Guide · Living in the US
Buying property in Albania when you live in the US
If you live in the United States, buying a home in Albania follows the same steps as any purchase from abroad. Four things differ: where you sign the power of attorney, who issues the apostille, how the money travels and what you report to the IRS and FinCEN afterwards. This guide covers only those points, with the official sources; for the steps in Albania it links to the full guide.
Written by Galip Sulaj, founder of hyrja.al
This guide is also in: Shqip
What changes when you buy from the US?
Neither the Albanian embassy nor the consulate can issue a power of attorney for a purchase: you sign it before a US notary and get the apostille from the state where the notary is commissioned, generally the Secretary of State's office. The money travels as an international wire, not as a SEPA payment. If you are a US citizen or resident, you are taxed on worldwide income, so rent from the Albanian home goes on Schedule E; the IRS lists no income tax treaty with Albania, but you may be able to claim a credit for Albanian income tax.
The full guide: buying from abroad in 10 stepsAt a glance
| Topic | What applies |
|---|---|
| Power of attorney at the consulate | Not for a purchase: consuls issue only simple powers of attorney, and only for Albanian citizens.Albanian MFA, powers of attorney |
| Power of attorney in the US | Yes, before a US notary, with an apostille from the state where the notary is commissioned, generally the Secretary of State's office.HCCH, United States · New York DOS, apostille |
| Translation into Albanian | At the consulate (€10 a page, for Albanian citizens) or by a translator registered with a notary in Albania.Albanian MFA, translations |
| Transfer | The US is not in the SEPA schemes' scope: the payment is an international wire.EPC, SEPA countries |
| Rent | Reported on Schedule E; a home used outside the US is depreciated under ADS, over 30 years.IRS, worldwide income · IRS, Schedule E · IRS, Pub. 946 · IRS, Pub. 527 |
| Tax treaty | Albania is not on the IRS list of US income tax treaties; the foreign tax credit (Form 1116) may still apply.IRS, tax treaties · IRS, foreign tax credit |
| FBAR and Form 8938 | For accounts and financial assets abroad above the thresholds; a home you own directly is not reported on either.FinCEN, FBAR · IRS, Form 8938 and FBAR |
| Loan from an Albanian bank | BKT and Union Bank have products for people living abroad; BKT asks for a guarantor who lives and works in Albania.BKT, emigrants · BKT, documents · Union Bank |
The power of attorney: before a US notary, not at the consulate
If you will not sign in person in Albania, you need a notarial power of attorney; what it should say is in the full guide.
The Albanian embassy and consulate cannot issue it
Albania has its embassy in Washington, DC and a consulate in New York, where the embassy's consular contact page sends you. Under the rules of Albania's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, consuls act as notaries only for Albanian citizens who live in their area, and only for simple powers of attorney, such as collecting documents or being represented in some procedures, for a fee of €20. General powers of attorney and powers of attorney for contracts that transfer ownership, such as the sale of an apartment, are on the Ministry's list of those consuls do not issue: for these it refers you to a notary in the country where you live.
Sources: Albanian MFA, powers of attorney · Albanian Embassy, Washington · Albanian Consulate, New York
Before a US notary, with a state apostille
Sign the power of attorney before a notary public in your state. Because Albanian law wants a power of attorney for a purchase to be a notarial act, as the full guide explains, have your lawyer in Albania prepare or check the text first, and confirm that the notary in Albania will accept it.
The apostille comes from the state, not from the federal government: according to the HCCH, public documents issued in a US state are apostilled by the authorities that state designates, generally the Secretary of State's office, while the US Department of State's Office of Authentications apostilles documents issued by federal agencies. In New York, for example, a notarized document must first be certified by the County Clerk of the county where the notary is certified to notarize; the New York Department of State then adds the apostille for $10 per document, by mail or at walk-in offices in New York City, Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Utica.
Albania has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 9 May 2004 and the United States since 1981, and the US is not among the states that objected to Albania's accession, so the apostille replaces legalisation.
Sources: HCCH, United States · New York DOS, apostille · HCCH, status table · Treaty depositary
Translation into Albanian
Then the power of attorney is translated into Albanian. If you are an Albanian citizen, the Ministry's rules let you ask the consulate to translate it, or to certify a translation made by a translator in the US: it costs €10 a page and takes 10 to 30 days, and the consul's translation counts as one by a translator registered with a notary in Albania, so it needs no notarization. If you are not an Albanian citizen, it is translated in Albania and certified by the notary there; the official fee is in the full guide.
Sources: Albanian MFA, translations
Sending the money from the US
The United States is not in the geographical scope of the SEPA schemes, which covers the EU and EEA countries and eleven others, Albania, Switzerland and the UK among them. A payment from a US bank to Albania is therefore an international wire, not a SEPA transfer, and the cheaper, faster euro transfers the Bank of Albania describes for SEPA countries do not apply to it. Ask your bank what it charges, which exchange rate it uses and whether to send dollars or euros, and check the currency of the seller's or notary's account before you pay.
Keep the proof of where the money comes from: banks and notaries in Albania may ask for it, as the full guide explains. If you open an account in Albania, for example to pay the bills or collect rent, remember that it counts toward the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds explained below.
Sources: EPC, SEPA countries · Bank of Albania, SEPA
US tax: rent, depreciation and the foreign tax credit
US citizens and resident aliens are taxed on worldwide income from all sources. The points below come from IRS pages and publications for 2025 returns.
If you rent the home out
Rent from the Albanian home is taxable in the US and goes on Schedule E (Form 1040): for property in a foreign country, the instructions ask for the city, province or state, country and postal code. Because the home is used outside the United States, it must be depreciated under the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS), whose recovery period for residential rental property is 30 years (40 years for property placed in service before 2018). How rent is taxed in Albania is in the full guide.
Sources: IRS, worldwide income · IRS, Schedule E · IRS, Pub. 946 · IRS, Pub. 527
No tax treaty, but a foreign tax credit
Albania is not on the IRS list of countries with which the United States has an income tax treaty (checked on 1 October 2026). That does not rule out relief: if you paid foreign income tax on income that is also taxed in the US, the IRS says you may be able to take either a credit or an itemized deduction for it, and the credit is claimed on Form 1116. When you sell, the seller pays 15% on the gain in Albania before ASHK registers the sale, as the full guide explains.
Sources: IRS, tax treaties · IRS, foreign tax credit
Reporting: FBAR, Form 8938 and gifts from family
FBAR: a US person with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file FinCEN Form 114 if their aggregate value exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. It is filed electronically with FinCEN, not with your tax return; the IRS gives April 15 as the due date, with an automatic extension to October 15.
Form 8938: if you live in the US, it is attached to your tax return when your specified foreign financial assets are worth more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the year (unmarried, or married filing separately), or more than $100,000 and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
A home in Albania that you own directly is not reported on either form, while an account at an Albanian bank is. If you hold the property through a foreign company, the company itself counts for Form 8938, and its value includes the property.
Gifts: if relatives in Albania help you buy, a US person must file Form 3520 to report receiving more than $100,000 in gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien individual or a foreign estate.
Sources: FinCEN, FBAR · IRS, Form 8938 and FBAR · IRS, worldwide income
A loan from an Albanian bank
Some Albanian banks have products for people who live and work abroad, with a mortgage on the home in Albania (see the full guide). BKT offers “Kredia për Emigrant” to everyone who lives and works outside Albania, over up to 25 years for buying or building a home, and treats a guarantor, a relative who lives and works in Albania, as an important criterion. Union Bank, in its terms sheet in force from August 2026, lends up to 70% of an apartment's market value for a loan in euros and up to 80% for one in lek, over up to 20 years.
For income earned abroad, BKT's 2026 document list asks for residence and work permits, monthly payslips, the annual income statement, bank statements and your rental contract. Its examples are only Italian and Greek documents, so ask the bank which US documents it accepts. This guide publishes no interest rates: terms change, so ask the banks for their current offer.
Sources: BKT, emigrants · BKT, documents · Union Bank
Key questions
Can I sign the power of attorney for the purchase at the Albanian consulate in New York?
No. According to Albania's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, consuls do not issue powers of attorney for contracts that transfer ownership, such as the sale of an apartment, and they draw up powers of attorney only for Albanian citizens. You need a US notary and then the state apostille.
Sources: Albanian MFA, powers of attorney
Is there a tax treaty between the US and Albania?
Albania is not on the IRS list of US income tax treaties, which we checked on 1 October 2026. You can still look at the foreign tax credit: the IRS says that if you paid foreign income taxes on income also taxed in the US, you may be able to take a credit or an itemized deduction, and the credit is claimed on Form 1116.
Sources: IRS, tax treaties · IRS, foreign tax credit
Do I report the Albanian home on the FBAR or on Form 8938?
Not if you own it directly: the IRS comparison table lists foreign real estate held directly as not reportable on either form. Accounts at Albanian banks are reported once you pass the thresholds.
Sources: IRS, Form 8938 and FBAR
I am only a US citizen: what changes?
For an apartment or a house the procedure is the same; the restrictions for foreigners mainly concern land, as the full guide explains. You cannot use the notarial and translation services of Albanian consulates, which the Ministry provides for Albanian citizens: you sign the power of attorney before a US notary and have it translated in Albania.
Sources: Albanian MFA, powers of attorney · Albanian MFA, translations
Sources
The official pages this guide is based on, each with the date it was opened. Laws, fees and procedures change, so check the current version before you act.
- Albania's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs: special powers of attorney at consulates (who can apply, fee, powers of attorney consuls do not issue) ·
- HCCH, Apostille Convention: competent authorities in the United States ·
- New York Department of State: apostille or certificate of authentication ·
- Albania's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs: translation and certification of translations at consulates ·
- European Payments Council (EPC): list of SEPA scheme countries, version 8.0 of 24 December 2025 ·
- IRS: U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad (worldwide income, FBAR, Form 3520) ·
- IRS: 2025 Instructions for Schedule E (Form 1040) ·
- IRS: Publication 946 (2025), How To Depreciate Property ·
- IRS: Publication 527 (2025), Residential Rental Property ·
- IRS: United States income tax treaties, A to Z ·
- IRS: Foreign Tax Credit ·
- FinCEN: Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) ·
- IRS: Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements ·
- BKT: Kredia për Emigrant (loan for emigrants) ·
- BKT: document list for mortgage loans (2026) ·
- Union Bank: terms of “Kredi për Shtëpi - Emigrantë”, in force from August 2026 ·
- Embassy of the Republic of Albania in the United States (Washington, DC) and Consulate in New York ·
- Consulate of the Republic of Albania in New York: consular office contact ·
- HCCH: status table of the Apostille Convention ·
- Treaty depositary (Kingdom of the Netherlands): Apostille Convention, objections to Albania's accession ·
- Bank of Albania, 7 October 2025: Albania becomes an operational part of SEPA ·