Sri Lanka Double Tax Treaty (DTAA) Finder
Pick a country to see whether Sri Lanka has a double taxation treaty with it, the capped withholding rates on dividends, interest and royalties, and an estimate of your foreign-tax-credit relief, so the same income is never taxed twice. Free, no signup, sources cited.
How it works
A double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA), or tax treaty, is a bilateral agreement that stops the same income being fully taxed in two countries. Sri Lanka currently has 41 comprehensive income-tax treaties in force. This tool does two jobs: it looks up whether a treaty exists with the country you choose, and it estimates the relief a Sri Lankan resident gets on foreign income.
Treaty lookup and rates.Each treaty caps the withholding tax the source country may charge on passive income, dividends (Article 10), interest (Article 11) and royalties (Article 12). The tool shows that cap next to Sri Lanka's domestic non-resident rate (14% on dividends and royalties; 5–14% on interest). A treaty can only reduce the domestic rate, never raise it, so the rate that actually applies at source is:
applicable rate = min(domestic non-resident rate, treaty cap)
Foreign-tax-credit relief. A Sri Lankan resident is taxed on worldwide income, but s.97 of the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 grants a credit for foreign tax already paid, capped at the Sri Lankan tax on that same slice of income. The arithmetic is deterministic:
- Convert the foreign income and foreign tax to rupees at your exchange rate.
- Sri Lankan tax on the income = gross income × your SL rate.
- Foreign tax credit = min(foreign tax paid, SL tax on income).
- Net Sri Lankan tax = max(0, SL tax − credit).
- Total tax borne = foreign tax + net SL tax.
Those four lines collapse to a single sanity check the tool runs on every keystroke: total tax = max(foreign tax, SL tax on income). You always pay tax once, at the higher of the two effective rates, never both in full. Where the foreign tax is higher than the Sri Lankan tax, the excess is not refunded; the credit is limited to the SL tax. This version uses a single applicable SL rate you supply for the income slice rather than re-running the progressive brackets, for a precise marginal rate, use the income tax calculator.
Worked examples
Full DTAA country list & treaty rates
All 41 comprehensive income-tax treaties Sri Lanka has in force, with the maximum source-country withholding rate on each passive income stream. Ranges reflect ownership or recipient tests in the treaty text.
| Country | Region | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Asia-Pacific | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Bahrain | Middle East | 5% / 7.5% / 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Bangladesh | South Asia | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| Belarus | Europe | 7.5% / 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Belgium | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Canada | Americas | 15% | 15% | 10% |
| China (Mainland) | Asia-Pacific | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Denmark | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Egypt | Africa | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| Finland | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| France | Europe | 10% | 10% | 10% / 15% |
| Germany | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| India | South Asia | 7.5% / 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Indonesia | Asia-Pacific | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| Iran | Middle East | 10% | 10% | 8% |
| Italy | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% / 15% |
| Japan | Asia-Pacific | 10% | 15% | 0% / 7.5% |
| Korea (South) | Asia-Pacific | 10% / 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Kuwait | Middle East | 5% / 10% | 10% | 20% |
| Luxembourg | Europe | 7.5% / 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Malaysia | Asia-Pacific | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Mauritius | Africa | 10% / 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Nepal | South Asia | 15% | 10% / 15% | 15% |
| Netherlands | Europe | 10% / 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Norway | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Pakistan | South Asia | 15% | 10% | 20% |
| Palestinian Authority | Middle East | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Philippines | Asia-Pacific | 15% / 25% | 15% | 15% / 25% |
| Poland | Europe | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Qatar | Middle East | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Romania | Europe | 12.5% | 10% | 10% |
| Russian Federation | Europe | 10% / 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Seychelles | Africa | 7.5% / 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Singapore | Asia-Pacific | 15% | 10% | 15% |
| Sweden | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Switzerland | Europe | 10% / 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Thailand | Asia-Pacific | 15% | 10% / 25% | 15% |
| United Arab Emirates | Middle East | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| United Kingdom | Europe | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| United States | Americas | 15% | 10% | 5% / 10% |
| Vietnam | Asia-Pacific | 10% | 10% | 15% |
Air-transport onlyOman, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong SAR have limited air-transport agreements, not comprehensive income treaties.
Frequently asked questions
Sources & references
- IRD: Double Tax Avoidance Treaties register (partner countries & treaty texts)
- Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017: s.97 foreign tax credit, s.84–85 non-resident withholding
- US IRS: Sri Lanka tax treaty documents (US–Sri Lanka treaty, in force 2004)
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Sri Lanka (withholding taxes)
Treaty caps transcribed from the EY Worldwide Corporate Tax Guide (Sri Lanka, Section F) and cross-checked against the IRD register; last verified on 2026-07-17. This is an informational estimate, not tax advice, confirm against the specific treaty text and consult a chartered accountant or the IRD before filing.
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Comments & feedback
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