In reality we would do computations and get info about what to expect in future years. That's because the way FTC works. the current year is always used before any carryovers. I've seen many taxpayers with significant FTC carryovers that expire or the taxpayer dies with unused amounts. In other words which method is better is a guess, so the decision has to rest with you. I would say this, if there was a way to prepay some of the foreign taxes on the investment income, I would recommend using the "paid" method and then if I figured I could use more that the foreign taxes on my wages I would prepay some.
