A response from an Accountant:
"For a foreign pension on your Form 1040, you will report the income in the following way:
Line 5a - "Pensions and annuities": You would generally report foreign pension income as part of your "pensions and annuities" on Line 5a of Form 1040.
Schedule B - Interest and Ordinary Dividends (if applicable): If the foreign pension income includes any foreign interest or dividends, you may need to include that on Schedule B.
Form 8833 (if applicable): If there is a tax treaty between the U.S. and the country where the pension originates, and that treaty provides for any exemptions or special treatment, you may need to file Form 8833 to claim the benefits of the tax treaty. This is often the case if the treaty allows for partial or full exemption from U.S. taxation.
Important Notes:
Foreign Tax Credit: If you paid taxes to the foreign government on the pension income, you may be able to claim a foreign tax credit on Form 1116 to avoid double taxation.
Form 1040, Line 5a is the standard place to report pension income from both U.S. and foreign sources."
I may, indeed, need to retain the services of an accountant although I prefer filing electronically, not mailing in returns.
It was suggested to me by a "Live expert" on Sunday that I go for their "Full Service" which costs around $400, to obtain definitive and legally valid answers to get my taxes done right. She gave up after spending almost 2 hours on the phone with me. Time is money and I don't have weeks to devote to this sort of mundane business.
