Thank you, this is great info. I used the Treaty claim the first year but the filing by mail was too much time and expense. I chose to report it as other income and take the Foreign tax credit, even though it was a little less favorable. It was nearly a wash when I figured in the cost of printing and mailing federal + three states, not to mention the aggravation factor.
It appears your solution of reporting the income as "other" and then reporting the same amount as a negative number avoids the 4852/substitute 1099r and thus the requirement to mail file. Although the 8833 also requires mail file, I thought if the treaty claim is for foreign social security you don't need that form? If that is correct I can e-file?
