---
title: "Screen a residential closing for federal withholding"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-conveyancing-and-property/work-out-gst-withholding-on-new-residential-premises-or-potential-reside/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A9-OB20261022-1-US"
practice_area: "Residential Conveyancing & Property"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Screen a residential closing for federal withholding

> Record whether the file describes the transferor as a foreign person, and the price the contract states. Do not compute a withholding and do not apply a goods-and-services tax.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-conveyancing-and-property/work-out-gst-withholding-on-new-residential-premises-or-potential-reside/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Residential Conveyancing & Property](https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-conveyancing-and-property.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Record whether the file describes the transferor as a foreign person, and the price the contract states. Do not compute a withholding and do not apply a goods-and-services tax. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide whether 26 U.S.C. § 1445 applies. Subsection (a) requires the transferee, except as the section otherwise provides, to deduct and withhold a tax equal to 15 percent of the amount realized on a disposition of a United States real property interest by a foreign person. Subsection (b)(5) applies where the transferee acquires the property for use as a residence and the amount realized does not exceed $300,000. Subsection (c)(4) substitutes 10 percent where the property is acquired for use as a residence, the amount realized does not exceed $1,000,000, and subsection (b)(5) does not apply. You read the other exceptions in subsection (b) before you apply subsection (a). The definition of foreign person was not opened as its own page. A goods-and-services withholding on new residential premises is not this section. The IRS page names Forms 8288 and 8288-A. You open the current form. The tool does not compute either tax. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Work out GST withholding on new residential premises or potential residential land](https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-conveyancing-and-property/work-out-gst-withholding-on-new-residential-premises-or-potential-reside.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Record whether the file describes the transferor as a foreign person, and the price the contract states. Do not compute a withholding and do not apply a goods-and-services tax.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not treat the contract price as the amount realized until you apply the statute.
- Subsection (a) applies when the transferor is a foreign person. The buyer is the transferee who withholds. A buyer who is not described as a foreign person is not, for that reason, outside the section.

## Sources

- [26 U.S.C. § 1445 (withholding on dispositions of United States real property interests)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1445) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [IRS, FIRPTA withholding](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/firpta-withholding) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*