Should You Buy Miami Real Estate Through an LLC? Ownership and Tax Structures for Foreign Buyers

It’s one of the most common questions I hear from international clients: “Should I buy this property in my own name, or set up an LLC?” It’s a smart question. The honest answer is that an LLC is only one of several options, and the right structure depends on your goals, your country of residence, and a risk many foreign buyers don’t even know exists: US estate tax.

In this guide I’ll walk through the main ownership structures, what each one does and doesn’t do for you, and why this decision is best made before you buy, ideally with both a tax advisor and an attorney. (For the full buying process, see my complete guide for foreign nationals.)

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The right ownership structure is highly fact-specific and depends on your personal situation and your home-country rules. I strongly recommend a personalized consultation with a qualified attorney and CPA before you decide. Coordinating exactly that kind of team is a big part of what I do for clients through Globalty Investment.

Why Structure Matters More for Foreign Buyers

A US citizen buying a Miami condo rarely thinks hard about how to hold title. The default of personal ownership usually works fine for them. For a foreign buyer, the stakes are different, for three reasons:

1. Asset protection: shielding your other assets if something goes wrong with the property (a lawsuit, a tenant injury).
2. Privacy: keeping your name out of the public property record.
3. Estate tax: the big one. Non-US persons can face very different US estate-tax treatment than citizens, and the wrong structure can leave your heirs exposed.

A good structure balances all three. Optimizing for just one, say setting up an LLC purely for privacy, can leave a much larger problem unaddressed.

The Estate-Tax Question Most Foreign Buyers Miss

This is the section to read twice.

US real estate is generally considered a US-situated asset. When a non-US person dies owning US-situated assets, those assets can be exposed to US estate tax. And here’s the catch: the estate-tax exemption available to a non-resident, non-citizen owner is generally far lower than the exemption US citizens receive, and amounts above it can be taxed at meaningful rates. I won’t quote figures here, because the numbers change and the details depend on your situation, but the principle is what matters: as a foreign owner, holding US property in your own name can leave a real estate-tax exposure that a citizen would not face.

In plain terms, a foreign individual who buys a Miami home in their own name could leave their heirs facing a significant US estate-tax question, on top of probate. This is one of the most overlooked risks in international real estate, and it’s the reason structuring deserves serious attention.

Tax treaties can matter here. The US has estate-tax treaties with a number of countries that can change or enhance the relief available. Whether and how a treaty helps you is a question for a qualified advisor familiar with your specific country. Confirm your own exposure and any treaty benefits with a CPA or estate attorney before you buy.

The Main Ownership Options

1. Personal name (direct ownership)

Pros: Simplest and least expensive. No entity to form or maintain. Often the easiest for financing.

Cons: No liability buffer between the property and your other assets. No privacy, since your name sits in the public record. And as a foreign owner, direct exposure to US estate tax and probate.

Worth considering for: some buyers with smaller, lower-risk purchases, but only after weighing the estate-tax exposure with an advisor.

2. Single-member US LLC

This is what most people picture when they think “buy through an LLC.”

Pros: Can provide liability protection, separating the property from your personal assets. Can offer privacy, since the LLC, not you, appears on the deed. Relatively straightforward to set up and operate.

Cons, and this is the important part: a single-member LLC owned by a foreign individual is often treated as “disregarded” for federal income-tax purposes. Because of that, a simple disregarded LLC on its own may not, by itself, solve the estate-tax exposure, since the underlying US real estate can still be looked at directly. This is a common and costly misunderstanding, and it’s exactly the kind of point to work through carefully with a tax advisor rather than assume either way.

Worth considering for: buyers who want liability protection and privacy, understanding that it may need to be combined with additional planning to address estate tax.

3. Multi-tiered or corporate structures

To address estate-tax exposure, foreign buyers sometimes use a layered approach, for example a foreign corporation owning the US property (sometimes through a US entity). Because the individual then owns shares in a foreign corporation rather than US real estate directly, the situs character of what they own can change. Whether this actually helps in your case is a question for your advisors.

Pros: Can help address US estate-tax exposure when structured correctly. Can also provide liability protection and privacy.

Cons: More expensive to set up and maintain. Additional filing obligations and ongoing compliance. Income-tax trade-offs, since corporate structures can change how rental income and gains are taxed, and may not be ideal for a property you intend to live in or sell soon. This is not a do-it-yourself project.

Worth considering for: higher-value purchases and investment holdings where the exposure may justify the cost and complexity.

4. Trusts

Certain trust structures (including some irrevocable or foreign trusts) can be used for estate planning, succession, and privacy. Trusts are powerful but technical, and the right type depends heavily on your family situation, your home country, and your goals.

Worth considering for: buyers focused on succession planning and multi-generational holding, again with professional guidance.

There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Answer

Notice that every option above ends with “it depends.” That isn’t a dodge, it’s the reality. The best structure for a French family buying a primary residence can be different from the one for a Latin American investor building a rental portfolio, which can be different again for a buyer planning to relocate to Florida within a few years.

The variables that drive the decision include:

• Your purpose: primary home, vacation home, or investment.
• Property value: higher values can make a more sophisticated structure worth considering.
• Your country of residence and any applicable US tax treaty.
• Your time horizon: how long you plan to hold, and whether you may eventually become a US resident.
• Cost tolerance: more protective structures cost more to create and maintain.
• Financing: some lenders restrict which structures they’ll lend to (see my financing guide).

The mistake I see most often is buyers who pick a structure based on what a friend did, or who default to personal ownership without realizing the estate-tax exposure. Both can be expensive.

Why Getting Advice Before You Buy Matters

Restructuring after a purchase, transferring a property into an entity once you already own it, can trigger taxes, transfer fees, and lender issues, and may not fully achieve the protection you wanted. It is usually cheaper and cleaner to get the structure right before closing. That’s why I raise this conversation with international clients at the very beginning, not at the end.

How I Can Help

This is exactly where having the right team changes things. Luxe Miami Realty, which I run under Globalty Investment LLC, is built around the international buyer, and I work with legal and tax partners who handle foreign ownership every day. Rather than leaving you to assemble an attorney, a CPA, and a lender on your own and hope they coordinate, I bring them together around your purchase.

I serve clients in English, French, and Spanish, and I tailor the conversation to your country, your goals, and the specific property, so you can walk into closing with a structure that fits rather than a problem to fix later.

Thinking about how to hold your Miami property? Reach out for a confidential consultation. Call or WhatsApp me at (786) 238-0927, or email julien@luxemiamirealty.com. I’ll connect you with my legal and tax partners and help you choose a structure built around your asset protection, privacy, and estate-planning goals, before you sign.

Related reading: How to Buy Real Estate in Miami as a Foreign National · Financing a Miami Property as a Non-US Resident · FIRPTA Explained for International Sellers

An Important Note

I am a licensed real estate agent, not a CPA, tax advisor, or attorney. Everything here is general information to help you understand how things work. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, and it should not be relied on as such. Nothing on this page creates any liability for me or for Luxe Miami Realty. Tax and legal rules change, and every situation is different, so please confirm the details that apply to you with a qualified CPA and attorney before you act. I am glad to connect you with trusted professionals from my network who handle exactly this.