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
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so you'll need to amend 2020 to include the 1116 to show the unused carry forward. no amended return - no carryforward. 2020 amended must be filed by 4/15/2024 unless properly extended. then you'll need to file 2022 to determine the unused FTC that can be carried back to 2021. finally. amend 2021 to report the 2020 carryforward and 2022 carryback. Don't be surprised if the benefit is small or none at all. if there would have been a carryforward in 2021 if form 1116 was filed that means that any carryforward or carryback will not be used because you have no additional foreign income to increase the utilization - no additional benefit if the original return would have shown the total of foreign taxes paid exceeding the amount allowable. This is not uncommon. I've seen many cases where the FTC carryover expired unused.
