US real estate - tax issue for American in UK

Hi,

I want to find out more about taxation issues regarding purchasing/owning a property in US while living in the UK.

What do I need to know if as an American living abroad wants to purchase and own real estate back in US? Does this make filing tax to the IRS / real estate tax more complicated? And what would I need to do about filing tax in the UK?

Well, that's a real can of worms ...

I hear the UK is cracking down on owners of property abroad but don't know any details. 

Just paying the real estate tax to US is bad enough.   

there's also the possibility (probability in some instances) that the state where you own property will consider that you are domciled there and liable for state income tax. Some states will try anything to prove that you are domiciled, and at the very least will require that you file a non-resident return. Depending on the state, this could be costly.

The following comments may be of assistance.

BostonDriver mentioned that the UK is cracking down on owners of property abroad. This is correct but not of relevance to travellerk. The changed UK tax rules relate to UK residential property owned by non UK residents.

The approach that travellerk should follow is-
•   The position under UK domestic rules.
•   The position under US domestic rules
•   Any relief under the UK US double tax treaty.

Under the first heading, travellerk should therefore consider the general way that he is liable to UK tax. Presumably traverllerk is not UK domiciled but is UK resident.

Therefore, the rules on non-doms and the remittance basis are likely to be of relevance. The application of these rules would depend on how many years travellerk has been a UK resident and whether he is a remittance basis user. The nature of the investment, being US real estate is of secondary importance.

So I would like to know more about the filing tax on the US IRS side...

If I am a first time home buyer in the US, am I still eligible to claim a first time homebuyer credit when filing with IRS?

If I am buying real estate but as a minority share (less than 50%) with my parents to hold the majority share, would that make things even more complicated?