What is the difference between the Foreign Tax Credit and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion? Can they both be utilized or are they mutually exclusive?

[DanO · Accepted solution]

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is filed on Form 2555 that allows an exclusion up to $102,100 of your foreign earned income if you a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien living an working in a foreign country.

The Foreign Tax Credit is filed on Form 1116 and this is used to claim credit on the taxes that were paid on the amount of earned income that exceeded the exclusion amount of $102,100.

Both forms can be used on the same return.

To enter the forms in TurboTax Premier Online

Sign into TurboTax

• Click on Take me to my return
• Click on Search at top right and enter foreign earned income or enter foreign tax credit
  
• Click on Jump to foreign earned income or Jump to foreign tax credit
  
• Go through interview questions

[hammondry]

Does this mean that if you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion but your income exceeded the exclusion limit, that you can also use the foreign tax credit?  What if you only paid foreign taxes on a small portion of your total income (short term secondary job) and your total gross exceeds the exclusion amount?

[OnlyWhenImDrunk]

The max FEIE that TurboTaxDanO mentioned is for 2017; for 2018 it is $103,900.  As he mentioned, if you file both 1116 (FTC) and 2555 (FEIE), you cannot get credit for any taxes paid on the income excluded by the FEIE.

So, if your foreign earned income is $207,800, the foreign tax paid on this income is $60,000, and the amount excluded by FEIE (form 2555, line 45) is $103,900, you will have to enter $30,000 on line 12 of form 1116 since that is the amount of tax paid on the excluded amount (assuming flat tax rate).

[OnlyWhenImDrunk]

hammondry,

If you were only taxed on a small portion of your foreign income, then obviously your foreign tax credit is going to be small and Uncle Sam will still get his portion of your income that was not excluded by the FEIE.  Hopefully you can reduce the remaining income with the other deductions that are available to all taxpayers.