Licensed U.S. & Canada Tax Accountant
Lily Lo CPA
Professional Corporation
Foreign Tax Credit - U.S.
Foreign Tax Credit - U.S.
If you paid or accrued foreign taxes to a foreign country or U.S. possession and are subject to U.S. tax on the same income, you may be able to take either a credit or an itemized deduction for those taxes.
Qualifying Foreign Taxes - U.S.
Qualifying Foreign Taxes - U.S.
You can claim a credit only for foreign taxes that are imposed on you by a foreign country or U.S. possession. Generally, only income, war profits and excess profits taxes qualify for the credit. See What Foreign Taxes Qualify For The Foreign Tax Credit? for more information.
Taken as a deduction, foreign income taxes reduce your U.S. taxable income. Deduct foreign taxes on Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions. Taken as a credit, foreign income taxes reduce your U.S. tax liability. In most cases, it is to your advantage to take foreign income taxes as a tax credit.
If you choose to exclude either foreign earned income or foreign housing costs, you cannot take a foreign tax credit for taxes on income you can exclude. If you do take the credit, one or both of the choices may be considered revoked.
US & Canada Tax - Lily Lo CPA Professional Corporation - Edmonton, Alberta