topic Reporting canadian social security benefits in Retirement tax questions

Reporting canadian social security benefits

ptucklee — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 05:19:12 GMT

where do I report any Canadian social security and Canadian pension benefits in my tax return.

Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

Heather_Billings — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 05:19:13 GMT

Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “explore on my own” Scroll down the list of income items until you find “Canadian Registered Pension Income.” This category covers Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) and Registered Retired Income Funds (RRIF). Follow the prompts and you should be in good shape. This category covers both contributions and distributions, and covers both beneficiaries and annuitants.

According to the IRS, special tax treatment applies to payments receive from the following Canadian retirement programs: Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), and Old Age Security (OAS). If the recipient is a resident of the United States, the benefits:

are taxable only in the United States,
are treated as U.S. social security benefits for U.S. tax purposes, and
are reported on Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (or Form 1040A) on the line on which U.S. social security benefits would be reported.

If the recipient is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder) who is a resident of Canada, the benefits are taxable only in Canada.

If a US resident having RRSP in Canada, when the person t...

lzhou172_tt — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 05:19:15 GMT

If a US resident having RRSP in Canada, when the person takes a distribution of RRSP, the Canadian government is always holding 25% of the distribution as non-resident tax. My questions are: 1) how could it be "taxed only in the United States"? Any special way leads to get the tax credit; 2) if the person reports it in the income section of RRSP, how could it be treated as social security benefits?

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

TuscanSicilian — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 17:02:36 GMT

Im A Canadian who recently obtained US citizenship. I receive OAS and Quebec retirement income. How and where do I enter those numbers on my 1040? Also, $1.00 CAD is about $0.70 USD. How is the value treated/exchanged?

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

mbehrens45 — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 03:28:23 GMT

I receive the equivalent of a 1099 for my Canadian Old Age and Social Security benefit. These are also sent to IRS. They show the Canadian Dollar amount not the amount I actually received when it is converted to US dollars. Do I use the amount shown on the 1099 or the amount I actually received to add to my social security amount.

Re: Reporting canadian social security benefits

ErnieS0 — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 21:33:30 GMT

Show the amount actually received in US dollars @mbehrens45.

The IRS says: "You must express the amounts you report on your U.S. tax return in U.S. dollars. If you receive all or part of your income or pay some or all of your expenses in foreign currency, you must translate the foreign currency into U.S. dollars."

Foreign Currency and Currency Exchange Rates

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

bayolive — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 01:45:57 GMT

Because The gross Incomes (item 15 & 16) are Reported in Canadian Currency on the NR4 and NR4(OAS) Forms: reported on Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) Tax Forms.
To be accurately reporting on IRS Form 1040-SR as SSA-1099 for both Canadian Pension Plan (CPP- NR4) & Old Age Security (OAS - NR4) in US Currency.
If you requested direct deposit into your US bank account, Report the total incomes from CPP & OAS as social security benefit (item 6a) on Form 1040-SR. sum up total (in USD) monthly deposits on your US bank (Jan-Dec) monthly checking/saving account statement, add these total $ USD amount in your SSA-1099-SM Statement.
Note: Your Canadian RRSP/RRIF minimum distribution are reported similar to IRS Traditional IRA RMD - Distribution after Age 72. Enter the amount in item # 4b Pensions and Annuities of Form 1040-SR

Canadian NR4 & NR4(OAS) convert CAD to US Dollar on Tax Return

bayolive — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 02:37:20 GMT

To be accurately reporting on IRS Form 1040-SR as SSA-1099 for both Canadian Pension Plan (CPP- NR4) & Old Age Security (OAS - NR4) in US Currency.
If you requested direct deposit into your US bank account, Report the total incomes from CPP & OAS as social security benefit (item 6a) on Form 1040-SR. sum up total (in USD) monthly deposits on your US bank (Jan-Dec) monthly checking/saving account statement, add these total $ USD amount in your SSA-1099-SM Statement.

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

J Robert — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 12:14:25 GMT

When reporting canadian rrsp income how is exchange rate handled

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

DanaB27 — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:58:04 GMT

In general, you use the exchange rate prevailing (i.e., the spot rate) when you receive the income (IRS). You can check online for exchange rates.

@J Robert

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

ye4jim — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:13:34 GMT

Wrong. That's for RRSPs. You report Old Age Pension and Canada Pension Plan on OAS-1099.

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

chips48 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 00:03:23 GMT

I'm a Canadian Resident as well as US Citizen (Dual) filing US taxes. I'm totally confused as to the correct method of entering and claiming automatic exemption (under the US-Can tax treaty) for CPP and OAS benefits received. All the answers I've browsed seem to be focused strictly on US Residents/citizens receiving Canadian CPP and OAS benefits and treating them as US Social Security in TT. BTW I can't find OAS-1099 in TT 2022, where is that found...or is it created and named as such as a substitute 1099-R ?

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

twm50 — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 21:41:31 GMT

My wife is Canadian but US citizen now retired and has CPP and OAS reported on the NR4 forms. I have never seen a 1099-OAS or any other 1099 related to either. She gets the NR4's but they are in CAD so of little use other than a record of the CAD benefits. I just keep track of the monthly direct deposits to our US checking acct and add them up at the end of the year since they are in US funds so it eliminates having to try to figure out an exchange rate to use. You would think by now, the Canadian govt could simply show the total they deposited in US funds on the form and you would also think by now the IRS would have a separate line item for these. or at the very least, point out that the US amounts received are to be added in.

Someone once told me on these forums to just claim 85% of the total but they never explained which total or why 85% since at that time the exchange rate was well over 15%. Over the past few years the exchange rate often varies quite a bit from month to month so the only logical solution seemed to me to just track the deposits.

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

DaveF1006 — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 20:17:31 GMT

Yes, this income would need to be reported as other income in your US return. The information that was relayed to you regarding reporting at 85% is false and you need to disregard this advice. Since CPP and OAS income is not social security type income like RRSP or RRIF, this must be reported as other income in your return. Here is how to report.

Select Federal Taxes>Wages and income>choose what you work on
Scroll to the bottom of the page to less common income>miscellaneous income 1099 A....select it
Scroll to the bottom of this page to Other Reportable Income
Other taxable income, answer yes
Then give a brief description of the income and the amount listed. For this, i would give this the description as Canadian CPP and OAS income and then the amount you received in your checking account.

@twm50

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

twm50 — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 20:53:20 GMT

Further thinking about this, reporting as other income may only apply if someone receives the Canadian benefits prior to receiving US SS benefits. However, these are retirement benefits and those reporting US retirement benefits get different treatment than ordinary income - SS taxable benefits are based on the various limitations and associated percentages that are taxable - basically the way SS benefits on line 6a reduce down to the taxable value on 6b would ignore the Canadian benefits if reported as you suggest as other ordinary income.

Re: If a US resident having RRSP in Canada, when the person t...

ye4jim — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:59:55 GMT

Hi, Did you ever get an answer to this? Do they really withhold 25% tax? I thought as a Canadian living in USA all income reporting and taxing is done on my US tax return...

Re: If a US resident having RRSP in Canada, when the person t...

twm50 — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:29:34 GMT

@ye4jimI believe you just report your net RRSP that is deposited to your US account in USD, same as if you were taking an IRA distribution. My step son is an accountant in CAN - I'll ask him next time we talk.

As far as the CP and OA - I just do a year end report on my checking acct to find the amts deposited in USD, add those to her SS and that's it. The person who said to add it as other income on the 1040 is wrong, based on what I have learned from other tax accountants. CP/OA is treated the same as SS so it has to go through the SS taxable amount calculations from the SS worksheet for 1040 line 6 - this takes into account the % of SS that is taxable and gets you from line 6a to 6b. The "other income" category ends up on line 8 and is not reduced in any way by the SS taxable amount rules - note that the CA tax paid may end up on line 10 as an adjustment. I definitely agree that turbotax is lacking in sufficient explanations for these situations.

Re: If a US resident having RRSP in Canada, when the person t...

mbehrens45 — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 20:39:45 GMT

My husband receives Social Security benefits from Canada both regular and Old age pension. The advice received from IRS was to add up what was deposited to our bank account for the year and add that to our USA Social Security gross. Do not use the form they send as it is in Canadian dollars not US. We have been doing it this way for 13 years with no issues. M Behrens

Re: If a US resident having RRSP in Canada, when the person t...

DaveF1006 — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 14:32:26 GMT

The amount to report to the US is reported in US dollars, not Canadian dollars. The IRS was correct in its advice because the gross amounts deposited in your bank account is in US dollars. If you reported your Social Security distributions as Canadian dollars in the past, it may not have impacted your return significantly but going forward, it is best to rely on the advice the IRS has given you.

Re: Go to “federal taxes” then “wages and income” and then “e...

Suzlo — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 16:08:34 GMT

I am a US resident now receiving CPP Survivor Benefits. Will I receive from Canada the equivalent of the Form SSA-1099 - Social Security Benefit Statement showing the total amount received in 2024, and how much was withheld in taxes?