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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Found a bug, an out-of-date treaty rate, or want to suggest an improvement?
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