Publication 516 |
2001 Tax Year |
Foreign Taxes
If you pay or accrue taxes to a foreign government, you generally
can choose to either claim them as a credit against your U.S. income
tax liability or deduct them as an itemized deduction when figuring
your taxable income.
Do not include the foreign taxes paid or accrued as
withheld income taxes in the Payments section of Form 1040.
Foreign tax credit.
Your foreign tax credit is subject to a limit based on your taxable
income from foreign sources. If you choose to figure a credit against
your U.S. tax liability for the foreign taxes, you must generally
complete Form 1116 and attach it to your U.S. income tax
return.
You cannot claim a credit for foreign taxes paid on amounts
excluded from gross income under the foreign earned income or housing
exclusions. If all your foreign income is exempt from U.S. tax, you
will not be able to claim a foreign tax credit.
If the foreign taxes you paid or incurred during the year exceed
the limit on your credit for the current year, you can carry back the
unused foreign taxes as credits to the 2 preceding years and then
carry forward any remaining unused foreign taxes to the 5 succeeding
tax years.
Exemption from limit.
You can elect to not be subject to the foreign tax limit if you
meet all the following conditions.
- Your only foreign income is passive income, such as
interest, dividends, and royalties.
- The total of all your foreign taxes is not more than $300
($600 for joint tax returns).
- The foreign income and taxes are reported to you on a payee
statement, such as Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and
Distributions, or 1099-INT, Interest
Income.
If you make the election, you can claim a foreign tax credit
without filing Form 1116. However, you cannot carry back or carry over
any unused foreign tax to or from this year. See the instructions for
the appropriate line in the Tax and Credits section of Form
1040.
Foreign tax deduction.
If you choose to deduct all foreign income taxes on your U.S.
income tax return, itemize the deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040).
You cannot deduct foreign taxes paid on income you exclude under the
foreign earned income or housing exclusions.
Example.
Dennis and Christina are married and live and work in Country X.
Dennis works for the U.S. Government and Christina is employed by a
private company. They pay income tax to Country X on Christina's
income only.
Dennis and Christina file a joint tax return and exclude all of
Christina's income. They cannot claim a foreign tax credit or take a
deduction for the taxes paid to Country X.
Deduction for other foreign taxes.
The deduction for foreign taxes other than foreign income taxes is
not related to the foreign tax credit. You can take deductions for
these miscellaneous foreign taxes and also claim the foreign tax
credit for income taxes paid to a foreign country.
You can deduct real property taxes you pay that are imposed on you
by a foreign country. You take this deduction on Schedule A (Form
1040). You cannot deduct other foreign taxes, such as personal
property taxes, unless you incurred the expenses in a trade or
business or in the production of income.
More information.
The foreign tax credit and deduction, their limits, and carryback
and carryover provisions are discussed in detail in Publication 514.
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