Where do I enter foreign government pensions (e.g., Canada, UK)?

[pughimag]

I normally enter government pensions on line 8 of my 1040 tax for but I don't see a way to do this in the Income section of Turbo Tax.

[SabrinaD2]

If you're a US resident, you'd enter your Canadian CPP and OAS benefits as though you'd received a Form SSA-1099 from the Social Security Administration.

The U.S.-Canada tax treaty also applies to the Québec Pension Plan (RRQ). Note that the agreement only addresses government-issued Social Security benefits, not money received from private Canadian pensions.

Here are the steps in TurboTax: 

TurboTax Online and TurboTax Desktop

1. Open or continue your return. Be sure you are signed in to TurboTax for link in step 2 to work.
2. Navigate to the SSA-1099 section:
   • TurboTax Online/Mobile: Go to SSA-1099.
   • TurboTax Desktop: Search for SSA-1099, then select the Jump to link.
3. On the Did you receive Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits? screen, select Yes.
4. On the Tell us about the benefits you received screen, check the first box for Social Security benefits (Form SSA-1099).
5. Enter the total Canadian CPP and OAS payments you received during 2024 in Box 5.
   • If you already have something in Box 5 from a previously entered SSA-1099, add your CPP/OAS benefits to the amount already there.
   • In the uncommon situation where taxes were withheld from your payments, enter the total withheld during 2024 in Box 6.
6. Select Continue and follow any additional instructions.

Helpful resources

• Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Pension
• Québec Pension Plan

If you are referring to something else, reach back out.

[pughimag]

I tried this approach and ended up with a large increase in my tax. I normally enter the pension values as schedule 1 income. The Canada Pension Plan form is called NR4 and it reports the amount in $CDN. I use the average annual conversion rate to come up with $US. The UK does not provide me with a form so I declare it and I have to sum up the monthly amounts in my bank for the year and use a calculated conversion rate as well based on 12 different monthly conversion rates. I send a note to the IRS.

If I say the benefit is not taxed I get the large tax. If I say there were taxed I do not end up with the same answer either.

[SabrinaD2]

Let's try option #2

Reporting your pension as "Other" income (which will show on Schedule 1) in TurboTax is an available method, though it might complicate claiming a pension income exclusion on your state return. 

Here's how to do it:

1. Log into TurboTax - must be logged in for link in step 2 to work
2. Click on Miscellaneous Income:
3. Scroll down and select Other Reportable Income and enter your pension details.

Potential Issues

State Pension Exclusion: Reporting as "Other" income might make it difficult to claim a pension income exclusion on your state return. Each state has different rules, so you may need to manually adjust your state return.

See the original post here.

[pughimag]

I checked my past returns. These pensions are state pensions from the UK and Canadian governments. I've already completed all the paper work and checked the Fed and State returns. I'm ready to send it all off.

Thank you for your recommendations, I do appreciate the speed of response and also the detailed content you provided. It seemed reasonable and logical to me. Given the relatively small amounts they do not adversely affect my tax rate, I have enough headroom to handle it. It's time to move on to other priorities.

Thank you very much, all the best, John