The Foreign Tax Credit is the primary tool to avoid double taxation when a US citizen, resident, or domestic entity pays income tax to a foreign government on the same income the US also taxes. Form 1116 computes the credit for individuals and most non-corporate taxpayers. The credit is dollar-for-dollar but capped by the §904 limitation. OBBBA fundamentally changed the international FTC landscape effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025: GILTI was renamed Net CFC Tested Income (NCTI), the deemed-paid credit haircut dropped from 20% to 10% (allowing 90% credit), and new allocation rules under §904(b)(5) preserve interest and R&D deductions from being allocated against NCTI.
GILTI renamed NCTI. "Net CFC Tested Income" replaces "Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income" for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. Effective rate increases from 10.5% to 12.6% before credits due to §250 deduction reduction from 50% to 40%.
§960 deemed-paid credit haircut reduced from 20% to 10%. US corporate shareholders of CFCs now claim 90% of foreign taxes attributable to tested income (vs. 80% under GILTI).
New §904(b)(5). Interest expense and R&D expenses are NOT allocated against the §951A NCTI basket. This significantly increases the FTC limit for taxpayers with substantial domestic interest expense.
New §904(d)(2)(H)(i). Foreign taxes on amounts that do not constitute income under US tax principles ("base differences") now assigned to the general basket instead of foreign branch basket - a TCJA drafting-error correction.
New §904(b)(6). Up to 50% of inventory sales income may be treated as foreign-source if the US person maintains a foreign fixed place of business that is a "material factor" in production of the income.
The §901 credit is computed as the foreign tax paid, but §904 caps the credit at the US tax that would have applied to the foreign-source income. The formula:
| §904(a) FTC Limitation Formula | |
|---|---|
| Numerator | Foreign-source taxable income in the category |
| Denominator | Total worldwide taxable income |
| Multiplied by | Pre-credit US tax liability |
| = | Maximum FTC for that category |
If foreign tax paid exceeds the limit, excess credit arises. If foreign tax paid is less than the limit, excess limit arises (room for additional credit if foreign tax later increases). The §904 limitation is computed separately for each category (basket) - cross-basket netting is not allowed.
Under §904(d), foreign-source income and the related foreign taxes are sorted into separate categories. A separate Form 1116 is required for each category in which the taxpayer has activity:
| Basket | What It Contains | Carryover |
|---|---|---|
| Section 951A (NCTI, formerly GILTI) | Net CFC tested income inclusions under §951A. Most common for US shareholders of CFCs. | NONE - cannot carry back or forward |
| Foreign Branch | Business profits attributable to one or more qualified business units (QBUs) in foreign countries | 1 year back, 10 forward |
| Passive | Dividends, interest, royalties, rents, capital gains, generally portfolio investment income | 1 year back, 10 forward |
| General | Active business income, wages, self-employment - the default catch-all | 1 year back, 10 forward |
| §901(j) Income | Income from sanctioned countries (Iran, North Korea, etc. - sanctions list current as of 2026) | Carryovers restricted |
| Certain income re-sourced by treaty | Income that a tax treaty re-sources from US-source to foreign-source for credit purposes | 1 year back, 10 forward |
| Lump-sum distributions | Foreign-source portion of qualifying lump-sum distributions | 1 year back, 10 forward |
For passive-category foreign taxes only, taxpayers may elect to claim the credit directly on Form 1040 without filing Form 1116 if all the following apply:
| De Minimis Election Requirements (§904(k)) |
|---|
| Total creditable foreign taxes do not exceed $300 ($600 if MFJ) |
| All foreign taxes are passive category (typically dividends/interest from foreign mutual funds or ETFs reported on Form 1099-DIV) |
| All foreign taxes are reported on a qualified payee statement (1099-DIV, 1099-INT, or Schedule K-1) |
| The taxpayer elects by claiming the credit on Schedule 3 (Form 1040) without filing Form 1116 |
| Election waives carryback/carryforward of any excess; if foreign tax exceeds the de minimis cap, Form 1116 must be filed |
The election is annual. Most individual Clients with foreign mutual funds or international ETFs in taxable accounts qualify, but the carryover waiver means it should only be elected when the FTC limit comfortably exceeds the foreign tax paid. If a future-year FTC carryforward might be useful, file Form 1116 even if the de minimis applies.
US persons working abroad face a fundamental election: Foreign Earned Income Exclusion under §911 (Form 2555) or Foreign Tax Credit under §901 (Form 1116). The choice is not entirely free - they can be combined on different income (FEIE on wages, FTC on investment income) but not on the same income, and the FEIE election is "sticky" under §911(e) (revocation requires IRS consent and a five-year cooldown).
| Factor | FEIE Better | FTC Better |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign country tax rate | Low or zero (UAE, Bahamas, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong below threshold) | High (Germany, UK, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Australia) |
| Income type | Wages only - capped at $130,000 for 2026 (indexed) | All income types, no dollar cap |
| Refundable child tax credit (CTC) | Often blocked - FEIE wages don't generate earned income for CTC purposes (§24(d) limitation) | Preserves CTC qualifying earned income |
| Spousal IRA contribution | FEIE-excluded wages do not support IRA contribution under §219(f) | Preserves IRA contribution capacity |
| Carryover value | None - no FEIE carryover exists | Excess credits carry forward 10 years - valuable bank for future US-source life |
| Self-employment tax | FEIE does NOT exclude SE tax under §1402 - FICA-equivalent still owed | FTC does not affect SE tax either, but generally preferable for self-employed expats |
Facts: US citizen residing in Germany, $200,000 salary, German income tax 38% effective ($76,000), one child, MFJ with spouse who earns $0.
FEIE path: Exclude $130,000 of wages. Remaining $70,000 taxed at federal rates. CTC qualifying earned income reduced. Refundable CTC partially blocked.
FTC path: All $200,000 in US tax base. US tax approximately $24,000 after standard deduction and CTC. Foreign tax credit covers it entirely ($76,000 paid > $24,000 limit). $52,000 excess carries forward 10 years. Refundable CTC fully preserved.
Result: FTC produces lower US tax PLUS bankable $52,000 carryforward. High-tax country case strongly favors FTC.
Computes foreign-source net taxable income for the basket. Line 1a reports gross income; lines 2-4 deduct expenses definitely related or allocable to foreign-source income; line 7 totals net foreign-source taxable income. Sourcing rules are in §§861-865. Key principles: services income is sourced where performed; interest is sourced to residence of payor; dividends are sourced to country of the paying corporation; sales of inventory and personal property are sourced under §865.
Reports the actual foreign taxes paid (cash basis) or accrued (accrual basis). The election is on the first Form 1116 ever filed and is binding for all future years (except for a one-time revocation under §905(a)). Foreign currency is translated at the spot rate on the date of payment under §986(a) for cash-basis taxpayers, or the average rate for the year for accrual taxpayers.
The §904 limitation math. Line 15 is gross foreign-source income. Line 18 is taxable income from all sources (worldwide). Line 19 divides line 15 by line 18 to produce the ratio. Line 20 multiplies the ratio by pre-credit US tax liability to produce the limitation. Line 21 takes the lesser of foreign tax paid or the limit - that's the credit for the basket. Excess goes to carryforward.
Only completed on one Form 1116 when the taxpayer has multiple baskets. The form with the largest line 24 amount is used to combine. Line 33 totals the credits across all baskets; line 35 is the final FTC that flows to Schedule 3 (Form 1040) line 1.
For US shareholders of CFCs, the high-tax exception can exclude income from Subpart F treatment or NCTI treatment if the foreign effective tax rate on the income exceeds 90% of the US corporate rate. For 2026 with a 21% US corporate rate, the threshold is 18.9% effective foreign rate.
Most Western European countries comfortably exceed this threshold (Germany ~30%, France ~25%, UK ~25%). The election can dramatically reduce the US tax burden for US shareholders of European CFCs. The election is annual under Reg §1.951A-2(c)(7)(iv). For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, OBBBA modified the high-tax exception calculation - test on a CFC-by-CFC basis rather than the prior tested unit basis.
US tax treaties typically include a "savings clause" preserving US ability to tax its citizens regardless of treaty residency. But many treaties also include a "resourcing rule" that re-characterizes income as foreign-source when the treaty grants the foreign country primary taxing rights. The treaty-resourced income goes into a separate FTC basket under §904(d)(6).
Common scenarios: US citizen working in a treaty country whose treaty-based residence is foreign; the salary is US-source under §861(a)(3) (services performed there - actually that's foreign source), but treaty resourcing may apply to pension distributions, dividends from US source paid to treaty resident citizen, etc. Each resourcing basket requires its own Form 1116, often with a specific basket label.
| Carryover Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Carryback | 1 year preceding the credit year |
| Carryforward | 10 years following the credit year |
| Order of use | Oldest credits used first (FIFO) |
| Basket integrity | Carryovers remain in the same basket; cannot cross baskets |
| NCTI/GILTI basket | NO carryover - permanent loss if not used in year paid |
| Mandatory carryback? | Carryback is mandatory unless taxpayer elects under §904(c) flush language to forgo |
The mandatory carryback rule under §904(c) is unintuitive. Excess credits from 2026 must be carried back to 2025 first, then forward. A taxpayer who wants to preserve the carryforward (perhaps because 2025 had no foreign-source income and the carryback would be wasted) must explicitly elect to forgo the carryback by filing Form 1116 with the election. The election is made on a year-by-year basis.
| Income Type | Source | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Wages, services compensation | Where services performed | §861(a)(3); §862(a)(3) |
| Interest | Residence of obligor | §861(a)(1); §862(a)(1) |
| Dividends | Residence of paying corporation | §861(a)(2); §862(a)(2) |
| Rents and royalties on tangible property | Where property used | §861(a)(4); §862(a)(4) |
| Royalties on intangibles | Where intangible used | §861(a)(4); §862(a)(4) |
| Sale of inventory (purchased) | Where title passes | §861(a)(6); §862(a)(6) |
| Sale of inventory (manufactured by seller) | Production location after OBBBA §904(b)(6); up to 50% foreign-source if foreign place of business is material factor | §863(b) |
| Sale of US real property | US-source always (FIRPTA) | §861(a)(5); §897 |
| Sale of personal property (non-inventory) | Residence of seller, with exceptions | §865 |
| Capital gain on stock | Generally residence of seller | §865(a) |
Only income-type taxes qualify under §901(b) and Reg §1.901-2. Value-added tax (VAT), goods and services tax (GST), property taxes, transfer taxes, and excise taxes are not creditable as foreign income taxes. They may be deductible under §164 but cannot be credited. National-level income tax and substantially-similar foreign withholding taxes on dividends, interest, royalties (where the US has no treaty) qualify.
Each basket needs its own Form 1116. A US citizen earning German salary AND collecting German dividends needs at least two Forms 1116 - general basket for the salary, passive basket for the dividends. The de minimis election under §904(k) can avoid this for the passive portion if the dividends are below $300/$600 threshold and other conditions met.
A US-citizen Client living in Russia (no current US-Russia treaty active since 2024) versus living in Germany (active US-Germany treaty) have very different FTC profiles. Treaty-resourced income requires its own basket. Always check whether a treaty is in force and whether resourcing provisions apply.
Compensation is sourced to where services are performed under §861(a)(3) and §862(a)(3). A US citizen working in Germany for a US employer earns FOREIGN-source wages for FTC purposes - even though the employer is US and reports on Form W-2. This is the most common sourcing question for expat returns. The full W-2 wage amount goes on Form 1116 Part I as foreign-source.
Corporations claim the FTC on Form 1118, not Form 1116. Form 1116 is for individuals, estates, and trusts. C-corps with foreign operations file Form 1118 (and also Form 5471 for CFCs, Form 8993 for §250 deduction, Form 8992 for NCTI calculation). For boutique Clients with closely-held foreign C-corps, the Form 1118 mechanics differ from Form 1116 in several important ways including the deemed-paid §960 credit available only to corporations.
When foreign tax is later refunded, adjusted, or otherwise changes from the amount originally claimed as credit, the taxpayer must file an amended return under §905(c) to redetermine the credit. Failure to do so can result in penalty under §6689. The redetermination period extends the assessment statute - foreign tax redeterminations can reopen years that otherwise would be closed.
Primary authority: IRC §901 (foreign tax credit), §904 (limitation), §904(d) (separate categories), §904(b)(5) (interest and R&D allocation - new under OBBBA), §904(b)(6) (inventory sourcing - new under OBBBA), §904(c) (carryback/carryforward), §904(d)(2)(H)(i) (base differences - amended by OBBBA), §904(k) (de minimis $300/$600 election), §905 (foreign tax accrual), §905(c) (redetermination), §911 (FEIE), §951A (NCTI/former GILTI), §954(b)(4) (high-tax exception), §960 (deemed-paid credit), §250 (FDDEI and NCTI deductions). §§861-865 (sourcing rules). Treasury Regulations §1.901-2 (qualifying foreign tax), §1.904-4 / §1.904-5 (basket rules), §1.951A-2(c)(7)(iv) (high-tax election). One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21 (international tax reform). IRS Form 1116 Instructions (2025), Publication 514 (Foreign Tax Credit for Individuals), Publication 519 (US Tax Guide for Aliens).