Should I include the Swedish tax on rental income from a house in Sweden under "Other Taxes" in the rental property info section?

[andreasbrinck]

My wife and I own a house in Sweden which we are renting out. We are Swedish citizens and need to declare this rental income on our Swedish tax return. Should the tax we pay on the rental income in Sweden be added under "Other taxes" in the "rental property info", or are these kind of taxes in Sweden entered somewhere else (like Form 1116)?

[ToddL99 · Accepted solution]

You can report this tax on one of two ways - It could be reported as an expense under "Other taxes" in the "rental property info" or you could claim a foreign tax credit (Form 1116), but not both.

In order to claim the Foreign Tax Credit, your rental income from Sweden would have to be included as taxable income on your U.S. return.

The concept of the Foreign Tax Credit is to avoid double-taxation of income. If both the U.S. and Sweden are taxing your Swedish rental income, then the U.S. will allow you a tax credit for at least some part of what you paid to Sweden.

From the Instructions for Form 1116: You can take a credit for income, war profits, and excess profits taxes paid or accrued during your tax year to any foreign country or U.S. possession, or any political subdivision (for example, city, state, or province) of the country or possession.

You can either claim the deduction (expense) or the credit, but not both (credits are usually more advantageous).