German Pension Plan

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
February 18, 2023
1 reply
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Hello, I am retired and am receiving monthly payments of the Social Security equivalent from Germany. The payer is: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund in Berlin. This is in addition to Social Security payments in the US as I have lived and worked in Germany prior to coming to the US.I just finished my taxes for 2022 using turbotax online and am confused. The system is asking for a form 1099-R and specifically for an EIN number. It appears that without the EIN number, I cannot e-file my taxes.

Is this a new requirement? I have filed this type of income before but was never asked to fill out additional forms. Di I possible use an incorrect line to report this income? Thank you

DanaB27

No, you do not enter the Rentenversicherung income as a Form 1099-R distribution.

Pensions from the German government are treated just like US social security payments reported on an SSA-1099 (Publication 915 2022). Enter the amount received as an SSA-1099 by following the steps below:

Open your return
Click "Federal Taxes" from the top of your screen
Click "Wages & Income"
Click "I'll choose what to work on"
Scroll down to “Retirement Plans and Social Security” and click "Start" next to "Social Security (SSA-1099, RRB-1099)"
Answer “Yes” to “Did you receive any Social Security benefits?”
Select “Social Security benefits (Form SSA-1099)” and enter the amount in box 5

Since you are receiving US and German benefits you will need to add up the amounts before entering them.

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olga13824

Does this also apply to a German Civil Servant Pension (also paid by the German government, but a different agancy)?

PattiF

The pension would be entered on a different form than the German Social Security. This would be entered as a 1099-R.

To report your state pension from Germany:

Login to your TurboTax Account
In the income section, under Retirement
Select 1099-R”
Select "Change how I enter my form" on the "Let's import your tax info" screen
Select "Type it myself"
Continue through the questions until the "Do any of these situations apply to you?" screen select "I need to file a substitute 1099-R"
On the next page, click "Continue"
Fill in the boxes with your pension information. For the Federal Tax ID, use "99-9999999" for Box 7, use Code 7.
Select Yes when asked if you want to prepare a substitute Form 4852.