Form 8288-A Explained: The Stamped Copy B That Lets a Foreign Seller Reclaim Their Withholding
Form 8288-A is the per-seller "Statement of Withholding" that reports how much FIRPTA tax was held back when a foreign person sold U.S. real estate. The IRS stamps Copy B and mails it to you — and that stamped copy is the document you attach to your U.S. tax return to claim the withholding back as a credit. No stamped Copy B, no clean refund.
What Form 8288-A reports — and why each foreign seller needs their own
When a foreign person sells a U.S. real property interest, the buyer (the "transferee") is generally required to withhold a slice of the sale proceeds under FIRPTA — the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act — and send it to the IRS. The buyer reports the deal on Form 8288 (the withholding tax return) and attaches a separate Form 8288-A, Statement of Withholding on Certain Dispositions by Foreign Persons, for each foreign person who disposed of the property. (IRS: About Form 8288-A.)
That "one per seller" rule matters. If a foreign married couple co-owns a condo 50/50, the buyer files two Forms 8288-A — one in each spouse's name and ITIN — so each spouse can claim their own half of the credit on their own return. If you share a property and only one 8288-A was filed, only that named person can claim the withholding, and the other seller is stuck.
Form 8288-A captures the essentials of the withholding: the foreign seller's name and U.S. taxpayer identification number (ITIN), the date of transfer, the amount realized on the disposition, and the federal income tax withheld. The withheld figure is the number that ultimately becomes a payment credited to you — exactly like wage withholding on a W-2, except it came out of your home sale instead of a paycheck.
Think of Form 8288-A as the FIRPTA equivalent of a W-2 or 1099. It does not create a tax bill. It documents money that was already taken from you and parked with the IRS in your name. Your job at tax time is to prove that money is yours and reconcile it against your actual U.S. tax liability — which for most home sales is far less than what was withheld.
The three copies: A, B, and C
Form 8288-A comes in three copies, and confusing them is the single most common reason a refund stalls. Here's who gets what, straight from the IRS instructions for Form 8288 (irs.gov/instructions/i8288):
| Copy | Who handles it | What happens to it |
|---|---|---|
| Copy A | Buyer / transferee | Attached to Form 8288 and filed with the IRS along with the tax payment. |
| Copy B | IRS → foreign seller | Also attached to Form 8288 at filing. The IRS stamps Copy B and mails the stamped copy to the foreign seller at the address shown on the form. This is the one you keep. |
| Copy C | Buyer / transferee | The buyer keeps Copy C for their own records. |
Notice what is not on that list: the seller does not file Copy A or B themselves. The buyer files them. The seller's only job is to make sure their correct name, ITIN, and mailing address appear on the form so the stamped Copy B comes back to the right place — and then to keep that stamped copy safe until they file their return.
Worked example: how $72,000 withheld becomes a credit on a 1040-NR
Meet Sofia Castellano, a Mexican citizen and U.S. nonresident. In 2025 she sold a Miami condo she had rented out for several years. The buyer was an investor (not buying it as a personal residence), so the residence exceptions did not apply and the buyer withheld at the standard FIRPTA rate of 15% of the amount realized (IRS: FIRPTA withholding).
The numbers at closing:
- Sale price (amount realized): $480,000
- FIRPTA withholding at 15%: $480,000 × 15% = $72,000
So $72,000 of Sofia's proceeds went to the IRS, and $408,000 went to her at closing. Because Sofia owned the condo alone, the buyer filed a single Form 8288-A in her name, showing amount realized $480,000 and federal income tax withheld $72,000. A few weeks later, the IRS mailed Sofia the stamped Copy B.
Now the reconciliation. Sofia's actual U.S. tax is on her gain, not her sale price. Her purchase price plus improvements (her adjusted basis) was $300,000, and she had claimed $40,000 of depreciation while renting:
- Amount realized: $480,000
- Adjusted basis ($300,000 − $40,000 depreciation): $260,000
- Total gain: $220,000
On her Form 1040-NR for 2025, Sofia reports the $220,000 gain. Suppose her resulting U.S. capital-gains and depreciation-recapture tax works out to roughly $38,000. She withheld $72,000 but only owes about $38,000.
This is where Copy B does its job. Sofia attaches her stamped Copy B of Form 8288-A to the 1040-NR. The $72,000 flows onto the return as a federal tax payment / credit (the FIRPTA credit line for taxes withheld at source under section 1445). The math:
- Tax owed on the gain: ~$38,000
- FIRPTA credit (per stamped Copy B): $72,000
- Refund due to Sofia: ~$34,000
That ~$34,000 refund is the over-withholding coming back. Without the stamped Copy B attached, the IRS has no return-side proof to match the credit against, and the refund either freezes or gets denied pending documentation.
The figures above are illustrative, but the mechanics are exactly how it works: FIRPTA withholding is a down payment against your real tax. Because it is calculated on the gross sale price rather than your gain, it almost always over-collects — and the stamped Copy B is how you get the excess refunded.
The FIRPTA rate brackets (so you can sanity-check the withheld amount)
| Situation | Withholding rate |
|---|---|
| Amount realized $300,000 or less and buyer acquires it as a residence | 0% — exempt |
| Amount realized over $300,000 but not over $1,000,000 and buyer acquires it as a residence | 10% |
| All other dispositions (investment property, or amount realized over $1,000,000) | 15% |
These rates and thresholds are set by the IRS for dispositions after Feb. 16, 2016 (the rate was 10% before then). See the official FIRPTA withholding page and Exceptions from FIRPTA withholding. The residence exceptions only apply when the buyer signs the required residence affidavit — they are the buyer's election, not yours.
Why the IRS-stamped Copy B is the most important document you keep
Every other piece of paper from your closing — the settlement statement, the wire confirmation, the buyer's copy of Form 8288 — is supporting evidence. The stamped Copy B is the proof of payment. The IRS stamp confirms two things at once: that Form 8288 was actually filed, and that the withheld money was actually received and posted to your account.
The IRS instructions are explicit: "To receive credit for the withheld amount, the transferor must generally attach the stamped Copy B of Form 8288-A to a U.S. income tax return (for example, Form 1040-NR or 1120-F)." Translation: the stamp is the green light. An unstamped Copy B (the version that floated around at closing) is not, by itself, sufficient — it shows the buyer's intent to withhold, not the IRS's confirmation that the money landed.
The moment the stamped Copy B arrives in the mail, scan it, save it to cloud storage, and tell your tax preparer it exists. Foreign sellers often move addresses between the sale and the next filing season; a stamped Copy B mailed to an old address is the classic way this gets lost. The form was filed with the address that was on it at closing — make sure that address still reaches you, or that your preparer's address was used.
What to do if you never receive a stamped Copy B
This happens more often than it should, usually for one of three reasons: the buyer never actually filed Form 8288, the ITIN or address on the form was wrong so the IRS couldn't deliver, or the IRS mailed it and it was lost. Work through these in order:
1. Confirm the buyer actually filed
The buyer (or their closing agent / settlement company) must file Form 8288 and pay over the tax by the 20th day after the date of transfer (Form 8288 instructions). Ask the closing agent for proof of filing and the payment confirmation. If the deal was handled by a title company or attorney, they almost always retained Copy C and the filing record. If no Form 8288 was ever filed, no stamp exists yet — and the withholding may not have been remitted at all, which is a much bigger problem to chase down.
2. Check that your name, ITIN, and address were correct
If you sold without a U.S. ITIN, the withholding may have been reported under a placeholder, which blocks the credit from matching to you. A missing ITIN is the most common silent killer of a FIRPTA refund. If you don't have an ITIN, you'll need to apply (Form W-7) — typically attached to the same return on which you claim the credit.
3. Request a copy and use substitute substantiation
If the buyer filed correctly but you simply never got the stamped copy back, you can ask the buyer or closing agent for their retained copies and contact the IRS to request the stamped Copy B be re-issued. The IRS instructions for Form 8288 also recognize that a transferor who can't obtain the stamped copy may attach substantiating evidence of the withholding to the return instead — for example, the closing statement, the unstamped 8288-A, and proof the tax was paid over. This is a documented fallback, not a workaround: expect the return to take longer to process while the IRS verifies the credit against its own records.
- Form 8288-A is your proof of FIRPTA withholding — one per foreign seller, naming each person and ITIN so each can claim their share.
- The stamped Copy B is the document that unlocks your refund. The IRS stamps it and mails it to the address on the form; you attach it to your 1040-NR or 1120-F.
- Withholding is gross, your tax is on the gain — so over-withholding is normal, and the credit on Copy B is how the excess comes back (Sofia's $72,000 withheld → ~$34,000 refund).
- No stamped Copy B? Confirm the buyer filed Form 8288 by the 20-day deadline, verify your ITIN/address, then request a re-issue or attach substantiating evidence of the withholding.
- Always verify current rates, thresholds, and form revisions on the official IRS pages before filing.
Frequently asked questions
Does the foreign seller file Form 8288-A themselves?
No. The buyer (transferee) files Form 8288 with Copies A and B of Form 8288-A attached, and pays over the withheld tax. The IRS stamps Copy B and mails it back to the foreign seller. The seller's role is to confirm their correct name, ITIN, and address are on the form and to keep the stamped Copy B for their return.
What box on Form 8288-A shows the amount I can claim?
The form reports the "amount realized" on the disposition and the "federal income tax withheld." The federal income tax withheld figure is the amount that flows to your U.S. return as a credit (a payment under IRC section 1445). Match it to the figure your return claims, and attach the stamped Copy B as support.
Can I claim the FIRPTA credit without the stamped Copy B?
The IRS instructions say you should generally attach the stamped Copy B to claim the credit. If you can't get the stamped copy, the instructions allow attaching substantiating evidence of the withholding instead — but the return will typically take longer to process while the IRS verifies it against its records. Always confirm the buyer actually filed Form 8288 first.
How much will be withheld on my sale?
Generally 15% of the amount realized. It drops to 10% if the buyer acquires it as a residence and the price is over $300,000 but not over $1,000,000, and to 0% (exempt) if the buyer acquires it as a residence for $300,000 or less. The residence rates require the buyer's affidavit. See the IRS FIRPTA withholding and exceptions pages for the current rules.
When must the buyer file Form 8288 and the 8288-A?
By the 20th day after the date of transfer, the buyer must file Form 8288, attach the 8288-A copies, and transmit the withheld tax to the IRS (mailed to the Ogden, Utah service center per the instructions). Missing that deadline is a common reason the stamped Copy B is late.
I co-owned the property — why does only one of us have a credit?
Because Form 8288-A is filed per foreign seller. If the buyer only filed one 8288-A in one co-owner's name, only that person can claim the withholding. The other owner needs their own 8288-A reflecting their share. If it was filed wrong, ask the buyer/closing agent to correct it, or attach substantiating evidence and explain the allocation on your return.
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