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H.R. 3588 · Where this bill is now

In committee

Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned, May 23, 2025

What this bill does

In plain words · AI-written from the official summary

Taxes foreign property purchases from restrictive countries

This bill would create a 50% federal tax on real estate purchases in the U.S. by people and companies from countries that don't allow Americans to own property there. The goal is reciprocity—if their country locks out U.S. citizens, this tax would apply to their citizens buying property here. There are some exceptions, like for diplomats and asylum recipients, and the tax wouldn't apply to large publicly traded companies.

How it affects you

If you're a regular American buying property, this doesn't affect you. It would primarily impact foreign buyers from countries with property ownership restrictions. Real estate professionals handling closings would need to report transaction information to the IRS to verify whether buyers qualify for the tax.

Read the official summary (Introduced in House, May 23, 2025)

Real Estate Reciprocity Act

This bill establishes a federal excise tax and information reporting requirements related to the acquisition of real property in the United States by certain persons from countries that prohibit U.S. citizens from owning property (disqualified country).

The excise tax is 50% of the amount paid for the real property by a disqualified person. A disqualified person is

• a citizen of a disqualified country (other than a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident);

• an entity domiciled in a disqualified country;

• a disqualified country; and

• a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of a disqualified country.

Under the bill, a disqualified person includes an entity if disqualified persons own (in the aggregate) more than 10% of the entity’s stock. For such an entity, if no more than 50% of the entity’s stock is owned (in the aggregate) by disqualified persons, the excise tax is prorated.

The bill provides exceptions from the excise tax for (1) persons in the United States due to diplomatic obligations or a grant of asylum, and (2) certain corporations with stock traded on an established U.S. securities market.

The bill requires information related to the acquisition of U.S. real property by a presumptively disqualified person to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service by persons responsible for closing the transaction or the transferor of the property. Additional reporting requirements apply.

A presumptively disqualified person is any person unless an affidavit is submitted (under penalty of perjury) that such person is not a disqualified person.

Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.

119th Congress
1st SessionH. R. 3588

A BILL

Real Estate Reciprocity Act

In the HouseNo vote yet

Sponsor: Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC-10) · Introduced May 23, 2025 · Taxation · 1 version of the text

Read the full billOfficial record on Congress.gov ↗

Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action May 23, 2025: “Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.”

Sections

Sections · 4