Unused Foreign Earned Income Credits

[mbert]

I have accrued a number of Foreign earned income credits working in Canada for 4 years. If I relocate to another country outside the US with a lower marginal tax rate (Singapore) am I able to use the credits or is it country specific? Any advice on this is much appreciated.

[nelsona]

I'm thinking you are referring to Foreign TAX credits (FTC), tracked through form 1116. Foreign earned income exclusion (FEIE), reported on Form 2555 is a different process, in which you exclude the foreign wages; there is no carryover for that.

FTCs are only country-specific in the year they are paid/accrued. Once carried forward, they can be used against any foreign income (for the particular category). So, in future, once you have 'used-up' the current year Singapore tax, you will draw down the carryovers in your account earned in canada.

[mbert]

Great, thanks for the response nelson. Yes my apologies on the ambiguous / erroneous terminology, I was indeed referring to FTCs.