The US reduces your income tax liability dollar for any taxes paid to a foreign government. This comes in especially handy when your wages exceed the foreign earned income exclusion, but there are several points to keep in mind, as the “dollar for dollar” part of the definition can’t unfortunately be taken verbatim. It was intended to avoid double taxation of US taxpayers.
Tax rate
If your local country’s tax rate is higher than the graduated rates you are subject to as an American citizen, your foreign tax credit will likely offset any taxes due to the US. If the foreign rate is lower, then you can expect to pay the difference to the USA.
The calculation goes something like this:
First, your total foreign taxes paid to get reduced by any amounts that are attributable to any income that was already excluded under the foreign earned income exclusion:
Total foreign earned income excluded divided by total foreign earned income. This gives you an allocation ratio which you then apply to the foreign taxes paid.
The resulting number is then reduced by any taxes paid that are related to foreign earned income excluded in a prior year – following the same calculation above.
Another reduction will result from the participation in international boycott operations
Categories
There are 5 different categories of income in the eyes of the IRS (It used to be !!!). Taxes paid will need to be reported in each of the categories for the calculation of the foreign tax credit, and cannot be used to offset taxes in another category.
Explained: If you earned $120K wages abroad, excluded $91.4K, and from the above calculation it results that you owe $3,000 in income taxes, and you paid $3,000 in taxes to a foreign country on dividends received, you cannot use the $3K resulting from Dividend taxes paid to a foreign country to offset the $3,000 US taxes on your wages. (Again, using the calculation above). In this scenario, you would have to pay $3k to the USA for income taxes resulting from earned income, and you would have a $3k credit to use in the following years for any US taxes resulting from foreign dividends.
Those 5 categories are :
File Form 1116
– Passive income – Interest, dividends, etc.
– General category income – This is where your earned income goes)
– Section 901(j) Income – Income resulting from activities in a sanctioned country, which by the way are only eligible to be claimed as a deduction, not for a tax credit. Sanctioned countries are Iran, Libya, Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, Syria. Iraq and Libya have some special periods, so you should see the IRS website for an updated list whenever you are completing IRS form 1116 and pay taxes. like form 1116 foreign tax, claim the foreign tax and amount of tax.
Deduction or Credit?
Form 1116 Foreign Tax Credit Example
You have the option of claiming the credit as described above, or you can count foreign taxes paid towards your itemized deductions on Schedule A. While it is generally more beneficial to claim the credit, be sure to have your CPA review both scenarios when preparing your returns. For example, although the foreign tax credit can be carried over 10 years and back to the preceding year, in a particular scenario those time limits may expire before the credit is used up. If you claim a deduction instead, you create a Net Operating Loss which can be carried over 20 years.
The election to claim the credit or deduction for creditable foreign taxes must be made each tax year. It may be exercised or changed at any time while the statute of limitations to claim any refund or credit remains open for the year in question,(Code Sec. 6511(d)(3); Reg. §1.901-1(d) and (e)).
The foreign tax credit is not available if you paid taxes to a foreign country that the USA:
– Does not recognize as a sovereign state
– Has Severed diplomatic relations with
– Does not conduct diplomatic relations with
– Has been designated as a country that supports terrorism.
It is also unavailable for taxpayers that participate in international boycotts. (See the list of countries above).
Even when the foreign tax credit is unavailable, you can still claim the deduction.
This is a brief overview of the foreign tax credit – a great tool for American Expats filing their expatriate tax returns. Be sure to consult us if you have US Taxes due, we may be able to eliminate them with tools such as this one.
