US bilateral tax treaties — country list + Hispanic-origin status

The United States has bilateral income-tax treaties with 68 countries. These treaties reduce double taxation, lower withholding rates on certain types of income, and provide specific exemptions for students, teachers, researchers, and other categories of individuals.

This page is for: US-resident immigrants who earn income from their home country, US-citizen expats abroad, and foreign nationals earning US-source income.

Hispanic-origin country tax treaty status

CountryTreaty statusNotes
Mexico✅ YES—
Venezuela✅ YES—
Guatemala❌ NO—
El Salvador❌ NO—
Honduras❌ NO—
Cuba❌ NO—
Colombia❌ NO—
Dominican Republic❌ NO—
Peru❌ NO—
Ecuador❌ NO—
Argentina❌ NO—
Nicaragua❌ NO—

All countries with US tax treaties (68)

Common treaty benefit categories

  • Reduced withholding on FDAP income (dividends, interest, royalties): standard 30% reduced to 0-15% under most treaties
  • Pensions and annuities: source-country exemption or reduced rate
  • Capital gains: typically source-country taxation only for real estate
  • Business profits: tax only in country of permanent establishment
  • Personal services income: short-term visit exemptions (typically <183 days)
  • Students and trainees: exemption for limited maintenance allowances and stipends (J-1, F-1 status)
  • Teachers and researchers: 2-year exemption under most treaties
  • Government employees: typically exempt under government-service article
  • Diplomatic and consular officers: full exemption from host-country tax

Key tax forms for treaty positions

  • Form 8833 (Treaty-Based Return Position Disclosure) — required to claim treaty benefits on Form 1040 or 1040-NR; penalty $1,000 individuals / $10,000 corporations for failure to file
  • Form W-8BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner) — individuals claiming reduced withholding
  • Form W-8BEN-E — entities (corporations, partnerships, etc.) claiming reduced withholding
  • Form 8233 (Exemption from Withholding on Compensation) — for treaty-based employment income exemption
  • Form 1042-S — your US payor’s report of treaty-reduced income to IRS (similar to 1099 but for foreign payees)

Last verified: 2026-05-27. Source: IRS list of US income tax treaties + Publication 901. General procedural information — not tax advice. Tax treaty interpretation is highly fact-specific; consult a tax attorney or CPA experienced in international taxation before claiming treaty positions on a return.

Recent fee, deadline, and contact context (2025-2026)

The Chile-US Income Tax Treaty entered into force February 2024 — first US tax treaty in over a decade. The Mexico-US Tax Convention protocol was modernized in 2024 with new exchange-of-information provisions. The Croatia-US Income Tax Treaty was signed December 2022 and is currently pending US Senate consideration. The Hungary-US Income Tax Treaty was terminated by the US July 8, 2022 (treaty fully terminated effective January 1, 2024 for tax withholding, January 1, 2025 for other taxes) — businesses with Hungarian operations should review impact.

The IRS Tax Treaty interpretation primary source is IRS Publication 901 (US Tax Treaties — typically updated annually around February). Tax treaty texts available at irs.gov/treaties. For specific treaty articles: see the Joint Committee on Taxation’s “JCT” technical explanations (jct.gov) which provide Congress-ratified interpretation.

For treaty-based filing positions, file Form 8833 (Treaty-Based Return Position Disclosure) with your Form 1040 or 1040-NR by the April 15 deadline (or October 15 with Form 4868 extension — extension extends FILING only, not PAYMENT). Penalty for failing to file Form 8833: $1,000 for individuals, $10,000 for corporations under IRC 6712 — assessed per treaty position not disclosed.

IRS International Taxpayer Services: 1-267-941-1000 (NOT toll-free, international callers welcome) Monday-Friday 6:00am-11:00pm Eastern Time. For tax-exempt status under treaties: file Form 8833 + 1040/1040-NR; allow 16+ weeks for processing. IRS Form 1042-S (withholding agent reporting) issued by payors by March 15 following tax year.