Tax consequences of overseas inheritance?

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Callalily
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 11:42 am

Tax consequences of overseas inheritance?

Post by Callalily »

I've been given to understand that an inheritance from outside the United States is not a taxable event. Am I correct?

I am a US permanent resident and I inherited a property (which I will sell) and a sum of money from my father. My father was Malaysian and the property and money is in Malaysia. I'm thinking of transferring the money to the US for investment purposes.
MarkNYC
Posts: 2999
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 7:58 pm

Post by MarkNYC »

There is no federal tax on the inheritance of foreign assets by a U.S. person, but there may be a requirement to file certain federal tax forms. In general, any U.S. person who receives a gift/inheritance of foreign-owned assets in excess of $100K must report the transaction on Form 3520. In addition, any U.S. person who has an interest at any time during the year in a foreign financial account that has a value in excess of $10K at any time during the year must report the information to the U.S. Treasury on Form TD F 90-22.1. These forms are informational only, but there can be significant penalties for failure to file if required to do so. Consulting a tax accountant in this situation may be advisable.
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