>
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 09:34:21 -0800
I am not a tax lawyer/advisor so please consult one. But normally you
are being considered a resident alien for tax purposes with an H1B. Why
should that be different for your house selling? You probably should try
to sell the house when you file US taxes as "resident" alien though...
Michael
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Vetsch [mailto:mvetsch_at_mathworks.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 5:58 AM
> To: swiss-list_at_swiss-list.com
> Subject: swiss-list: Tax Exclusion of Gain on Principal Residence?
>
> Dear list,
>
> I just found this list over the Web despite the fact that we have been living
> in the Boston area for 3 years. The question I have is tax related (what
> else;-) and I apologize if the topic I raise has already been discussed in
> this list.
>
> I am Swiss Citizen under H1-B VISA status (in 2nd 3 year period) and
> therefore a guestworker in the US or in more official terms a non-resident
> alien. My wife and I plan to return to Europe (maybe Switzerland) within the
> next 2 years. We will not try to obtain a Green Card for the rest of our stay
> in the US. As part of the move we will sell our house in the Boston area.
> Because we expect gain on the house sale we are wondering about possible tax
> implications.
>
> The US Federal Tax Code Paragraph 2444 allows the exclusion of gain on the
> principle residence, meaning that you don't have to file gain as income up to
> $500k (if you file jointly) if you sell your primary residence (house). This
> paragraph relates to paragraph 4665 in the case of expatriation. But
> paragraph 4665 only talks about US citizens and long-term US residents but
> says nothing about non-resident aliens.
>
> Therefore my questions:
>
> Under the current code will we have to pay taxes on the house sale (gain) or
> not? What is the reasoning behind the answer?
>
> Some things coming to my mind: Can a non-resident alien have a primary
> residence in the US in the first place? It could be that the term "primary
> residence" only applies if the owner is a US resident. Otherwise his primary
> residence would be outside of the US meaning that I have to pay taxes because
> I would sell my secondary residence and not the primary and so forth ...
>
> Thanks so much for any help on that topic.
>
> Michael
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Received on Wed Mar 13 2002 - 18:00:40 PST
