If you were to purchase land outside the USA would you still be required to pay taxes on it?

If you wanted to live outside the US would you still be required to pay taxes?

You're asking two separate questions and there are slightly different answers to each.

The United States (unlike many countries) reserves the right to tax citizens on their worldwide income, from whatever source derived. If you bought land in Canada, for example, and earned income from the land (from rents, from farming, or whatever), you would still be liable for US taxes on the land under US law. You would also be liable for US capital gains tax if you bought the land and then sold it later at a gain.

The foreign country could also try to tax the same income. If so, in many cases the US will cede primary taxing authority to the country in which the property is situated. That is, when you are taxed twice on the same income, and the property is in another country, the US will back off and let the other country have the first bite at the apple. The US has tax treaties with many other countries that provide (usually at Article 6) that the country where the land is situated has primary authority to tax income derived from the land.

Even when the foreign country gets the first bite at the apple, the US still gets its bite for the difference between what the other country makes you pay and what you would pay to the US. For example, if the foreign country had a tax rate of 30%, and the US wanted to tax you at 35%, you would pay the 30% to the foreign country, then the US would get 5%.

If you bought land outside the US and lived on it, you would still be required to pay taxes on your worldwide income as long as you remain a US citizen. If you expatriate, you don't have to pay taxes on income earned outside the US (but you still have to pay regular income taxes on US source income for ten years after expatriation).

US citizens pay taxes on worldwide income. However, taxes on property are jurisdictional and you'd be paying those taxes to the local gov't wherever the land is located.

you'd have to follow whatever local laws and regulations apply - make sure as a foreigner you are even allowed to buy the property first - you might not be allowed to

US citizens are taxes on their worldwide income.

If you become an expatriot solely to avoid taxes, the government will still tax you for at least another 10 years.

I am just that, however, the Canadian Taxes tend to be higher so you are likely to get all your money back. There is form 2555 (foreign exclusions) and Form 1116 (Foreign Tax Credit).