Thanks Opus 17 for the input....
Here are some things I do know.
1. The Australian government requires employers to contribute to superannuation for each employee . Some view this as a kind of "Social Security". In this case the company was IBM Australia. If an employer contributes over the required percentage then that would result in a taxable event on withdrawal.
2. In my case I never made any contributions either per-tax or after tax to the superannuation account ... I wasn't really aware of it until I retired from the IBM US company.
I agree with you that this is outside the scope of VITA, however I mentioned it since I was hoping the US tax law would have an easy, ie "flow chart", methodology to determine how to handle Australian superannuation when filing US taxes as a US citizen.
So, I'm not suggesting the US tax law should be addressing other country tax situations, but I am asking for US tax law to be specific for US citizens who receive Australian superannuation payments ie how to report on a US tax return when distributions are made. This can occur if US citizens are assigned to an Australian company for some time then return to the US ... leaving a superannuation account in Australia.
Obviously am not a CPA or International Tax expert but I am tempted to read what the Treaty between the US and Australia has to say if anything about this.
If the US tax law is agnostic on the issue , the only option I have is to hire a CPA / lawyer who will direct me in reporting the distribution on my US tax return and defend their position if necessary.
I did call TurboTax since I am happy to pay for the advice and it was difficult but the tax support folks suggest I request someone who is familiar with the subject.
