@aussiebobaustin , while I generally agree with the comments by my colleague @Opus 17 on this thread, before I jump in I want to be sure that I am reading/ understanding the situation correctly. Thus below I list my assumptions:
(a) You a US person ( citizen/GreenCard ) worked in Australia for many years.
(b) For all those years, you filed both US and Australia returns recognizing your world income.
(c) During your stay / work in Australia, you did not contribute to the local pension fund i.e. the basis of the fund at distribution is zero ( for US tax purposes ).
(d) During your work life ( both domestic and Foreign/Australia you did participate in US or Australian equivalent of Social Security and Medicare ( FICA/ SECA ).
(e) Currently your tax home is US
Please confirm and/or correct my assumptions to avoid me being in the left field.
Also are you talking about tax year 2023 or 2024 ?
I will circle back once I hear from you --yes ?
pk
