Foreign Currency Conversion

Report all amounts in U.S. dollars except where specified otherwise in Part II. If you have to convert from foreign currency, attach a detailed explanation of how you figured the conversion rate.

If you take a credit for taxes paid, the conversion rate is the rate of exchange in effect on the day you paid the foreign taxes (or on the day the tax was withheld). If you receive a refund of foreign taxes paid, the conversion rate is the rate in effect when you paid the taxes, not when you receive the refund.

If you choose to account for foreign income taxes on an accrual basis, you must generally use the average exchange rate for the tax year to which the taxes relate. However, you can’t do so if any of the following apply.

1. The foreign taxes are actually paid more than 2 years after the close of the tax year to which they relate.

2. The foreign taxes are actually paid in a tax year prior to the year to which they relate.

3. The foreign tax liability is denominated in any inflationary currency.

Accrued foreign taxes not eligible for conversion at the yearly average exchange rate must be converted using the exchange rate on the date of payment of the tax. However, accrued but unpaid foreign taxes denominated in inflationary currency must be translated into U.S. dollars using the

Instructions for Form 1116 (2025) 3

exchange rate on the last day of the U.S. tax year to which those taxes relate.

Inflationary currency. Inflationary currency means the currency of a country in which there is cumulative inflation during the 36 calendar months immediately preceding the last day of the tax year of at least 30%, as determined by reference to the consumer price index of the country listed in the monthly issues of International Financial Statistics, or a successor publication, of the International Monetary Fund.

Election to use exchange rate on date paid. If you have accrued foreign taxes that you are otherwise required to convert using the average exchange rate, you can elect to use the exchange rate in effect on the date the foreign taxes are paid if the taxes are denominated in a nonfunctional foreign currency. If any of the accrued taxes are unpaid, you must translate them into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate on the last day of the U.S. tax year to which those taxes relate. Once made, the election applies to the tax year for which made and all subsequent tax years unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. It must be made by the due date (including extensions) for filing the tax return for the first tax year to which the election applies. Make the election by attaching a statement to the applicable tax return.

Special rules for a qualified business unit (QBU). If you have a QBU, see Pub. 514 for special rules for converting foreign income and taxes into U.S. dollars. You may have a QBU if you own and operate a business or are self-employed in a foreign country.