Dave, there are other combinations of number you could put and make this work, but I don't think this is the right solution to this problem, besides, it's possible that that number is a valid payers's federal identification number used by a legit US company. I just tried again a substitute 1099-R with foreign country code and it worked until I tried to input Gross Distribution in box 1 different than zero. You can mark it as substitute and explain the reason why you're filing it, Turbo Tax would still generate an error and won't let you e-file. In my view, the easiest way to solve the problem is to remove requirement for a FIN number for substitute 1099-R filers who receive distributions from foreign countries or make a worksheet for state filers showing that Other Income reported as foreign pension qualifies for the state exclusion. End of problem, is this so difficult???
I don't think so. They have 100s of worksheets, they could make one more.
@DaveF1006
