I have been at this for several DAYS now and nothing seems to work.
I am paid a pension by a foreign government that I need to report. This pension is earned income based on employment history in the foreign country that I used to live in more than 20 years ago. There is an international bi-lateral tax agreement between said country and the U.S., to prevent double-taxation. Only the country where I used to live have the right to tax the pension I am getting although I am under the obligation to report it as income to the IRS. The foreign entity paying the pension does not have a 1099-R form. Even filing a "Substitute 1099-R" won't work as TT (Home & Biz) asks me to fill in fields that can't be done as there is NO 1099-R form to be had. The software seems to think I HAVE the 1099-R which I don't have.
Method 1:
I have tried to report the foreign paid pension under foreign income section as per described above, but that is not possible. The Substitute 1099-R form seems to assume that I am reporting income from an IRA distribution which is not the case. Leaving a slew of fields blank drives TT crazy so this method simply does not work.
Method 2:
Trying to report the foreign paid pension under "Miscellaneous" or "Other income" works BUT, I can't take a Foreign Tax Credit using this method. Reason being that the foreign tax credit can't be taken against income that is NOT reported under the Foreign Income section.
Am I the only individual in the universe receiving a pension from a foreign country who can't properly file taxes using TT Home & Biz?
JJ
