Title Company did not withheld tax from international seller

[mousehockey37]

I doubt a seller from out of the country who has their money is likely to send a portion back.

I can see the call going like this:

TC - Hello, we're calling to talk to Mr. X..
Mr. X. - This is he.
TC - We are calling to inform you that we made an error and you owe Y amount on your recent property sale.
Mr. X. - Que?
TC - Mr. X. we know you can understand us.
Mr. X. - Senor X no esta aqui...
TC - Ok, we'll try again later...
Mr. X. - I look forward to hearing from you, goodbye!
TC - Ok, goodbye
Mr. X. - Click
TC - Click, wait... what?
TC - *Dials number again to Mr. X*
Phone Co. - The number you have tried to reach is no longer in service... Please check the number and try again...

 

[MadHookUp]

Another thing that I didn't mention is that the seller was actively selling two practically identical contracts. It's quite possible the OP and I share the same seller. It's possible the seller sold at a loss... So there are no taxes, and they filled out the 8288 forms improperly and the IRS is causing this problem.

 

[MadHookUp]

I can see the call going like this:

TC - Hello, we're calling to talk to Mr. X..
Mr. X. - This is he.
TC - We are calling to inform you that we made an error and you owe Y amount on your recent property sale.
Mr. X. - Que?
TC - Mr. X. we know you can understand us.
Mr. X. - Senor X no esta aqui...
TC - Ok, we'll try again later...
Mr. X. - I look forward to hearing from you, goodbye!
TC - Ok, goodbye
Mr. X. - Click
TC - Click, wait... what?
TC - *Dials number again to Mr. X*
Phone Co. - The number you have tried to reach is no longer in service... Please check the number and try again...

I have that same concern. They have nothing to gain by being helpful. For my sake, I hope they sold at a loss and will send me the information. Even if they did make a profit the taxes will be far lower that what the IRS is asking from me now. I have no expectations of them shelling out a dime, but I hope they will assist me on getting the number lowered.

 

[mousehockey37]

I have that same concern. They have nothing to gain by being helpful. For my sake, I hope they sold at a loss and will send me the information. Even if they did make a profit the taxes will be far lower that what the IRS is asking from me now. I have no expectations of them shelling out a dime, but I hope they will assist me on getting the number lowered.

I honestly do hope that you get this matter resolved. I was kinda serious, kinda joking with the "convo" I made up. I was gonna do one like we would encounter in WDW with the tour groups and how you hear them all speaking clear English until called out on, then they No English you in Portuguese and then go back to clear English. It's ultimately sad that this wasn't brought up before hand when you were in the middle of the buy. Also, I hope you don't mind me pointing those inquiring of the companies to ask you via PM. I know what is potentially on the line and figured you guys could deal with inquiring minds on a 1 to 1 basis at that point.

 

[MadHookUp]

I honestly do hope that you get this matter resolved. I was kinda serious, kinda joking with the "convo" I made up. I was gonna do one like we would encounter in WDW with the tour groups and how you hear them all speaking clear English until called out on, then they No English you in Portuguese and then go back to clear English. It's ultimately sad that this wasn't brought up before hand when you were in the middle of the buy. Also, I hope you don't mind me pointing those inquiring of the companies to ask you via PM. I know what is potentially on the line and figured you guys could deal with inquiring minds on a 1 to 1 basis at that point.

I already received a PM, is just too early for me to say anything. My wife is a lawyer and said I shouldn't even be posting here, but I want to help others. For anyone else buying from a foreign seller, it doesn't matter one single bit if we share the same broker and title company, what matters right now is that you make sure the 8288 forms are filled properly and the money is withheld.

 

[mousehockey37]

I already received a PM, is just too early for me to say anything. My wife is a lawyer and said I shouldn't even be posting here, but I want to help others. For anyone else buying from a foreign seller, it doesn't matter one single bit if we share the same broker and title company, what matters right now is that you make sure the 8288 forms are filled properly and the money is withheld.

True enough. To all buyers... Know everything you need to know before you sign.

 

[rothesay]

Another thing that I didn't mention is that the seller was actively selling two practically identical contracts. It's quite possible the OP and I share the same seller. It's possible the seller sold at a loss... So there are no taxes, and they filled out the 8288 forms improperly and the IRS is causing this problem.

This is exactly what I was told, the seller is selling at a loss so no tax would be owed if they were to fill out the form properly. I have also called the IRS, but they are very inflexible. They would not even grant a five days extension even though I explained the entire situation to them.

My problem is if the seller does eventually file their tax return, the money I pay the IRS will not be returned to me, instead, it will be going to the seller.

 

[MouseOfCards]

Agree with others. The title company was paid to handle all these things, so you would not have to worry about them. They need to step up and take care of this. Personally, I think the title company should pay for the taxes and any penalties, and then seek reimbursement from the seller.

 

[MouseOfCards]

OP, will share this experience, in hopes that it might be of help to you:

A few years ago, we closed on a (non-timeshare) real estate transaction. It involved us being credited by the seller for payments already made to a 3rd party vendor. When the transaction closed, instead of sending us a check for the credit amount, the Title company sent the payment to the vendor by mistake. When we contacted the Title rep, she told us to contact the vendor to pay us back. We contacted the vendor, who tried to ignore us until we persisted and then he said he would not return the money and that we should contact the Title company since they made the mistake! We followed up with the Title rep several times, but she insisted she could do nothing since the funds had already been disbursed. This was totally unacceptable to us. We ended up sending certified letters to their corporate headquarters and to several company VP's and their president explaining the issue and threatening legal action as well as reporting them to the appropriate governing agency and the BBB. Finally, their regional VP contacted us and apologized and said they would immediately send us a check for the amount in question. We received the check a couple of days later. Don't know if they ever collected the funds from the vendor; suspect that they just wrote it off.

Some folks will do little to help you until they realize that your threats are serious and that they may face repercussions for their actions or for ignoring their responsibilities. Really hope you and the other poster in the same situation get resolution on this. Maybe the Title company will be more "encouraged" to help if they get pressure from both of you.