IRS · Official form

Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust)

Form 1116 lets individuals, estates, and trusts claim a credit for income taxes paid to a foreign country or US possession, so the same income is not taxed twice. Fill in the official IRS PDF below.

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What is 1116?

Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust), computes the credit for foreign income taxes you paid or accrued. The credit is limited to the share of your US tax that relates to your foreign source income, and the form works that limit out category by category: passive income, general income, and several special categories each get their own Form 1116.

Not everyone needs the form. If your foreign taxes are small, all from passive income, and reported on payee statements like a 1099-DIV, you may be able to claim the credit directly on Schedule 3 without filing Form 1116. Check the current instructions for the exact conditions.

Who files 1116?

US taxpayers with foreign tax withheld on dividends, interest, or fund distributions
People working abroad who pay foreign income tax and do not exclude all their income with Form 2555
Estates and trusts that paid or accrued foreign income taxes
Investors whose foreign taxes exceed the limit for claiming the credit without the form

How to fill out 1116

Check the box for the category of income the form covers and identify the foreign country or possession.
In Part I, report your gross foreign source income for the category and allocate deductions against it.
In Part II, list the foreign taxes paid or accrued, in both the foreign currency and US dollars.
In Part III, work through the limitation: the credit cannot exceed the US tax attributable to your foreign income; carry any excess back one year or forward up to ten.
In Part IV, summarize the credit, then download the PDF and attach it to your Form 1040 or 1041.

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9. Enter the amount from line 8. These are your total foreign taxes paid or accrued for the category of income checked above Part I.

10. Enter the sum of any carryover of foreign taxes (from Schedule B, line 3, column (x i v)) plus any carrybacks to the current tax year.

10. Amount.

11. Add lines 9 and 10.

12. Open parenthesis. Reduction in foreign taxes (see instructions). Close parenthesis.

13. Taxes reclassified under high tax kickout (see instructions).

14. Combine lines 11, 12, and 13. This is the total amount of foreign taxes available for credit.

15. Enter the amount from line 7. This is your taxable income or (loss) from sources outside the United States (before adjustments) for the

16. Adjustments to line 15 (see instructions).

17. Combine the amounts on lines 15 and 16. This is your net foreign source taxable income. (If the result is zero or less, skip line 18

18. Individuals: Enter the sum of (i) Form 1040, 1040-S R, or 1040-N R, line 11b, minus Form 1040, 1040-S R, or 1040-N R, line 14, and (i

19. Divide line 17 by line 18. If line 17 is more than line 18, enter “1”.

20. Individuals: Enter the total of Form 1040, 1040-S R, or 1040-N R, line 16, and Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 1z. Estates and trusts: See

21. Multiply line 20 by line 19 (maximum amount of credit).

22. Increase in limitation (section 960(c)) (see instructions).

23. Add lines 21 and 22.

24. Enter the smaller of line 14 or line 23. Enter here and on the appropriate line of Part I V. See instructions.

25. Credit for taxes on section 951A category income.

26. Credit for taxes on foreign branch category income.

27. Credit for taxes on passive category income.

28. Credit for taxes on general category income.

29. Credit for taxes on section 901(j) income.

30. Credit for taxes on certain income re-sourced by treaty.

31. Credit for taxes on lump-sum distributions.

32. Add lines 25 through 31.

33. Enter the smaller of line 20 or line 32.

34. Reduction of credit for international boycott operations. See instructions for line 12.

35. Subtract line 34 from line 33. This is your foreign tax credit. Enter here and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 1; Form 1041, Schedule

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Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file Form 1116 to claim any foreign tax credit?

No. If your creditable foreign taxes are under the threshold in the instructions and all your foreign income is passive and shown on payee statements, you can claim the credit directly without the form.

Credit or deduction, which is better for foreign taxes?

The credit reduces your US tax dollar for dollar, while the deduction only reduces taxable income and requires itemizing, so the credit is usually worth more. You must pick one treatment for all foreign taxes in a year.

What if my foreign taxes are more than the credit limit?

The unused portion is not lost. You can generally carry it back one year and then forward up to ten years, tracked on Schedule B of Form 1116.

Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust)

What is 1116?

Who files 1116?

How to fill out 1116

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Frequently asked questions

Related forms

Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income

Form 1118, Foreign Tax Credit, Corporations

Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets