Hi everyone. I am looking for advice for the following question. I have an apartment in Russia , it is on my name. I want to sell it and transfer the money to my US bank account so I could later buy a house in US. My mother also wants to add some more money to help me buy it.
My questions are:
1. If I sell my own apartment in Russia and transfer money here, would I have to pay income taxes?
2. If my mom gives me some money as a gift do I pay income taxes for it?\


Thank you.

1) You have to pay taxes if you sell the apartment in Russia irrespective of whether you transfer funds to the US or not. If that was your primary residence for 2 out of the previous 5 years, you can use a lifetime exclusion limit for gains.

2) Foreign Gifts are not taxable, but they may need to be reported on Form 3520

I would add that if you sell your house in Russia you probably have some Russian taxes to pay, and when you report the sale on your US tax return you can take a credit for the taxes already paid to Russia.

What is consideredd to be "primary residence" in this case? I was not present there physically because I was living in US for the past 8 years but I regularly go there and stay there for couple months a year. I do not own any home in US, that's why I want to sell it and buy one here.

Thanks again.

No, it wouldn't be a primary residence in that case.