People often search for an IRS treaty table because they have found a country name, a table row, or a document request and want one simple answer: “Does this mean I do not pay tax?” The IRS materials do not work that way. They are useful reference points, but they are not a complete decision for a person, an entity, or a payment.
This page explains the IRS materials in the order that makes them usable: the country index, the treaty tables, the difference between a treaty and a tax-information-exchange agreement, and the questions that still need an adviser. The country list below is a listing-only transcript of the IRS A-to-Z index as accessed on 4 October 2026. It does not add a rate, benefit, legal conclusion, or personal outcome to any country name. [1]
What a tax treaty is — and what it does not do
The IRS says the United States has income-tax treaties with a number of foreign countries. Under those treaties, residents of treaty partners, who are not necessarily citizens, may be taxed at a reduced rate or be exempt from U.S. tax on certain specified income from U.S. sources. The IRS also says that the reduced rates and exemptions vary by country and by item of income. [1]
That description is more limited than the conclusion many searchers draw from it. A country appearing in an IRS treaty index does not, by itself, mean that a person pays no tax. It does not identify the person as a resident for treaty purposes. It does not choose an article, determine whether an entity satisfies a treaty provision, set a withholding result, or tell a person what must be filed. The IRS calls its treaty tables quick-reference material and says they are not a complete guide to all provisions of every income-tax treaty. [2] [3]
The IRS A-to-Z page also says that most income-tax treaties contain a saving clause. The page describes that clause as preventing a U.S. citizen or resident from using treaty provisions to avoid U.S.-source-income taxation. That is one reason a country-name search cannot answer a person’s entire tax question. [1]
The tables can still be valuable. The IRS says they summarize many kinds of income that may be exempt or subject to reduced tax, and the tables point readers to treaty articles. But the IRS also says that treaty requirements must be met before an item can be exempt, and that the treaty text should be consulted where documentation is in question. [2]
A useful mental model is therefore: an index can help locate a document; a table can help identify a reference path; the treaty text and the reader’s facts determine whether further analysis is needed. That is not an invitation to self-certify a result. It is a way to avoid treating a search result as a tax conclusion.
The complete IRS A-to-Z country listing
The IRS page titled United States income tax treaties - A to Z provides links to treaty documents by country. The searchable country-name index below reflects that public display on 4 October 2026. Each result means only that the name appeared in the IRS index on that access date. The three caution labels are reproduced because they appear in the index; this page does not add an interpretation of them. [1]
IRS A-to-Z index
Find a listed country
Filter the public country names shown in the IRS income-tax-treaty index, accessed 4 October 2026. A match is listing status only; it does not establish a treaty result for a person, entity, payment, or filing position.
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- BelarusTreaty partially suspended
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- HungaryTreaty terminated
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Korea
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- RussiaTreaty partially suspended
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Trinidad
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
Source: IRS — United States income tax treaties: A to Z, accessed 4 October 2026.
The IRS index also displays a document entry for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), marked “CAUTION Treaty Partially Suspended for Belarus,” and a separate United States Model item. Neither is presented above as a country-list row. [1]
The index’s country-name display is deliberately the full answer to the narrow query “which countries appear in the IRS A-to-Z treaty index?” It is not a complete answer to “what happens to me?” A country can be present in an index while the reader still needs to identify a current document, a relevant article, a protocol, and facts that the index does not carry. Conversely, a country not displayed in this income-tax-treaty index should not be used as a shortcut to a broader conclusion about every other international tax or information-sharing arrangement. [1] [3]
For a country-specific query such as “Barbados U.S. tax treaty” or “UAE U.S. tax treaty,” start with the country name in the IRS index and the relevant country-specific materials rather than a generic claim copied from a search result. Where a country tax guide is available, it can frame the separate question of how the country’s domestic rules may matter; for example, see the UAE U.S. LLC tax guide. That internal link is not a treaty ruling and does not change the listing-only statement above.
Treaty versus TIEA: why Brazil is a useful worked example
A tax treaty and a tax information exchange agreement, often shortened to TIEA, are different documents. Their names identify different documentary roles. The IRS A-to-Z page is an income-tax-treaty document index. It does not say that every cross-border tax or reporting arrangement must appear there. [1]
Brazil is a careful example because the IRS A-to-Z income-tax-treaty index accessed for this page does not display Brazil as a country entry. Separately, an IRS-hosted U.S.–Brazil competent-authority arrangement refers to the 2007 agreement between the two governments for the Exchange of Information Relating to Taxes as the “TIEA.” [1] [4]
Those two source facts should not be collapsed. The Brazil arrangement supports the narrow statement that an IRS-hosted document identifies a Brazil–U.S. TIEA. The index supports the narrow statement that Brazil was not displayed in the accessed A-to-Z income-tax-treaty list. Neither fact, standing alone, establishes a person’s withholding treatment, reporting result, tax residence, entity classification, or filing obligation. [1] [4]
The distinction matters because the documents answer different questions. A reader who needs to know whether a country appears in the IRS income-tax-treaty index should use the index and Table 3. A reader who has found a TIEA should identify the actual document and the question it addresses. The presence of one document should not be described as if it automatically provides the function of another.
That is especially important for founders and owners of U.S. entities. It is tempting to use a one-line label—“treaty,” “no treaty,” or “information exchange”—as a complete international-tax answer. The IRS’s own material cautions against using its quick references as a complete guide. A document type may identify the next research step, but it does not decide the reader’s position. [3]
How to read the IRS treaty tables
The IRS treaty-tables page is a map of several different reference tables, not one universal answer sheet. The page says its tables summarize many types of income that may be exempt or subject to reduced tax. It also says the first three tables were moved out of Publication 515 so they could be updated more readily. [2]
Before reading a table, identify the actual question. Is the question about a country appearing in the treaty list? A category of non-personal-service income? Personal services performed in the United States? A treaty’s general effective date? Or the entity-focused limitation-on-benefits material? The table heading matters because each table is answering a different reference question.
Table 1: non-personal-service income under Chapter 3
The IRS labels Table 1 as the table for income other than personal-service income under Chapter 3, the Internal Revenue Code, and income-tax treaties. The IRS description lists categories including interest, dividends, royalties, pensions and annuities, and Social Security payments. It also says the income-code numbers shown are the same as the income codes used on Form 1042-S. [2]
Table 1 is therefore not a generic country finder. It is a quick-reference table organized around listed income categories and treaty-article citations. The IRS says all treaty requirements must be met before an item can be exempt from U.S. income tax, including a remittance-to-residence-country requirement if the treaty contains one. A row alone does not establish that those requirements are met. [2]
For a reader looking at a company payment, the first disciplined step is to identify the nature of the payment and the document that actually applies. Do not turn the name of a country in a table into a rate claim or a result for a particular person. The table is an entry point to the treaty article, not a substitute for the article or for the factual analysis it requires.
Table 2: personal services performed in the United States
The IRS labels Table 2 as the table for compensation for personal services performed in the United States that may be fully or partly exempt from U.S. income tax under income-tax treaties. The IRS again says treaty requirements must be met before an item can be exempt. [2]
That purpose differs from Table 1. Table 2 is not a list of all treaty questions and it is not a corporate entity-classification tool. It is a reference table for a stated personal-services category. A reader who has a different question should not force it into the Table 2 column structure just because a country is included somewhere in the table set.
Table 3: country list, treaty and protocol dates
The IRS says Table 3 lists the countries that have tax treaties with the United States and shows the general effective date of each treaty and protocol. The IRS defines a protocol in this context as an amendment to a treaty and says it is important to read both the treaty and the protocol or protocols that apply to the tax year in which a payment is made. [2]
This is why the A-to-Z index and Table 3 serve related but different purposes. The A-to-Z page is a document directory by country. Table 3 is the IRS table that carries the country list together with general effective-date information. Neither tool is a personal tax calculation, a residency determination, or an entity-treatment conclusion.
Table 4: limitation on benefits
The IRS labels Table 4 as Limitation on Benefits, or LOB. The IRS describes an LOB article as an anti-treaty-shopping provision intended to prevent residents of third countries from obtaining treaty benefits that were not intended for them. Its treaty-tables page says Table 4 identifies the major LOB tests relevant to an entity’s documentation of a treaty-benefits claim. [2]
Table 4 does not make an entity eligible merely because a country appears in the table. The IRS says a final determination requires checking the text of the relevant LOB article to identify the available tests and their particular requirements. The Table 4 PDF repeats that instruction and presents its entries as a convenience for taxpayers rather than a final determination. [2] [5]
This is the practical difference between Table 1 and Table 4. Table 1 is a reference path for stated income categories. Table 4 is a reference path for LOB provisions and the major tests an entity may need to consider. They do not replace one another, and neither one determines the reader’s result without the relevant treaty text and facts.
What a country listing does not tell you
A country name in the IRS index is important, but it leaves several core questions unanswered.
It does not establish your tax residency. The IRS describes treaty effects in terms of residents of foreign countries and specific income. A country-name list does not determine whether any particular person is a resident for treaty purposes. [1]
It does not determine an entity’s treaty treatment. The IRS’s Table 4 explanation makes clear that entities can face LOB questions and that the relevant article must be checked for a final determination. A country listing cannot resolve those entity-specific requirements. [2] [5]
It does not establish a withholding rate. The IRS says the tables are summaries and directs withholding agents to consult the applicable treaty provisions where documentation is in question. This page deliberately does not reproduce a rate. [2]
It does not decide a filing obligation. The IRS tells readers to use Publication 901 and the treaty tables as quick references, not complete guides. A country listing and a table row do not state every condition, reporting question, or consequence that may apply to a taxpayer or entity. [3]
It does not decide what an internal entity label means outside the United States. That question may require the treaty text, a protocol, the entity’s facts, and advice in the relevant jurisdiction. The IRS materials used here are country listings and treaty-table references; they are not a classification opinion for any specific U.S. LLC.
This is not empty caution. It is the point of using the IRS source in its proper role. A quick-reference page can reduce the time needed to find the right document. It cannot replace the document’s conditions, the facts of the payment, or the analysis a particular question may require.
A careful way to work from an IRS table
Start with the question, not the country name. If the question is whether a named jurisdiction appears in the IRS document directory, use the A-to-Z index and keep the result to that listing status. If the question concerns a treaty’s general effective date or a protocol, identify Table 3 and then read the treaty and protocol text that the IRS identifies as relevant. If the question concerns a particular payment category, identify whether the Table 1 or Table 2 heading actually matches the category before reading any row. [1] [2]
Next, identify who is involved without assuming that the answer follows from a company name or account label. The IRS material distinguishes between individuals who use Form W-8BEN and entities that use Form W-8BEN-E, and it specifically describes Table 4 as relevant to documenting an entity’s treaty-benefits claim. That is a prompt to check the relevant document path; it is not a conclusion that an entity satisfies a test. [2]
Then read the table heading, notes, and cited treaty article together. A table can display a country and an article citation while the applicable treaty text contains conditions that the table does not decide. The IRS says both that its tables are not a complete guide and that withholding agents should consult the actual treaty provisions when documentation raises a question. [2] [3]
After that, check the timing. The IRS says Table 3 gives general effective dates for treaties and protocols, and it tells readers to read the treaty together with the protocol or protocols that apply to the tax year in which payment is made. A country name or an older table copy cannot establish that a particular document version is the one to use for a specific period. [2]
Finally, keep the output narrow. It is accurate to say that a country appears in the IRS index, that a table has a stated purpose, or that a cited article is a place for further review. It is not accurate to leap from those observations to “my rate,” “my exemption,” “my entity treatment,” or “my filing result.” That final application depends on facts the index and tables do not supply.
Where the tables may matter for a U.S. LLC owner
A U.S. LLC owner should start by separating questions that are often blended into one.
First, identify the person or entity receiving the income and the country whose treaty documents are being considered. Then identify the type of income or payment that prompted the question. Next, locate the current treaty text, any protocol the IRS says applies to the relevant period, and the specific table that matches the question. The IRS says Table 3 provides general treaty and protocol effective dates, while Tables 1 and 2 include treaty-article citations for their stated income categories. [2]
If an entity is part of the question, add the LOB step rather than skipping it. The IRS says Table 4 is intended to assist entities with the major LOB tests relevant to documenting a claim, and that the relevant LOB article must be read for a final determination. [2] [5]
Take a narrow, document-led question to an adviser rather than asking only, “Does my country have a treaty?” Useful questions include:
- Which treaty text and protocol are current for the relevant tax year?
- Which article, if any, is relevant to the stated income or payment?
- Does the person meet the residence conditions assumed by the article?
- Does the U.S. LLC’s treatment create an issue that is not answered by the country index or table?
- If an entity is making or receiving the payment, is a Table 4 LOB analysis relevant?
- What forms, documentation, disclosures, or filing positions need separate review?
These are questions, not conclusions. They keep the analysis connected to the reader’s actual facts and prevent the country listing from being used as a shortcut to a result.
Use country guides for country questions, not for an IRS-table ruling
The IRS treaty materials are a U.S. source set. A country-specific guide can help a reader frame a separate domestic-law question, such as the country’s treatment of income from a U.S. LLC. It should not be used to announce a treaty rate or decide the result of a U.S. IRS table for a particular reader.
For example, an owner in the UAE can use the site’s UAE tax guide to identify the separate domestic-law questions that need review. The guide is not a replacement for the IRS treaty text, Table 3, or a table-specific analysis. Similarly, a Barbados search should begin with the IRS A-to-Z country listing above and then move to the exact documents and personal facts that the question requires.
The durable rule is simple: use the IRS index to find a treaty document, use the correct IRS table to understand the kind of reference it offers, read the treaty and applicable protocol, and take the factual application to a qualified adviser. That approach is slower than treating a search result as an answer, but it is much less likely to turn an index entry into a false promise.
References
[1]: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z "IRS — United States income tax treaties: A to Z" (accessed 4 October 2026)
[2]: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/tax-treaty-tables "IRS — Tax treaty tables" (accessed 4 October 2026)
[3]: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/researching-tax-treaties "IRS — Researching tax treaties" (accessed 4 October 2026)
[4]: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-lbi/brazil_competent_authority_arrangement.pdf "IRS — U.S.–Brazil competent authority arrangement" (accessed 4 October 2026)
[5]: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-lbi/Tax_Treaty_Table_4.pdf "IRS — Table 4: Limitation on Benefits" (accessed 4 October 2026)