Ttax has not calculated the utilized/carryover portions of my foreign tax paid credit

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
February 11, 2026
1 reply
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I pay more than $300 in foreign taxes, thus have to report those. When I first created my 2025 return, TTax calculated the utilised portion and the carryover portion to 2026 but did not pick up on previous years' carryovers. So I created a new return that has picked up on the previous years but has not calculated the used/carryover breakdown for the future 2026 return (utilized portion=0, the same as for AMT calculation). How can I remedy this on the new return?

I presume that I cannot just go with the first version of the return (that doesn’t have previous years’ foreign tax credits)?

Best answer by DaveF1006

No, that is not correct. You should proceed with the first version that correctly calculated the utilized portion and the carryover into 2026. You just need to enter the previous carryover data that was missed. Follow these steps to restore your carryovers from previous years.

Go to Deductions & Credits > Estimates and Other Taxes Paid > Foreign Taxes.
Work through the interview until you see the screen: "Do you have any Foreign Tax Credit Carryovers?"
Select Yes.
You will see a table for years 2015–2024.
Enter the amount of carryovers from previous years here.

DaveF1006Answer

Level 15

Go to Deductions & Credits > Estimates and Other Taxes Paid > Foreign Taxes.
Work through the interview until you see the screen: "Do you have any Foreign Tax Credit Carryovers?"
Select Yes.
You will see a table for years 2015–2024.
Enter the amount of carryovers from previous years here.

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laurag25Author

Level 5

Just two follow-up questions:

I can only fill in past carryovers back to 2016, I have no access to the 2015 carryover figures. Is this a problem? My tax returns have always been accepted by the IRS with no regard to reporting inconsistencies in the foreign tax paid carryover in section 1116.
It looks like I am going to have to amend only my returns of 2023 and 2024 to remedy (a) these historical foreign tax carryovers, but also (b) due to corrections to my foreign tax payments, for foreign income (passive income). Should I go ahead and file my 2025 return now and wait until it is accepted, then file the amended 2023, 2024 returns together? I will owe the IRS very small amounts (under $50) on each of those. (These will eventually affect my 2025 filing.) Or do I file first the amended 2023, wait for acceptance, then file the 2024 amended return? An amended 2023 is going to affect 2024 because of the revision to foreign income, then that will affect my 2025 return. Should I wait to file my 2025 return until these 2023 and 2024 revisions are done? Thanks so much!

DaveF1006

Level 15

Foreign tax credits have a 10-year carryforward life. This means any excess credits generated in 2015 expire at the end of 2025.

Prepare your 2023 and 2024 amendments to determine what the carryover amounts are after each year. Then prepare your 2025 return and report those carryover amounts for 2023 and 2024 in the carryover screen on your return. Then immediately file your 2023 and 2024 amendments.

If they process your 2025 return first and see a carryover that doesn't match their old 2024 record, they might send a notice. However, once they process the 1040-Xs, the records will align.

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