Generally speaking, claiming a foreign tax credit is better than claiming a foreign tax deduction. The simple reason here is basic math. A tax credit of any kind represents a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your income tax liability, whereas a tax deduction just reduces the dollar amount of your income that is subject to being taxed. Thus, a single $1 tax credit is worth exactly $1 toward your overall tax liability, while a $1 tax deduction is only worth ($1 x your marginal income tax rate) toward your tax liability.
So, where a taxpayer has a choice to make, it's usually better to claim a credit than a deduction, if they can do so.
We also have some TurboTax articles on the foreign tax credit that you may find both helpful and interesting. Here are a pair of courtesy links to those:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/General-Tax-Tips/Filing-IRS-Form-1116-to-Claim-the-Fo...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901623-where-do-i-enter-the-foreign-tax-credit-form-1116-or-deduc...
Thank you for asking this important question.
