The buyer says FIRPTA should be 15% of my profit, not 15% of the sales price. Is that right?
I am selling a condo in Florida as a nonresident seller from Germany. The buyer is trying to be cooperative, but they are also using internet summaries that seem to blend final tax with FIRPTA withholding. My actual gain is much smaller than the contract price because I bought years ago and spent a lot on improvements, so the difference matters materially.
What I need is a clean answer about the withholding base at closing. If FIRPTA normally uses amount realized rather than gain, I want the transaction team to stop treating those concepts as interchangeable and either follow the default rule or pursue a proper withholding certificate.
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