Managing a Florida rental from overseas.

Nothing in Florida law stops an owner who lives in Tel Aviv, São Paulo or Paris from buying a South Florida home and renting it out. The hard part is not ownership. It is the US tax on the rent, a handful of Florida landlord rules that do not bend for distance, and finding someone local you trust with the day-to-day. Every rule below is taken from the IRS or from the statute itself, and every source is linked at the end.

1. Can a foreign owner buy and rent out a Florida home?

The short answer: yes. Florida’s 2023 property law restricts purchases only by the governments of, companies based in, and people domiciled in seven “foreign countries of concern”: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, and Syria (Fla. Stat. § 692.201). Israel, Brazil and France are not on the list, which has not changed since July 2023.

For people and companies tied to those seven countries, the law is a real restriction. Here is what it does:

The test is domicile, not passport. The definition covers “any person who is domiciled in a foreign country of concern and is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States” (§ 692.201(4)(d)). An Israeli in Tel Aviv, a Brazilian in São Paulo or a French citizen in Paris is outside it, and will simply sign the same closing affidavit every buyer signs. Anyone domiciled in one of the seven countries should take Florida legal advice before signing a contract.

Did it change in 2026? Only by a phrase. Chapter 2026-66 amended § 692.201 so that the country definition covers entities “under” rather than “of” significant control of those countries. No country was added or removed. The 2024 amendment (ch. 2024-2) updated cross-references only.

2. How the IRS taxes rent paid to an owner abroad

The short answer: by default, US rent paid to a nonresident alien is taxed at a flat 30% of the gross rent, or a lower rate if a tax treaty provides one, with no deductions allowed. The tax is collected by withholding before the money reaches you. The management fee, repairs, insurance and property tax cannot be subtracted under this default.

In IRS terms, a nonresident alien is someone who is not a US citizen and has not passed either the green card test or the substantial presence test. If you are a US citizen or green card holder living abroad, this section does not describe you.

The default is expensive because it ignores costs. On a rental bringing in $30,000 a year (an example figure, not a market rent), 30% withholding is $9,000, whether your expenses that year were $2,000 or $20,000. In the IRS’s own example in Publication 519, an owner whose rent was correctly withheld at 30% and who had no other US income did not have to file a US return, because the withholding satisfied the tax.

Who does the withholding?

IRS Publication 515 defines a withholding agent by what it does, not by job title: any person, “in whatever capacity acting, that has control, receipt, custody, disposal, or payment” of the income. In the Publication 519 example, the tenants withheld the tax and the owner received Form 1042-S. A withholding agent is personally liable for tax it should have withheld. Who that is for your property — the tenant, a manager who collects the rent, or someone else — is the first question to settle with your tax adviser and your manager, in writing.

3. The net-basis election under IRC § 871(d)

The short answer: under IRC § 871(d), a nonresident can elect to treat all income from US real property held for the production of income as effectively connected with a US trade or business. The rent is then taxed on the net amount, after deductible expenses, at the same graduated rates US citizens and residents pay, instead of 30% of the gross.

The election does not make you a US business, and it is not a form you send once and forget. In practice it runs like this:

1. Get a US taxpayer identification number. Without a Social Security number, that means an ITIN, applied for on Form W-7. The IRS normally wants the W-7 sent with your first federal tax return (Form 1040-NR) and identity documents, and lists limited exceptions. Some ITINs expire when they go unused, so check an old one before relying on it.
2. Give Form W-8ECI to the withholding agent before the rent is paid. It goes to the person who asks for it, generally whoever pays you or credits your account, and never to the IRS. It is not valid without a US taxpayer identification number, and without it the withholding agent must withhold at 30%. A separate form generally goes to each withholding agent.
3. Make the election on your return. For the first year, attach a statement to Form 1040-NR (or an amended return) saying you are making the choice under § 871(d), and listing all your US real property, your share of each, its location, major improvements, the dates you owned it and the income from it.
4. File Form 1040-NR every year while the election is in effect. With no US wages and no US office, a calendar-year filer’s deadline is generally June 15.
5. Do not file late. The IRS can deny deductions on a return filed more than 16 months after its due date, which removes the point of the election.
6. Keep the W-8ECI current. It generally stays valid until the last day of the third calendar year after the year you sign it. If something on it becomes untrue, you must tell the withholding agent within 30 days and give a new form.

Revoking the election later has time limits, so treat it as a long-term decision. And your home country may tax the same rent: how the two systems interact depends on that country’s rules and any treaty with the US, which is a question for an adviser who knows both.

4. Selling later: FIRPTA withholding

The short answer: when a foreign person sells US real property, the buyer generally must withhold 15% of the amount realized under IRC § 1445, the rule known as FIRPTA. That is 15% of the price, including any debt the buyer takes over, not of your profit. It is withholding, not the final tax bill, and it can sometimes be reduced in advance.

You report the sale on a US return for the year it happens. If 15% would exceed the tax you expect to owe, you can apply to the IRS on Form 8288-B for a withholding certificate that lets the buyer withhold less. Start that conversation with your tax adviser well before you list the property, not at closing.

5. Florida taxes: no income tax, full property tax

The short answer: Florida does not impose a personal income tax, so an owner holding the property in their own name files no Florida income tax return for the rent. The Florida tax you do pay is property tax, and a rental cannot carry the homestead exemption, which requires the owner to make the property a permanent residence (Fla. Stat. § 196.031).

• Income tax. The Florida Constitution limits any state income tax on individuals who are Florida residents or citizens to amounts creditable against federal or other states’ tax (Art. VII, § 5(a)), and the Florida Department of Revenue states plainly that Florida does not impose a personal income tax. It adds that businesses do have filing requirements, so if you own through a company, ask your adviser which apply.
• No homestead. The exemption under § 196.031 goes to an owner who makes the property his or her permanent residence, or the permanent residence of a legal or natural dependent. A home let to tenants does not qualify.
• The 10% cap. A non-homestead residential property with nine or fewer units is reassessed every January 1, and the increase in its assessed value is capped at 10% a year for all levies other than school district levies (§ 193.1554(3)).
• The cap resets on a sale. After a change of ownership, the property is reassessed at full just value the following January 1 (§ 193.1554(5)). Budget from the new assessment, not the seller’s tax bill.

6. Florida landlord rules that still apply from abroad

The short answer: living abroad does not change your duties as a Florida landlord. Tenant deposits must be held in a Florida financial institution or covered by a surety bond (Fla. Stat. § 83.49), tenants must be told in writing who receives notices for you (§ 83.50), and notices by email need a signed addendum (§ 83.505).

The deposit stays in Florida

Under § 83.49(1), the landlord or the landlord’s agent must either hold the deposit in a separate account “in a Florida financial institution,” interest-bearing or not, without commingling it with other money, or post a surety bond with the clerk of the circuit court. A tenant’s deposit cannot simply be wired to your bank abroad. If you change managers, § 83.49(7) requires the deposits to be transferred to the new agent with an accounting. Our security deposit guide covers the 30-day rules at move-out.

Someone in Florida for notices

Section 83.50 requires the landlord, or a person authorized to sign leases for the landlord, to give the tenant in writing, “at or before the commencement of the tenancy,” the name and address of the landlord or of “a person authorized to receive notices and demands in the landlord’s behalf.” That person keeps the authority until the tenant is told otherwise. For an owner abroad, naming a Florida agent means a tenant’s written notices reach someone in the same time zone as the property.

Email notices need the statutory addendum

Section 83.505, added in 2025, lets landlord and tenant deliver notices by email, but only if both have signed an addendum, in substantially the form the statute sets out, agreeing to it and giving a valid email address. Either side can revoke in writing. An emailed notice counts as delivered when sent unless it bounces, and the sender must keep a copy and proof that it was sent.

Condominiums

If the property is a condo unit, the association’s leasing rules apply to you exactly as they do to an owner who lives next door. Our guide to renting out a Florida condo covers tenant approval, application fees, and the rent-diversion rule for owners behind on assessments.

Did any of this change in 2026? We checked the history line of every Florida section cited in this guide on flsenate.gov (2026 Statutes). Only § 692.201 was amended in 2026, by the one phrase described in section 1. The latest changes to §§ 83.49, 83.50 and 83.505 are from 2025, to §§ 692.203, 692.204 and 196.031 from 2024, to § 692.202 from 2023, and to § 193.1554 from 2021.

7. What you handle vs. what a manager can handle

The short answer: your US tax position stays with you whoever you hire: the ITIN, the W-8 form you sign, the election, the annual return and your home-country tax. The Florida side — tenant, lease, rent, repairs, deposits and notices — is what a property manager can run day to day, with you approving the big decisions.

8. Questions to ask any property manager when you live abroad

The short answer: ask how the manager deals with US withholding, how money reaches a bank account outside the US, where deposits are held, whose address tenants get for notices, and how quickly they reach you across time zones. Get the answers in writing before you sign, because each one decides how much of this guide lands back on you.

1. If I give you a Form W-8ECI, what do you do with it? If I don’t, who withholds the 30% and issues Form 1042-S?
2. What does your year-end statement show, and is it enough for my US tax preparer to complete Schedule E?
3. How are owner payments sent to a bank account abroad, how often, and who pays transfer and currency-conversion fees?
4. Which Florida financial institution holds tenant deposits, and in whose name is the account?
5. Whose name and address go on the § 83.50 notice to tenants?
6. What repair amount can you approve without me, and how do you reach me when it is the middle of the night where I live?
7. Which Florida real estate license does the company operate under? Our guide to choosing a property manager shows how to check it in two minutes.
8. If I change managers, how and when are the deposits and records handed over?

9. The overseas owner’s checklist

The short answer: before the first rent payment, have a US tax adviser, a US taxpayer identification number, the right W-8 form with whoever withholds, a Florida deposit account and a Florida notice address in place. The list below puts those steps, and the ones that repeat every year, in order.

1. Confirm Florida’s 2023 purchase law does not apply to you, and expect to sign the buyer affidavit at closing.
2. Choose a US tax professional and decide between the 30% default and the § 871(d) election before the lease starts.
3. Apply for an ITIN on Form W-7, or confirm an existing one is still active.
4. Find out in writing who the withholding agent is, and give that person Form W-8ECI or W-8BEN before rent is paid.
5. Make sure the tenant’s deposit sits in a Florida financial institution, or is covered by a surety bond.
6. Give the tenant the § 83.50 notice naming a Florida address, and sign the § 83.505 addendum if you want notices by email.
7. If the unit is a condo, get association approval before the move-in date.
8. Budget property tax without a homestead exemption, from the assessment that follows your purchase.
9. Calendar Form 1040-NR (generally June 15) and stay well inside the 16-month limit.
10. Renew the W-8ECI before it expires, and keep every monthly statement for your return.

10. How CIMCO works with owners abroad

The short answer: CIMCO is a Hollywood, Florida company managing 500+ homes across South Florida, for owners who live here and owners who live abroad, at a flat 8% management fee that is the same for every owner. Owners get monthly statements, with documents in the owner portal at any time, and owners in Israel can work with us in Hebrew.

You set the approval threshold for repairs, residents reach a 24/7 emergency line, and full-service owners have a dedicated property manager. We manage homes in Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the rest of Broward County; our services page sets out what full-service management includes. For owners in Israel there is a Hebrew-language page. Your US tax return and the § 871(d) election stay between you and your US tax professional, so put the questions in section 8 to us exactly as you would to anyone else. The rental analysis is free.

This is general information, not legal advice. Florida landlord–tenant law is detailed and fact-specific, and statutes change. Verify anything you intend to act on against the current Florida Statutes Chapter 83, Part II, and consult a Florida attorney before serving notices or filing an eviction.