Foreign Tax Credit for Dividends from Foreign Stock Index Fund

Since you mentioned 600 I assume you file MFJ; else it is 300.

This assumes the total amount of foreign tax paid was for passive sources such as dividends, and under these limits, and so you can bypass form 1116.

The ordinary dividends are still entered on line 9a (and maybe schedule B) and the qualified dividends are still entered on line 9b.

It is right. Remember that the credit is also entered into line 33 for form 6251 (alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit).

The simplified rule is good for you. If you were to fill out form

1116, and the foreign country tax rate was higher than the US tax rate, then all of the credit would not be allowed -- only the amount equal to the US tax rate would be allowed, and the rest would either be carried over (but then it wouldn't be usable the following year either) or forgotten.

Thanks Guys!

I always appreciate having someone double-check my thinking, even tho I know the advice won't legally stand up in a tax court. I am married filing jointly. Have gotten together all medical expenses, and all deductible contribution, both $$ and donations, all interest and dividends, so now have to start the hard stuff, like my wife's real estate sales numbers. They are so small that it is almost paying pennies per hour for her to do it, but maybe the current year will be better. I have given up on all the tax programs, they never want to do things exactly the way I want to do them. In 48 years of filing taxes, since I was a teenager, I have never had a challenge to my returns/filings, so I guess I am not doing things too awfully badly.