# Canadian retirement income



## byline (Dec 5, 2011)

I am a U.S. citizen who lives in Canada. I plan to retire a year from now. Reading this article, it is not clear to me is whether I have to report my Canadian retirement income. It sounds like Form 8891 was discontinued in 2014. But do I still have to report my Canadian retirement income from the sources listed in the article? In my case, that's Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS). And if so, where on Form 1040? Is there another form I fill out besides 1040? (I fill out my U.S. tax returns manually, without Drake or any other software. So the Drake notations for where to enter benefits are not helpful to me.)

Also, I have a small employee pension (and I do mean _small_; current balance is only $1,619.30, so maybe it will have doubled in a year's time).

Do I still have to fill out the Foreign Earned Income exclusion form? As far as I can see, it only lists employer information and wages on that form, not retirement income sources. And yet I should not owe U.S. taxes because of the U.S./Canada tax treaty, so there must be some way of acknowledging that.

Sadly, this year I will have to start filling out Form 8938 because my assets have exceeded the yearly threshold. I'm sure I will have more questions about that when I start trying to fill it out. It does not look as (relatively) simple as the FBAR.


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## byline (Dec 5, 2011)

OK, this FAQ from the IRS answers my question:

*2. Are the Canada Pension Plan and Canadian Old Age Security benefits taxable? If they are, please tell me where they should be entered on Form 1040.*

_The taxation of payments received from Canadian retirement programs that are similar to the U.S. Social Security system receive special tax treatment due to an income tax treaty between the United States and Canadian governments. The way this income is taxed depends on the recipient’s residence.
The 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 1040-SR) 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._

So it sounds like I am not required to report CPP and OAS payments on my U.S. tax return. However, I will still be required to report my accounts, including my RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans), on my FBAR and, starting this year, Form 8938. And, according to this, I have to report my RRSP distributions on Form 1116.

Am I interpreting this correctly?


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