FEIE may be more beneficial for individuals who earn relatively low amounts of foreign income and meet the eligibility requirements. On the other hand, FTC may be more advantageous for individuals who earn higher amounts of foreign income and are subject to higher foreign tax rates.
The foreign tax credit can only reduce U.S. taxes on foreign source income; it cannot reduce U.S. taxes on U.S. source income. It is generally better to take a credit for qualified foreign taxes than to deduct them as an itemized deduction.
Once you claim the FEIE, you are stuck with this election for 5 years. If you claim the FEIE in one year, and then claim the FTC in another year, the IRS will consider your election to claim the FEIE “revoked”.
To clarify, you can use Form 2555 and Form 1116 on the same return, and you can use Form 2555 and Schedule A (Form 1040) on the same return; however, if you claim a deduction you cannot claim a credit and if you claim a credit, you cannot claim a deduction.
Your foreign tax credit cannot be more than your total U.S. tax liability 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.
See Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad for instructions on how to revoke the election and the associated effects. If you choose to exclude foreign-earned income, you can't take a foreign tax credit or deduction for taxes on income you can exclude.
Single filers who paid $300 or less in foreign taxes, and married joint filers who paid $600 or less, can omit filing Form 1116. But using the form enables you to carry forward any unused credit balance to future tax years; without filing Form 1116, you give up this carryover tax break.
Foreign Tax Credit
If you qualify for the Foreign Tax Credit, the IRS will give you a tax credit equal to at least part of the taxes you paid to a foreign government. In many cases, they will credit you the entire amount you paid in foreign income taxes, removing any possibility of US double taxation.
Use Form 1116 to claim the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) and deduct the taxes you paid to another country from what you owe to the IRS. Use Form 2555 to claim the Foreign Earned-Income Exclusion (FEIE), which, if you qualify, lets you exclude some or all of your foreign-earned income from your U.S. taxes.
However, you may qualify to exclude your foreign earnings from income up to an amount that is adjusted annually for inflation ($107,600 for 2020, $108,700 for 2021, $112,000 for 2022, and $120,000 for 2023).
The revoked exclusion rule is designed to prevent taxpayers abroad from switching each year between FEIE and FTC. Simply put, if you had been using FEIE then switch to using FTC, then you are prohibited from switching back to use FEIE for a period of five years.
The IRS limits the foreign tax credit you can claim to the lesser of the amount of foreign taxes paid or the U.S. tax liability on the foreign income. For example, if you paid $350 of foreign taxes and owed $250 of U.S. taxes on that same income, your tax credit will be limited to $250.
For tax year 2023, the maximum exclusion is $120,000 per person. If two individuals are married, and both work abroad and meet either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test, each one can choose the foreign earned income exclusion.
To get your maximum credit amount you'll divide your foreign-sourced taxable income amount by your total taxable income, then multiply that result by your U.S. tax liability.
The Foreign Tax Credit allows American expatriates to offset their United States tax liability with foreign income tax obligations. Some taxpayers may not be able to use it, such as those who only have income from sources within the United States and those that do not pay any foreign taxes.
In some cases, taxpayers can elect to carry back excess foreign tax credits to the previous tax year (typically one year). This can result in a refund of taxes paid in the prior year if the foreign tax credit exceeds the U.S. tax liability for that year.
Tip 4 - THE FEIE FORM
In order to choose the FEIE, an individual must file a U.S. federal income tax return (Form 1040) and attach Form 2555 to the return. Once you choose to exclude your foreign earned income or housing amount, that choice remains in effect for that year and all later years unless you revoke it.
There can be several reasons that the Foreign Tax Credit may not be calculated in you return: Foreign taxes that are not applied to you by a foreign country or U.S. possession. Taxes paid to the U.S. Virgin Islands (Form 8689 will be used instead)
1. I'm a U.S. citizen living and working outside of the United States for many years. Do I still need to file a U.S. tax return? Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien living outside the United States, your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you live.
To benefit from the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, the taxpayer must meet one of the following criteria: Works full time in a foreign country for an entire calendar year—known as the Bona Fide Residence Test. Works outside of the United States for at least 330 of any 365 day period—known as the Physical Presence Test.
The US is one of the few countries that taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or earn their income. This means that American expats are potentially subject to double taxation - once by the country where they earn their income, and again by the United States.
The foreign earned income exclusion was created to avoid double taxation for Americans living abroad. Only U.S. citizens who meet certain qualifications may claim the foreign earned income inclusion, among them being a U.S. citizen or resident alien.
File Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit, to claim the foreign tax credit if you are an individual, estate or trust, and you paid or accrued certain foreign taxes to a foreign country or U.S. possession. Corporations file Form 1118, Foreign Tax Credit—Corporations, to claim a foreign tax credit.
Who should file. File Form 1116 to claim the foreign tax credit if the election, earlier, doesn't apply and: You are an individual, estate, or trust; and. You paid or accrued certain foreign taxes to a foreign country or U.S. possession.
The exclusion applies only to foreign earned income. Other income, such as pensions, interest, dividends, capital gains, US-sourced income, etc., cannot be excluded with the FEIE. You are liable for full US tax on these types of income. Here's a simple example.