How do I enter retirement income from another country when I don't have an EIN?

[m_szilagyi]

I receive retirement income from another country (Australia). I tried to create a 1099R but I don't have an EIN. Should I enter it differently?

[LinaJ2018 · Accepted solution]

To enter a foreign retirement in TurboTax online program, you will need to create a substitute form 1099-R. 

Here are the steps:

• Sign in to your account and select Pick up where you left off
• At the right upper corner, type in 1099r, then Enter
• Select Jump to 1099r
• On-screen, Your 1099-R, answer Yes and select Continue
• Next screen, Choose your bank or brokerage, select I'll type it in myself
• On the screen Tell Us Which 1099-R You Have, check the box I need to prepare a substitute 1099-R and follow the prompts.  
  

As to the Federal ID, if your foreign issuer does not have the ID number, try entering nine 9s.  If electronic errors occur due to 1099-R data entry, enter the pension under Miscellaneous income, see below instructions.  As long as the IRS has the pension reported and included in total income, it is not problematic. 

• To your left, select Federal
• From the top, select Wages and Income
• Scroll down to last section -Less Common Income -select  Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C- Start 
• Next screen, scroll down to Other Reportable Income- Start
• Follow prompts

For more information, see http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/The-Taxation-of-Foreign-Pension-and-Annuity-Distributions

[proschanf]

This doesn't answer why TurboTax isn't intelligent enough to allow the field to remain blank. Form 4852 says "Employer's or Payer's Identification Number (if known)" but then requires entry of a number or it prohibits e-filing. TurboTax 2016 was smart enough to accept 00-0000000 - why is TurboTax 2017 all of a sudden so stupid?

[chriskitchin]

Is there an answer to this question? It is a serious question and deserves a serious answer.

[ParkNYC]

This problem still exists and hasn't been solved by Intuit for years now.

Please let us report and file our retirement foreign pensions properly on the form 1099-R.

Generic payer's tax id numbers don't work anymore, there should be an option to leave this blank if the payer's doesn't have a valid ID. Filing this as "other income" affects our State taxes and income exclusions.

It should be reported on 1099-R forms, period!

[joann44]

IRS systems will reject returns with dummy numbers under their current iteration. You can't put one in, and you can't put foreign pension in the area designed for domestic pensions that are subject to the IRS matching systems. This isn't a TurboTax issue, it is a modernized efile system issue.  

The workaround is how anyone, even a professional, will prepare the return, and manual adjustments will have to be made in TurboTax for states that allow a foreign pension to be treated the same as other pensions. 

You've posted this on dozens of threads to make it appear to be a huge problem when it's not. It's not the software, it's the IRS rule here, and the solution has been given.  If that solution isn't workable for your tax return then the program isn't for you. What you're asking for isn't to report it properly, but would report it improperly.

Some software, perhaps, ignores those entries or knows to remove the data from the efile transmission but I've honestly not seen one yet that does this.  Foreign pensions aren't the same and they don't go in the area for 1099-R because they're not reported on that form and they won't match in the IRS systems. 

[ParkNYC]

"You've posted this on dozens of threads to make it appear to be a huge problem when it's not."

Yes, it is a problem because I'm unable to properly file my returns properly. Turbo tax asks people to file this as other income and file a substitute 1099-R form which can't be also e-filed with blank or generic Payer's FIN.

The NY state tax can't be manually adjusted to receive a pension exclusion. People are losing a lot of money because of this issue.

"This isn't a TurboTax issue, it is a modernized efile system issue"

Yes it is, they could provide a worksheet for State tax payers so they can manually adjust this to get a state pension exclusion.

"and the solution has been given. If that solution isn't workable for your tax return then the program isn't for you."

That's kinda rude. Where is the solution, show me the solution so i can e-file my taxes and get the 20K pension exclusion???.  FYI, why they don't inform people that they won't be able to file their Federal and NY taxes if they receive foreign pensions or retirements. You obviously have no idea how to solve the problem, read other posts or educate yourself.

[nuclasheepfarm]

I had been using all 9's originally and, when that failed I used all 1's. Now that doesn't work either, so I tried using 22-2222222 this year for the 1099-R (substitute) for my UK pension - and it worked!

[bob1040]

22-2222222 worked for me too. I wonder if there will be issues when the IRS gets the return.

[DianeW777]

Quite possibly.  The IRS system is the key.  We must receive authorization to e-file from the IRS which means we must meet their e-file criteria. We do not set the rules for what can be e-filed with the IRS.  

Using a bogus or incorrect EIN can certainly prompt questions down the road.  The IRS can take quite some time to reconcile details with each return depending on facts and circumstances. Be prepared with all of your documentation for your tax return.

@bob1040 

[bob1040]

OK - I put it in "Other reportable income" as suggested.