A taxpayer who is a U.S. resident for purposes of a U.S. income tax treaty is generally entitled to request assistance from the U.S. “competent authority” where the actions of a treaty country or the United States would (i) cause double taxation or (ii) taxation that is inconsistent with the treaty.  Competent authority assistance is only available with respect to countries that have an applicable tax treaty with the United States.  Our Treaty Resource Page provides an overview of every U.S. tax treaty and the tax system of each such country.

A taxpayer seeking assistance from the U.S. competent authority should always first consult any applicable treaty articles, including the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) article, before requesting assistance.  In addition to filing a request for assistance with competent authority, the taxpayer should consider (i) filing a timely protective claim for credit or refund; and (ii) take any required actions that are necessary under the procedures of the foreign country to avoid losing the right to appeal or obtain competent authority review under that country’s income tax laws.

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