How to report CPF Central provident fund from Singapore (foreign pension plan)

[Lee-Ng]

I have a Central provident fund from Singapore (foreign pension plan) 20 years ago. I didn't remember the contribution amount and it grew to $xK in last year. The Central provident fund requested me to withdraw the whole amount due to I didn't work in Singapore nor live at Singapore anymore.

May I know how do I enter the $xK in the following boxes, and I also don't remember the contribution.

[DaveF1006]

You will enter the full contribution in Line 1. You do need to know the contribution amount because in Line 2a, you will need to enter the difference between the account balance and your contributions. ‌The difference is recorded at line 2a.

The only other entry you need to make is in box 7.  Select the drop-down and select code 7. 

You may wish to contact the Central Provident Fund to see if they have a record of your contributions or if they can provide you with a detailed summary that separates your contributions and earnings.

[Lee-Ng]

@DaveF1006 Hi Dave,

Thank you for your help. I contacted the Central Provident Fund and the officer replied me that the organization is unable to disclose any information relating to a specific CPF account over phone or email. This is for my own protection. I will need to find the withdrawal advice to see if there is any information.

Let me find it and provide you an update.

Thank you for your patience.

Regards,

lee

[Lee-Ng]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your patience.

I managed to get the amount as follow:

I have the question on the 1099-R form

1 is the gross contribution which is xxxx

2a Taxable Amount; Is the Taxable Amount the sum of Int which is xx (11.08+45.73)?

3 Capital Gain; it will be the same as 2a because the CPF is only giving the interest.

Thank you for your help

Sincerely,

lee

[DaveF1006]

To clarify, was interest paid every year or did it stop in 1997 because the balance of the account is reduced when interest was declared?

[Lee-Ng]

Hi Dave,

The interest was paid every year. The amount in fact was increased.

Thank you

lee

[DaveF1006]

Here's what I see. Your original contribution was $20,443 and your proceeds from the withdrawal is $75,000 (more or less depending on the USD). The amount that would go in Box 2A would be $75,000 - 20,443 = $54,557.  This is only an estimate.

Now, if your contribution was made with pretax dollars when you initially contributed, then the entire $75,000 is taxable. 

@Lee-Ng 

[Lee-Ng]

Hi Dave,

Good morning.

Thank you for your reply.

The contribution had some tax relief (tax deductible). The computation was not straight forward.

Here is the link for your reference: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/individual-income-tax/basics-of-individual-income-tax/tax-reliefs-reba... 

Thank you

lee

[Lee-Ng]

Hi Dave,

As the tax dateline is around the corner and I am getting anxious. Is it possible I could send the tax return to you to take a look?

Thank you

lee

[DaveF1006]

You mentioned earlier that the gross contribution is $20,443. That amount is non-taxable and ‌the remainder is earnings from interest. As you said, this is an estimate but taxable income is determined by the gross amount of the distribution minus your contributions made to the plan. From what I understand, all  contributions  to CPT are made with after-tax dollars.  

Any remaining amount is taxable because it represents earnings that have accumulated since 1998.