Hello pk, thank you so much for taking the time to give such a detailed response. Given, as you say, there are a number of options, and given cash flow is not a major issue for me. I am considering the below option, which I think is similar to your option 2, but I am not clear whether it would be acceptable.
1) report gross amount of UK pension cash out on my 2022 US return - ie pay US taxes on the gross amount, even if I will also be paying UK taxes...
2) ...but do NOT report any of the taxes paid to the UK government, that were withheld at source by Uk pension provider.
3) Under double tax treaty, claim all the UK tax back from the UK government. That process can take time, but given I have not been a UK tax resident for many years, under the treaty I believe the UK gov will give me 100% refund
4) Where I am uncertain is, once I receive the refund from the UK gov, whether the IRS would consider that income even though I would have already reported the gross pension income on my 2022 US return. It would seem like in that scenario the IRS would be taxing me twice. Maybe that is why one HAS to go the route of reporting all income (ie gross pension and any tax refund) AND taking a foreign tax credit?
