Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)

The Foreign Tax Credit is one of two primary tax benefits that are available to overseas Americans.
global expat explained with money

The Foreign Tax Credit (reported on form 1116) allows you to offset or reduce your US income tax by the amount of foreign taxes you paid.  It is not dollar-for-dollar credit but is based on a ratio.  It is generally beneficial to take the Foreign Tax Credit when your host country has a higher tax rate than the US or if you have significant non-wage or non-service income.  Any unused Foreign Tax Credit can be carried forward to future years.

In general, the income-based taxes you pay locally or nationally will be used when calculating the Foreign Tax Credit (except for the equivalent of Social Security tax from countries with a “Totalization Agreement").  Generally if your host country has a higher tax rate than the US, you will not owe US taxes.  If your host country has a lower tax rate than the US at your income level, then you will still pay US taxes but at a lower effective rate due to the credit.  This is a VERY broad oversimplification of the Foreign Tax Credit.  There are many ratios and adjustments along the way.

Many Americans wrongly assume that if they paid income tax to a country other than the US, then they do not need to report their income to the US on their 1040.  This is wrong and could result in significant penalties in an audit.  US citizens are taxed on their worldwide earnings.  When dealing with multiple taxing jurisdictions (whether they are states or countries) the same piece of income can be taxed twice or not at all.

Below is a brief explanation of how the Foreign Tax Credit works: 

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