Sale of foreign asset

Question

I sold assets invested in a foreign corporation this year. The capital gain is minimal. My income this year is below the threshold for filing (under 14k excluding social security payments). Must I file? Must I report the foreign asset sale? If yes, what form do I use?

rachels · Answer

Hello vestala,

If you did not pay additional taxes to Costa Rica on that sale, you can still typically use our website to file your tax return. In your account, you will click the "Income" tab at the top of your screen, then select the "Stocks or Investments Sold (1099-B)" option from the drop-down menu. You can then enter the sale of investment real estate into your account in that section. Our software will use that information to populate Schedule D with your investment gains.

vestala · Answer

The asset sold was real estate. All my taxes due to Costa Rica were paid and up to date. I do not recall paying additional taxes to Costa Rica at the time of the property sale.

What form would I use to report the sale and does your software guide through that form?

MatthewD · Answer

Hi Vestala,

Generally when you are below the filing threshhold, you don't have to file, but that is typically only if you have certain types of income and no refund due. For example, retirement, social security or wage.

You would still need to report the sale of that foreign asset. Let me ask another question to see if you can still use our software. Did you pay foreign taxes on the sale? If so, you may need use another tax service to get the Foreign Tax Credit, which will lower your overall taxes (if you have any).

Otherwise, you could use our service and enter all your income. Include that sale of the foreign asset on the Stock or Investments Sold page.  If you have $0 refund or $0 tax due, you may not need to file.