Tax Treaty Benefits
Topics
This chapter discusses:
- Some common tax treaty benefits,
- How to get help in certain situations, and
- How to get copies of tax treaties.
Useful Items You may want to see:
Publication
- 597
Information on the United States-Canada Income Tax Treaty
- 901
U.S. Tax Treaties
See chapter 7 for information about getting these publications.
Purpose of Tax Treaties
The United States has tax treaties or conventions with many countries. See Table 6-1 at the end of this chapter for a list of
these countries.
Under these treaties and conventions, citizens and residents of the United States who are subject to taxes imposed by the foreign countries are
entitled to certain credits, deductions, exemptions, and reductions in the rate of taxes of those foreign countries. If a foreign country with which
the United States has a treaty imposes a tax on you, you may be entitled to benefits under the treaty.
Treaty benefits generally are available to residents of the United States. They generally are not available to U.S. citizens who do not reside in
the United States. However, certain treaty benefits and safeguards, such as the nondiscrimination provisions, are available to U.S. citizens residing
in the treaty countries. U.S. citizens residing in a foreign country may also be entitled to benefits under that country's tax treaties with third
countries.
You should carefully examine the specific treaty articles that may apply to find if you are entitled to a tax credit, tax exemption, reduced rate
of tax, or other treaty benefit or safeguard.
Common Benefits
Some common tax treaty benefits are explained below. The credits, deductions, exemptions, reductions in rate, and other benefits provided by tax
treaties are subject to conditions and various restrictions. Benefits provided by certain treaties are not provided by others.
1. Personal service income.
If you are a U.S. resident who is in a treaty country for a limited number of days in
the tax year and you meet certain other requirements, pay you receive for personal services performed in that country may be exempt from that
country's income tax.
2. Professors and teachers.
If you are a U.S. resident, pay you receive for the first 2 or 3 years that you are teaching
or doing research in a treaty country may be exempt from that country's income tax.
3. Students, trainees, and apprentices.
If you are a U.S. resident, amounts you receive from the United States for study, research,
or business, professional and technical training may be exempt from a treaty country's income tax.
Some treaties exempt grants, allowances, and awards received from governmental and certain nonprofit organizations. Also, under certain
circumstances, a limited amount of pay received by students, trainees, and apprentices may be exempt from the income tax of many treaty countries.
4. Pensions and annuities.
If you are a U.S. resident, nongovernment pensions and annuities you receive may be exempt from the
income tax of treaty countries.
Most treaties contain separate provisions for exempting government pensions and annuities from treaty country income tax, and some treaties provide
exemption from the treaty country's income tax for social security payments.
5. Investment income.
If you are a U.S. resident, investment income, such as interest and dividends, that you
receive from sources in a treaty country may be exempt from that country's income tax or taxed at a reduced rate.
Several treaties provide exemption for capital gains (other than from sales of real property in most cases) if specified requirements are met.
6. Tax credit provisions.
If you are a U.S. resident who receives income from or owns capital in a foreign country, you may be taxed on
that income or capital by both the United States and the treaty country.
Most treaties allow you to take a credit against or deduction from the treaty country's taxes based on the U.S. tax on the income.
7. Nondiscrimination provisions. Most U.S. tax treaties provide that the treaty country cannot discriminate by imposing more burdensome
taxes on U.S. citizens who are residents of the treaty country than it imposes on its own citizens in the same circumstances.
8. Saving clauses. U.S. treaties contain saving clauses that provide that the treaties do not affect the U.S. taxation of its own
citizens and residents. As a result, U.S. citizens and residents generally cannot use the treaty to reduce their U.S. tax liability.
However, most treaties provide exceptions to saving clauses that allow certain provisions of the treaty to be claimed by U.S. citizens or
residents. It is important that you examine the applicable saving clause to determine if an exception applies.
Competent Authority Assistance
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident, you can request assistance from the U.S. competent authority if you think that the actions of the United
States, a treaty country, or both, cause or will cause a tax situation not intended by the treaty between the two countries. You should read any
specific treaty articles, including the mutual agreement procedure article, that apply in your situation.
If your request provides a basis for competent authority assistance, the U.S. competent authority generally will consult with the treaty country
competent authority on how to resolve the situation.
The U.S. competent authority cannot consider requests involving countries with which the United States does not have an applicable tax treaty.
It is important that you make your request for competent authority consideration as soon as either of the following occurs.
- You are denied treaty benefits.
- Actions taken by both the United States and the foreign country result in double taxation or will result in taxation not intended by the
treaty.
In addition to making a request for assistance, you should take steps so that any agreement reached by the competent authorities is not barred by
administrative, legal, or procedural barriers. Some of the steps you should consider taking include the following.
- Filing a protective claim for credit or refund of U.S. taxes.
- Delaying the expiration of any period of limitations on the making of a refund or other tax adjustment.
- Avoiding the lapse or termination of your right to appeal any tax determination.
- Complying with all applicable procedures for invoking competent authority consideration.
- Contesting an adjustment or seeking an appropriate correlative adjustment with respect to the U.S. or treaty country tax.
Taxpayers can consult with the U.S. competent authority to determine whether they need to take protective steps and when any required steps
need to be taken.
Your request for competent authority consideration should be addressed to:
Director, International
Attn: Office of Tax Treaty
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20224.
The request should contain all essential items of information, including the following items.
- The facts from which the issue arises.
- The years and amounts of income and tax involved.
- A description of the issue and identification of the relevant treaty provisions.
- The respective positions taken by you and the foreign country.
- Copies of any protests, briefs, or other pertinent documents.
Additional details on the procedures for requesting competent authority assistance are included in Revenue Procedure 2002-52, which is in
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2002-31.
More information on treaties and problems.
Publication 901 contains an explanation of treaty provisions that apply to amounts received by teachers, students, workers, and government
employees and pensioners who are alien nonresidents or residents of the United States. Since treaty provisions generally are reciprocal, you can
usually substitute United States for the name of the treaty country whenever it appears, and vice versa when U.S. appears in the treaty
exemption discussions in Publication 901.
Publication 597 contains an explanation of a number of frequently-used provisions of the United States-Canada income tax treaty.
Obtaining Copies of Tax Treaties
Table 6-1 lists those countries with which the United States has income tax treaties. This table is updated through September 30,
2002.
You can get complete information about treaty provisions from the taxing authority in the country from which you receive income or from the treaty
itself. You can obtain the text of most U.S. treaties at www.irs.gov. You can also request the text of treaties from the Department of
Treasury. Call (202) 622-2970, or write to:
Department of Treasury
Office of Public Liaison
Rm. 3127
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20220.
If you have specific questions about a treaty and you are in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin
Islands, you can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. From anywhere in the world, you can send your questions to:
Internal Revenue Service
International Section
P.O. Box 920
Bensalem, PA 19020-8518.
Table 6-1. Table of Tax Treaties (Updated through September 30, 2002)
Country |
Official Text Symbol 1 |
General Effective Date |
Citation |
Applicable Treasury Explanations or Treasury Decision (T.D.) |
Australia |
TIAS 10773 |
Dec. 1, 1983 |
1986-2 C.B. 220 |
1986-2 C.B. 246 |
Austria |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1999 |
|
|
Barbados |
TIAS 11090 |
Jan. 1, 1984 |
1991-2 C.B. 436 |
1991-2 C.B. 466 |
Protocol |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1994 |
|
|
Belgium |
TIAS 7463 |
Jan. 1, 1971 |
1973-1 C.B. 619 |
|
Protocol |
TIAS 11254 |
Jan. 1, 1988 |
|
|
Canada 2 |
TIAS 11087 |
Jan. 1, 1985 |
1986-2 C.B. 258 |
1987-2 C.B. 298 |
Protocol |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1996 |
|
|
China, People's Republic of |
TIAS 12065 |
Jan. 1, 1987 |
1988-1 C.B. 414 |
1988-1 C.B. 447 |
Commonwealth of Independent States 3 |
TIAS 8225 |
Jan. 1, 1976 |
1976-2 C.B. 463 |
1976-2 C.B. 475 |
Cyprus |
TIAS 10965 |
Jan. 1, 1986 |
1989-2 C.B. 280 |
1989-2 C.B. 314 |
Czech Republic |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1993 |
|
|
Denmark |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2001 |
|
|
Egypt |
TIAS 10149 |
Jan. 1, 1982 |
1982-1 C.B. 219 |
1982-1 C.B. 243 |
Estonia |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2000 |
|
|
Finland |
TIAS 12101 |
Jan. 1, 1991 |
|
|
France |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1996 |
|
|
Germany |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1990 4 |
|
|
Greece |
TIAS 2902 |
Jan. 1, 1953 |
1958-2 C.B. 1054 |
T.D. 6109, 1954-2 C.B. 638 |
Hungary |
TIAS 9560 |
Jan. 1, 1980 |
1980-1 C.B. 333 |
1980-1 C.B. 354 |
Iceland |
TIAS 8151 |
Jan. 1, 1976 |
1976-1 C.B. 442 |
1976-1 C.B. 456 |
India |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1991 |
|
|
Indonesia |
TIAS 11593 |
Jan. 1, 1990 |
|
|
Ireland |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1998 |
|
|
Israel |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1995 |
|
|
Italy |
TIAS 11064 |
Jan. 1, 1985 |
1992-1 C.B. 442 |
1992-1 C.B. 473 |
Jamaica |
TIAS 10207 |
Jan. 1, 1982 |
1982-1 C.B. 257 |
1982-1 C.B. 291 |
Japan |
TIAS 7365 |
Jan. 1, 1973 |
1973-1 C.B. 630 |
1973-1 C.B. 653 |
Kazakstan |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1996 |
|
|
Korea, Republic of |
TIAS 9506 |
Jan. 1, 1980 |
1979-2 C.B. 435 |
1979-2 C.B. 458 |
Latvia |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2000 |
|
|
Lithuania |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2000 |
|
|
Luxembourg |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2001 |
|
|
Mexico |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1994 |
1994-2 C.B. 424 |
1994-2 C.B. 489 |
Protocol |
TIAS |
Oct. 26, 1995 |
|
|
Morocco |
TIAS 10195 |
Jan. 1, 1981 |
1982-2 C.B. 405 |
1982-2 C.B. 427 |
Netherlands |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1994 |
|
|
New Zealand |
TIAS 10772 |
Nov. 2, 1983 |
1990-2 C.B. 274 |
1990-2 C.B. 303 |
Norway |
TIAS 7474 |
Jan. 1, 1971 |
1973-1 C.B. 669 |
1973-1 C.B. 693 |
Protocol |
TIAS 10205 |
Jan. 1, 1982 |
1982-2 C.B. 440 |
1982-2 C.B. 454 |
Pakistan |
TIAS 4232 |
Jan. 1, 1959 |
1960-2 C.B. 646 |
T.D. 6431, 1960-1 C.B. 755 |
Philippines |
TIAS 10417 |
Jan. 1, 1983 |
1984-2 C.B. 384 |
1984-2 C.B. 412 |
Poland |
TIAS 8486 |
Jan. 1, 1974 |
1977-1 C.B. 416 |
1977-1 C.B. 427 |
Portugal |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1996 |
|
|
Romania |
TIAS 8228 |
Jan. 1, 1974 |
1976-2 C.B. 492 |
1976-2 C.B. 504 |
Russia |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1994 |
|
|
Slovak Republic |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1993 |
|
|
Slovenia |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2002 |
|
|
South Africa |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1998 |
|
|
Spain |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1991 |
|
|
Sweden |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1996 |
|
|
Switzerland |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1998 |
|
|
Thailand |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1998 |
|
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
TIAS 7047 |
Jan. 1, 1970 |
1971-2 C.B. 479 |
|
Tunisia |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1990 |
|
|
Turkey |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 1998 |
|
|
Ukraine |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2001 |
|
|
United Kingdom |
TIAS 9682 |
Jan. 1, 1975 |
1980-1 C.B. 394 |
1980-1 C.B. 455 |
Venezuela |
TIAS |
Jan. 1, 2000 |
|
|
1 (TIAS) - Treaties and Other International Act Series. |
2 Information on the treaty can be found in Publication 597, Information on the United States-Canada Income Tax Treaty. |
3 The U.S.-U.S.S.R. income tax treaty applies to the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. |
4 The general effective date for the area that was the German Democratic Republic is January 1, 1991. |
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