How To Figure the Credit

As already indicated, you can claim a foreign tax credit only for foreign taxes on income, war profits, or excess profits, or taxes in lieu of those taxes. In addition, there is a limit on the amount of the credit that you can claim. You figure this limit and your credit on Form 1116. Your credit is the amount of foreign tax you paid or accrued or, if smaller, the limit.

If you have foreign taxes available for credit but you cannot use them because of the limit, you may be able to carry them back to the 2 previous tax years and forward to the next 5 tax years. See Carryback and Carryover, later.

Also, certain tax treaties have special rules that you must consider when figuring your foreign tax credit. See Tax Treaties, later.

Exemption from foreign tax credit limit.   You will not be subject to this limit and will be able to claim the credit without using Form 1116 if the following requirements are met.

1. Your only foreign source gross income for the tax year is passive income. Passive income is defined later under Separate Limit Income. However, for purposes of this rule, high taxed income and export financing interest are also passive income. Passive income also includes income that would be passive except that it is also described in another income category.
2. Your qualified foreign taxes for the tax year are not more than $300 ($600 if filing a joint return).
3. All of your gross foreign income and the foreign taxes are reported to you on a payee statement (such as a Form 1099-DIV or 1099-INT).
4. You elect this procedure for the tax year.

If you make this election, you cannot carry back or carry over any unused foreign tax to or from this tax year.

This election exempts you only from the limit figured on Form 1116 and not from the other requirements described in this publication. For example, the election does not exempt you from the requirement that the foreign tax be a nonrefundable income tax.

Limit on the Credit

Your foreign tax credit cannot be more than your total U.S. tax liability (line 42, Form 1040) multiplied by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is your taxable income from sources outside the United States. The denominator is your total taxable income from U.S. and foreign sources.

To determine the limit, you must separate your foreign source income into categories, as discussed under Separate Limit Income. The limit treats all foreign income and expenses in each separate category as a single unit and limits the credit to the U.S. income tax on the taxable income in that category from all sources outside the United States.

Separate Limit Income

You must figure the limit on a separate Form 1116 for each of the following categories of income.

1. Passive income.
2. High withholding tax interest.
3. Financial services income.
4. Shipping income.
5. Certain dividends from a domestic international sales corporation (DISC) or former DISC.
6. Certain distributions from a foreign sales corporation (FSC) or former FSC.
7. Any lump sum distributions from employer benefit plans for which the special averaging treatment is used to determine your tax.
8. Section 901(j) income.
9. Income re-sourced by treaty.
10. General limitation income. This is all other income not included in the above categories.

In figuring your separate limits, you must combine the income (and losses) in each category from all foreign sources, and then apply the limit.

Income from controlled foreign corporations.   As a U.S. shareholder, certain income that you receive or accrue from a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) is treated as separate limit income. You are considered a U.S. shareholder in a CFC if you own 10% or more of the total voting power of all classes of the corporation's stock.

Subpart F inclusions, interest, rents, and royalties from a CFC are generally treated as separate limit income if they are attributable to the separate limit income of the CFC. A dividend paid or accrued out of the earnings and profits of a CFC is treated as separate limit income in the same proportion that the part of earnings and profits attributable to income in the separate category bears to the total earnings and profits of the CFC.

Partnership distributive share.   In general, a partner's distributive share of partnership income is treated as separate limit income if it is from the separate limit income of the partnership. However, if the partner owns less than a 10% interest in the partnership, the income is generally treated as passive income. For more information, see section 1.904-5(h) of the Regulations.

Passive Income

Except as described earlier under Income from controlled foreign corporations and Partnership distributive share, passive income generally includes the following.

• Dividends.
• Interest.
• Rents.
• Royalties.
• Annuities.
• Net gain from the sale of non-income-producing investment property or property that generates passive income.
• Net gain from commodities transactions, except for hedging and active business gains or losses of producers, processors, merchants, or handlers of commodities.
• Amounts you must include as foreign personal holding company income under section 551(a) or 951(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Amounts includible under section 1293 of the Internal Revenue Code (relating to certain passive foreign investment companies).

If you receive foreign source distributions from a mutual fund that elects to pass through to you the foreign tax credit, the income is generally considered passive. The mutual fund will need to provide you with a written statement showing the amount of foreign taxes it elected to pass through to you.

What is not passive income.   Passive income does not include any of the following.

• Gains or losses from the sale of inventory property or property held mainly for sale to customers in the ordinary course of your trade or business.
• Export financing interest.
• High-taxed income.
• Active business rents and royalties from unrelated persons.
• Any income that is defined in another separate limit category.

Export financing interest.   This is interest derived from financing the sale or other disposition of property for use outside the United States if:

1. The property is manufactured or produced in the United States, and
2. 50% or less of the value of the property is due to imports into the United States.

High-taxed income.   This is passive income subject to foreign taxes that are higher than the highest U.S. tax rate that can be imposed on the income. The high-taxed income and the taxes imposed on it are moved from the passive income category into the general limitation income category. See section 1.904-4(c) of the Regulations for more information.

High Withholding Tax Interest

High withholding tax interest is interest (except export financing interest) that is subject to a foreign withholding tax or other tax determined on a gross basis of at least 5%. If interest is not high withholding tax interest because it is export financing interest, it is usually general limitation income. However, if it is received by a financial services entity, it is financial services income.

Financial Services Income

Financial services income generally is income received or accrued by a financial services entity. This is an entity predominantly engaged in the active conduct of a banking, financing, insurance, or similar business. If you qualify as a financial services entity, financial services income includes income from the active conduct of that business, passive income, high-taxed income, certain incidental income, and export financing interest which is subject to a foreign withholding or gross-basis tax of at least 5%.

Shipping Income

This is income derived from, or in connection with, the use (or hiring or leasing for use) of any aircraft or vessel in foreign commerce or income derived from space or ocean activities. It also includes income from the sale or other disposition of these aircraft or vessels. Shipping income that is also financial services income is treated as financial services income.

DISC Dividends

This dividend income generally consists of dividends from an interest charge domestic international sales corporation (DISC) or former DISC that are treated as foreign source income.

FSC Distributions

These are:

1. Distributions from a foreign sales corporation (FSC) or former FSC out of earnings and profits attributable to foreign trade income, or
2. Interest and carrying charges incurred by an FSC or former FSC from a transaction that results in foreign trade income.

Lump-Sum Distribution

If you receive a foreign source lump-sum distribution (LSD) from a retirement plan, and you figure the tax on it using the special averaging treatment for LSDs, you must make a special computation. Follow the Form 1116 instructions and complete the worksheet in those instructions to determine your foreign tax credit on the LSD.

The special averaging treatment for LSDs is elected by filing Form 4972, Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions.

Section 901(j) Income

This is income earned from activities conducted in sanctioned countries. Income derived from each sanctioned country is subject to a separate foreign tax credit limitation. Therefore, you must use a separate Form 1116 for income earned from each such country. See Taxes Imposed By Sanctioned Countries (Section 901(j) Income) under Taxes For Which You Can Only Take An Itemized Deduction, earlier.

Income Re-Sourced By Treaty

If a sourcing rule in an applicable income tax treaty treats any of the income described below as foreign source, and you elect to apply the treaty, the income will be treated as foreign source.

• Certain gains (section 865(h)).
• Certain income from a U.S.-owned foreign corporation (section 904(g)(10)). See Regulations section 1.904-5(m)(7) for an example.

You must compute a separate foreign tax credit limitation for any such income for which you claim benefits under a treaty, using a separate Form 1116 for each amount of re-sourced income from a treaty country.

General Limitation Income

This is income from sources outside the United States that does not fall into one of the other separate limit categories. It generally includes active business income as well as wages, salaries, and overseas allowances of an individual as an employee.

Allocation of Foreign Taxes

If you paid or accrued foreign income tax for a tax year on income in more than one separate limit income category, allocate the tax to the income category to which the tax specifically relates. If the tax is not specifically related to any one category, you must allocate the tax to each category of income.

You do this by multiplying the foreign income tax related to more than one category by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the net income in a separate category. The denominator is the total net foreign income.

You figure net income by deducting from the gross income in each category and from the total foreign income any expenses, losses, and other deductions definitely related to them under the laws of the foreign country or U.S. possession. If the expenses, losses, and other deductions are not definitely related to a category of income under foreign law, they are apportioned under the principles of the foreign law. If the foreign law does not provide for apportionment, use the principles covered in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Example.   You paid foreign income taxes of $3,200 to Country A on wages of $80,000 and interest income of $3,000. These were the only items of income on your foreign return. You also have deductions of $4,400 that, under foreign law, are not definitely related to either the wages or interest income. Your total net income is $78,600 ($83,000-$4,400).

Because the foreign tax is not specifically for either item of income, you must allocate the tax between the wages and the interest under the tax laws of Country A. For purposes of this example, assume that the laws of Country A do this in a manner similar to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. First figure the net income in each category by allocating those expenses that are not definitely related to either category of income.

You figure the expenses allocable to wages (general limitation income) as follows:

$80,000 (wages)   $83,000 (total income)

×

$4,400

=

$4,241

You figure the expenses allocable to interest (passive income) as follows:

$3,000 (interest)   $83,000 (total income)

×

$4,400

=

$159

Then, to figure the foreign tax on the wages, you multiply the total foreign income tax by the following fraction:

$75,759 (net wages)   $78,600 (total net income)

×

$3,200

=

$3,084

You figure the foreign tax on the interest income as follows.

$2,841 (net interest)   $78,600 (total net income)

×

$3,200

=

$116

Foreign Taxes From a Partnership or an
S Corporation

If foreign taxes were paid or accrued on your behalf by a partnership or an S corporation, you will figure your credit using certain information from the Schedule K-1 you received from the partnership or S corporation. If you received a 2002 Schedule K-1 from a partnership or an S corporation that includes foreign tax information, see your Form 1116 instructions for how to report that information.

Figuring the Limit

Before you can determine the limit on your credit, you must first figure your total taxable income from all sources before the deduction for personal exemptions. This is the amount shown on line 39 of Form 1040. Then for each category of income, you must figure your taxable income from sources outside the United States.

Determining Source of Income

Before you can figure your taxable income in each category from sources outside the United States, you must first determine whether your gross income in each category is from U.S. sources or foreign sources. Some of the general rules for figuring the source of income are outlined in Table 2.

Sales or exchanges of certain personal property.   Generally, if personal property is sold by a U.S. resident, the gain or loss from the sale is treated as U.S. source. If personal property is sold by a nonresident, the gain or loss is treated as foreign source.

This rule does not apply to the sale of inventory, intangible property, or depreciable property, or property sold through a foreign office or fixed place of business. The rules for these types of property are discussed later.

U.S. resident.   The term U.S. resident, for this purpose, means a U.S. citizen or resident alien who does not have a tax home in a foreign country. The term also includes a nonresident alien who has a tax home in the United States. Generally, your tax home is the general area of your main place of business, employment, or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home. Your tax home is the place where you are permanently or indefinitely engaged to work as an employee or self-employed individual. If you do not have a regular or main place of business because of the nature of your work, then your tax home is the place where you regularly live. If you do not fit either of these categories, you are considered an itinerant and your tax home is wherever you work.

Nonresident.   A nonresident is any person who is not a U.S. resident.

U.S. citizens and resident aliens with a foreign tax home will be treated as nonresidents for a sale of personal property only if an income tax of at least 10% of the gain on the sale is paid to a foreign country.

This rule also applies to losses recognized after January 7, 2002, if the foreign country would have imposed a 10% or higher tax had the sale resulted in a gain. You can choose to apply this rule to losses recognized in tax years beginning after 1986. For details about making this choice, see section 1.865-1(f)(2) of the Regulations. For stock losses, see section 1.865-2(e) of the Regulations.

Inventory.   Income from the sale of inventory that you purchased is sourced where the property is sold. Generally, this is where title to the property passes to the buyer.

Income from the sale of inventory that you produced in the United States and sold outside the United States (or vice versa) is sourced based on an allocation. For information on making the allocation, see section 1.863-3 of the Regulations.

Intangibles.   Intangibles include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and goodwill. The gain from the sale of amortizable or depreciable intangible property, up to the previously allowable amortization or depreciation deductions, is sourced in the same way as the original deductions were sourced. This is the same as the source rule for gain from the sale of depreciable property. See Depreciable property, below, for details on how to apply this rule.

Gain in excess of the amortization or depreciation deduction is sourced in the country where the property is used if the income from the sale is contingent on the productivity, use, or disposition of that property. If the income is not contingent on the productivity, use, or disposition of the property, the income is sourced according to the seller's tax home as discussed earlier. Payments for goodwill are sourced in the country where the goodwill was generated if the payments are not contingent on the productivity, use, or disposition of the property.

Depreciable property.   The gain from the sale of depreciable personal property, up to the amount of the previously allowable depreciation, is sourced in the same way as the original deductions were sourced. Thus, to the extent the previous deductions for depreciation were allocable to U.S. source income, the gain is U.S. source. To the extent the depreciation deductions were allocable to foreign sources, the gain is foreign source income. Gain in excess of the depreciation deductions is sourced the same as inventory.

If personal property is used predominantly in the United States, treat the gain from the sale, up to the amount of the allowable depreciation deductions, entirely as U.S. source income.

If the property is used predominantly outside the United States, treat the gain, up to the amount of the depreciation deductions, entirely as foreign source income.

A loss recognized after January 7, 2002, is sourced in the same way as the depreciation deductions were sourced. However, if the property was used predominantly outside the United States, the entire loss reduces foreign source income. You can choose to apply this rule to losses recognized in tax years beginning after 1986. For details about making this choice, see section 1.865-1(f)(2) of the Regulations.

Depreciation includes amortization and any other allowable deduction for a capital expense that is treated as a deductible expense.

Sales through foreign office or fixed place of business.   Income earned by U.S. residents from the sale of personal property through an office or other fixed place of business outside the United States is generally treated as foreign source if:

1. The income from the sale is from the business operations located outside the United States, and
2. At least 10% of the income is paid as tax to the foreign country.

If less than 10% is paid as tax, the income is U.S. source. This rule also applies to losses recognized after January 7, 2002, if the foreign country would have imposed a 10% or higher tax had the sale resulted in a gain. You can choose to apply this rule to losses recognized in tax years beginning after 1986. For details about making this choice, see section 1.865-1(f)(2) of the Regulations. For stock losses, see section 1.865-2(e) of the Regulations.

This rule does not apply to income sourced under the rules for inventory property, depreciable personal property, intangible property (when payments in consideration for the sale are contingent on the productivity, use, or disposition of the property), or goodwill.

Table 2. Source of Income

Item of Income	Factor Determining Source
Salaries, wages, other compensation	Where services performed
Business income:
Personal services	Where services performed
Sale of inventory - purchased	Where sold
Sale of inventory - produced	Allocation
Interest	Residence of payer
Dividends	Whether a U.S. or foreign corporation*
Rents	Location of property
Royalties:
Natural resources	Location of property
Patent, copyrights, etc.	Where property is used
Sale of real property	Location of property
Sale of personal property	Seller's tax home (but see Sales or exchanges of certain personal property, later, for exceptions)
Pensions	Where services were performed that earned the pension
Sale of natural resources	Allocation based on fair market value of product at export terminal. For more information, see section 1.863-1(b) of the Regulations.

*Exceptions include:  a) Dividends paid by a U.S. corporation are foreign source if the corporation elects the Puerto Rico economic activity credit or possessions tax credit.  b) Part of a dividend paid by a foreign corporation is U.S. source if at least 25% of the corporation's gross income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business for the 3 tax years before the year in which the dividends are declared.

Determining Taxable Income From Sources Outside the United States

To figure your taxable income in each category from sources outside the United States, you first allocate to specific classes (kinds) of gross income the expenses, losses, and other deductions (including the deduction for foreign housing costs) that are definitely related to that income.

Definitely related.   A deduction is definitely related to a specific class of gross income if it is incurred either:

1. As a result of, or incident to, an activity from which that income is derived, or
2. In connection with property from which that income is derived.

Classes of gross income.   You must determine which of the following classes of gross income your deductions are definitely related to.

• Compensation for services, including wages, salaries, fees, and commissions.
• Gross income from business.
• Gains from dealings in property.
• Interest.
• Rents.
• Royalties.
• Dividends.
• Alimony and separate maintenance.
• Annuities.
• Pensions.
• Income from life insurance and endowment contracts.
• Income from cancelled debts.
• Your share of partnership gross income.
• Income in respect of a decedent.
• Income from an estate or trust.

Exempt income.   When you allocate deductions that are definitely related to one or more classes of gross income, you take exempt income into account for the allocation. However, do not take exempt income into account to apportion deductions that are not definitely related to a separate limit category.

Interest expense and state income taxes.   You must allocate and apportion your interest expense and state income taxes under the special rules discussed later under Interest expense and State income taxes.

Class of gross income that includes more than one separate limit category.   If the class of gross income to which a deduction definitely relates includes either:

1. More than one separate limit category, or
2. At least one separate limit category and U.S. source income,

you must apportion the definitely related deductions within that class of gross income. To apportion, you can use any method that reflects a reasonable relationship between the deduction and the income in each separate limit category. One acceptable method for many individuals is based on a comparison of the gross income in a class of income to the gross income in a separate limit income category.

Use the following formula to figure the amount of the definitely related deduction apportioned to the income in the separate limit category:

Gross income in separate limit category   Total gross income in the class

×

deduction

housing exclusion is not considered exempt. You must, therefore, apportion deductions to that income. Interest expense.   Generally, you apportion your interest expense on the basis of your assets. However, certain special rules apply. If you have gross foreign source income (including income that is excluded under the foreign earned income exclusion) of $5,000 or less, your interest expense can be allocated entirely to U.S. source income.

Business interest.   Apportion interest incurred in a trade or business using the asset method based on your business assets.

Under the asset method, you apportion the interest expense to your separate limit categories based on the value of the assets that produced the income. You can value assets at fair market value or the tax book value.

Investment interest.   Apportion this interest on the basis of your investment assets.

Passive activity interest.   Apportion interest incurred in a passive activity on the basis of your passive activity assets.

Partnership interest.   General partners and limited partners with partnership interests of 10% or more must classify their distributive shares of partnership interest expense under the three categories listed above. They must apportion the interest expense according to the rules for those categories by taking into account their distributive share of partnership gross income or pro rata share of partnership assets. For special rules that may apply, see section 1.861-9T(e) of the Regulations.

Home mortgage interest.   This is your deductible home mortgage interest from Schedule A (Form 1040). Apportion it under a gross income method, taking into account all income (including business, passive activity, and investment income), but excluding income that is exempt under the foreign earned income exclusion. The gross income method is based on a comparison of the gross income in a separate limit category with total gross income.

The Instructions for Form 1116 have a worksheet for apportioning your deductible home mortgage interest expense.

For this purpose, however, any qualified residence that is rented is considered a business asset for the period in which it is rented. You therefore apportion this interest under the rules for passive activity or business interest.

Example.   You are operating a business as a sole proprietorship. Your business generates only U.S. source income. Your investment portfolio consists of several less-than-10% stock investments. You have stocks with an adjusted basis of $100,000. Some of your stocks (with an adjusted basis of $40,000) generate U.S. source income. Your other stocks (with an adjusted basis of $60,000) generate foreign passive income. You own your main home, which is subject to a mortgage of $120,000. Interest on this loan is home mortgage interest. You also have a bank loan in the amount of $40,000. The proceeds from the bank loan were divided equally between your business and your investment portfolio. Your gross income from your business is $50,000. Your investment portfolio generated $4,000 in U.S. source income and $6,000 in foreign source passive income. All of your debts bear interest at the annual rate of 10%.

The interest expense for your business is $2,000. It is apportioned on the basis of the business assets. All of your business assets generate U.S. source income; therefore, they are U.S. assets. This $2,000 is interest expense allocable to U.S. source income.

The interest expense for your investments is also $2,000. It is apportioned on the basis of investment assets. $800 ($40,000/ $100,000 × $2,000) of your investment interest is apportioned to U.S. source income and $1,200 ($60,000 / $100,000 × $2,000) is apportioned to foreign source passive income.

Your home mortgage interest expense is $12,000. It is apportioned on the basis of all your gross income. Your gross income is $60,000, $54,000 of which is U.S. source income and $6,000 of which is foreign source passive income. Thus, $1,200 ($6,000 / $60,000 × $12,000) of the home mortgage interest is apportioned to foreign source passive income.

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