the IRS agents or refer to the descriptions available in the form.

How Long Will It Take You to Complete the IRS Form 8288-B?

Although the IRS Form 8288-B is a one-page form and looks pretty easy to complete, you may still need hours to do so. According to the statistics provided by the IRS, an average applicant needs more than 6 hours to complete the form. You will need around two hours for record-keeping and two hours for learning about the form and laws.

On the other hand, preparing the form on your own will take about an hour on average. The preparation of the completed document for submission often takes about half an hour, considering the copying, assembling, and sending of the form to the IRS.