The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) is a federal tax assessed on the seller of real estate owned by a NR-Non Resident or foreign seller. The statute seeks to promote the efficacy of collection of the tax as it is withheld at the time of the purchase. The amount of withhold increased in February from 10% to 15%.
The National Association of Realtor’s Brief on the topic may be found at: http://narfocus.com/billdatabase/clientfiles/172/19/2547.pdf