Income Tax Course Basics on the Foreign Tax Credit
September 24th, 2010 | 
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A taxpayer doesn’t have to be a world traveler to benefit from the foreign tax credit. Many individuals find that typical investment accounts extend beyond US borders. This affects tax preparer jobs. The purpose of the foreign tax credit is eliminating a US income tax burden by the amount of tax paid to another country on the same income.
A Registered Tax Return Preparer learns the tests to qualify for the foreign tax credit. These requirements are that the foreign tax must be assessed on income of a taxpayer, who paid or accrued the tax to a legal foreign entity. The essential element in the requirements is that only income taxes paid or accrued qualify for the foreign tax credit.
Qualified foreign taxes cannot be used to qualify a taxpayer for a foreign subsidy or be refundable. In addition, the foreign tax must be compulsory and not something that a taxpayer could have avoided paying to a foreign country. Finally, the tax qualifying for the foreign tax credit cannot be assessed by a country that doesn’t have a diplomatic relationship with the US, has a government not recognized by the US, or is designated by the US Secretary of State as a nation that provides support for acts of international terrorism.
Anyone with investments or business interests overseas is likely to experience foreign taxes. An income tax course for training tax practitioners reveals that all income sources of a US citizen or resident alien are taxable by the IRS. The foreign tax credit therefore avoids double taxation of foreign income. Income tax paid to a foreign country or US possession is a credit toward payment of US tax.
When a RTRP encounters the payment or accrual of a qualified foreign tax, there is a choice of using the amount as an itemized deduction or a foreign tax credit. In almost all cases, the credit is more valuable than the deduction. Form 1116 is used to claim the foreign tax credit. Using this form results in a foreign tax credit calculation that is the lower of the foreign tax figure or the amount of US tax attributable to foreign source income.
The limit is separately computed for passive income and all other income. Taxpayers who cannot claim a credit for the full amount of foreign taxes paid or accrued in the year are eligible to carry back or carryover the unused foreign tax. A carry back can only affect one year but a carryover lasts for ten years.
The tax preparer exam can cover some of the basics about this tax credit. For example, Form 1116 is not required to claim a foreign tax credit on income from foreign sources consisting entirely of passive income, such as interest and dividends, as long as this income is reported to the IRS by the payer on a Form 1099. There is a maximum amount of foreign tax credit that is eligible for exclusion of Form 1116, which varies by filing status. Claiming the credit without filing Form 1116 prohibits carry back or carryover of any unused foreign tax.
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