U.S. taxes for owners who live in Mexico.

• Every year: local property tax, and U.S. federal tax on your rental income.
• When you buy from a foreign seller: you are generally the FIRPTA withholding agent, and the title company normally handles it at closing.
• When you sell: FIRPTA withholding, then your U.S. return to settle the actual tax.
• Never in Texas: a state income tax. The Texas Constitution prohibits it.
• In Mexico: if you are a Mexican tax resident, your U.S. income may also be reportable there.

Texas has no state property tax. Each local unit that covers the property (the county, the city, the school district and others such as a college or drainage district) sets its own rate, and the bill combines them.

• The Cameron Appraisal District values the property as of January 1 each year.
• If you disagree with the value, you can protest to the appraisal review board. The deadline is generally May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal district delivers your notice of appraised value, whichever is later. The Cameron Appraisal District accepts written protests by mail, by hand delivery, by fax or by email.
• Bills are generally due by January 31 of the following year; penalties and interest start on February 1.
• Homestead exemptions apply only to the owner’s principal residence. An investment property usually pays the full rate.

Before you make an offer, look up the property’s current value and taxing units on the Cameron Appraisal District website. The calculator uses the listing’s actual tax when the MLS provides it.

As a nonresident, you choose between two ways of being taxed on U.S. rent:

The election covers all your U.S. real property income and stays in effect in later years until it is revoked. To keep the deductions, the return must be filed on time: the IRS does not allow them if the return is filed more than 16 months after its due date.

An ITIN is a 9-digit IRS number for people who need a U.S. taxpayer number but cannot get a Social Security number. You do not need one to buy, but you will need it to file Form 1040-NR for your rent or after a sale.

• You apply with Form W-7, normally sent together with the tax return.
• The IRS says to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks in tax season (January 15 to April 30) or when applying from abroad.

When a foreign person sells U.S. real estate, the buyer must generally withhold part of the price and send it to the IRS. That rule can reach you on either side of the deal.

When you buy from a foreign seller

In most cases you, the buyer, are the withholding agent. At closing the seller normally gives a certification that they are not a foreign person; if the seller is foreign, or does not give it, the tax is withheld from the sale proceeds, usually through the title company. If the seller is foreign and no one withholds, the IRS can hold the buyer liable for the tax. If the seller may be a foreign person, ask the title company early how it will handle FIRPTA.

When you sell

As a foreign seller, your buyer withholds. The rate depends on the price and on whether the buyer will live in the home:

• The buyer is responsible for the withholding and generally files Forms 8288 and 8288-A within 20 days of the sale; the title company coordinates it at closing.
• The withholding is a prepayment, not the final tax. You file Form 1040-NR to report the actual gain and get back any excess.
• Before the sale you can ask the IRS for a withholding certificate (Form 8288-B) to reduce or eliminate the withholding when the expected tax is lower.

An LLC can help with liability and estate planning, but it adds filings on both sides of the border. Plan it with a CPA and an attorney before you sign the contract.

• Federal: a U.S. LLC with a single foreign owner must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year. The IRS penalty for not filing is $25,000.
• Texas: an LLC is subject to the state franchise tax. For the 2026 and 2027 report years, entities with revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe no tax but must still file a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report.
• Financing: ask the lender whether it lends to an LLC before you choose the structure.
• Mexico: a U.S. LLC may be treated differently under Mexican tax law than under U.S. law. Ask your Mexican accountant before you form it.

This is the tax many foreign owners overlook. U.S. real estate is a U.S.-situated asset, and the executor of a nonresident who is not a U.S. citizen must file an estate tax return (Form 706-NA) when the value of the person’s U.S.-situated assets at death exceeds $60,000.

The U.S. has no estate tax treaty with Mexico, and the U.S.–Mexico tax treaty covers income tax, not estate tax. So when a property is owned directly by someone who lives in Mexico and is not a U.S. citizen, the estate gets a credit of only $13,000, which covers the tax on roughly the first $60,000; the value above that is taxed at graduated rates that reach 40%. Ownership structure, wills and insurance are worth planning with an attorney from the start.

Mexico’s income tax law taxes Mexican residents on their income from any country. If you are a Mexican tax resident, your U.S. rent and gains may also have to be reported in Mexico. The U.S. and Mexico have an income tax treaty, so a CPA who works in both countries can coordinate the two returns and the taxes already paid.

Not a tax, but a federal filing. A foreign person who acquires or transfers an interest in U.S. agricultural land must report it to the USDA within 90 days, on Form FSA-153 or the USDA online portal. Land used for farming, ranching or timber counts, except tracts of 10 acres or less in total that produce no more than $1,000 a year in sales. The penalty for not reporting can reach 25% of the land’s fair market value.