Tax Treaty & DTAA Index
A Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) — also called a bilateral income-tax treaty — is a legal instrument between two countries that determines which country has the primary right to tax cross-border income. Treaties cap withholding-tax rates on dividends, interest, and royalties flowing between the two jurisdictions; establish tiebreaker rules for individuals who qualify as tax-resident in both countries under domestic law; and in some cases eliminate dual social-security obligations via a companion totalization agreement.
For internationally mobile individuals — remote workers, retirees abroad, cross-border investors, and corporate assignees — understanding the treaty between their country of origin and their host country is often the single most consequential piece of tax planning. A treaty can reduce a 30% withholding tax on US dividends to 15% or even 5%; it can determine whether a pension is taxable at source or only in the residence country; and it can prevent the same income being taxed twice at full domestic rates.
The Tax Treaty Coverage by Country Pair reference table covers ~40 notable country pairs with dividend, interest, and royalty WHT caps, tiebreaker rules, totalization status, and per-pair practitioner notes. Use the quick-navigation cards below to jump straight to the pairs relevant to you.
Last verified: 2026-06-01. Treaty rates change via protocols and domestic legislation — always confirm with the relevant tax authority or a qualified cross-border tax adviser.
Quick navigation by country
Each card links to the reference table filtered to pairs involving that country.
What a DTAA typically covers
- Withholding-tax caps on dividends, interest, and royalties paid from one country to a resident of the other — reducing source-country tax below the domestic rate.
- Tiebreaker rules for dual-residence situations: when an individual qualifies as tax-resident in both countries simultaneously, the treaty determines which residence takes priority (typically via the sequential OECD test: permanent home → centre of vital interests → habitual abode → nationality → mutual agreement).
- Source rules defining where different types of income (employment, pensions, business profits, capital gains, real estate) are treated as arising — and therefore which country has primary taxing rights.
- Non-discrimination clauses preventing one country from taxing nationals of the other more heavily than its own nationals in comparable situations.
- Mutual assistance and exchange of information provisions that allow the two revenue authorities to cooperate on enforcement and investigations.
What DTAAs typically do not cover
- Inheritance and gift tax — separate estate-tax treaties exist for a subset of country pairs; income-tax treaties do not govern them.
- VAT / GST — indirect taxes are excluded from bilateral income-tax treaties.
- Social security contributions — these require a separate totalization agreement; the income-tax treaty is silent on dual social-security liability unless a companion agreement exists.
- US citizens — US income-tax treaties contain a savings clause reserving the right of the US to tax its citizens worldwide regardless of treaty residence rules. Treaty benefits for US citizens abroad are narrower than for non-citizens.
Ready to look up a specific country pair? Open the Tax Treaty Coverage by Country Pair table →
See also: Tax residency matrix · Totalization treaties · Exit tax by country.