Does putting my US property in an LLC make FIRPTA go away?

This is one of the most common misconceptions sold to foreign buyers, and it is wrong. A single-member LLC that is disregarded for US tax is invisible for income-tax purposes, so when it sells, the buyer looks straight through to the owner. The IRS instructions confirm a disregarded entity cannot be the transferor and cannot sign a certificate of non-foreign status. Because you are foreign, the default 15% withholding on the amount realized still applies to your sale. Local title sitting in the LLC's name changes nothing about FIRPTA.

An LLC can serve real goals — liability separation, privacy, cleaner bookkeeping. What it does not do is convert a foreign owner into a US person or strip a sale of its FIRPTA character. Worse, relying on the LLC as a FIRPTA shield can lead to an under-withheld closing where the buyer (the party legally liable) is exposed, and to a surprised seller who expected zero withholding and instead sees 15% of gross consideration held back.

If your goal is to keep cash from being trapped at closing, the legitimate tool is a Form 8288-B withholding certificate, applied for on or before the transfer, asking the IRS to cap withholding at your actual maximum tax liability rather than 15% of the price. The residence exceptions can also reduce the rate where an individual buyer is moving in. And if you ever sell on deferred terms, plan the certificate early — the installment-sale mechanics and why timing is critical are walked through in /guides/installment-sale-foreign-sellers. For longer-horizon planning, also weigh how direct ownership exposes you to US estate tax at death, covered in /guides/form-706na-estate-tax-nra.