ProWeb: Canadian Retirement Income – Support

Canadian retirement benefits are similar to the US in that there are nationally-sponsored retirement plans and also individually elected plans and employer-sponsored plans. There are three types of national retirement plans in Canada that roughly correspond to the US Social Security system:

CPP - Canadian Pension Plan
QPP - Quebec Pension Plan
OAS - Old Age Security

There are several types of individual and employer-sponsored plans:

DPSP - Deferred profit-sharing plan
PRPP - Pooled registered pension plan
RCA - Retirement compensation arrangement
RPP - Registered pension plan
RRSP - Registered retirement savings plan
RRIF - Registered retirement income fund
SPP - Specified pension plan

Retirement benefits are reported on several Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) forms, including several flavors of Forms T4 and T4A along with Form NR4.

Any amount entered in the tax return needs to be converted to US Dollars. In general, use the prevailing exchange rate, i.e., the spot rate, when the taxpayer received the income. If the income was received evenly throughout the year, you can use a yearly average currency exchange rate. See here for more information about currency exchange rates.

Pension Income Codes

The following are selected income codes you'll see in Form NR4 Box 14 or 24. The code tells you the type of pension income and thus whether it will be entered in the Social Security menu (CPP, QPP, or OAS) or the Foreign Employer Compensation menu (all others):

Code	Description
06	Death benefit other than CPP or QPP
07	DPSP – Periodic payments
26	RRIF – Periodic payments
27	RRIF – Lump-sum payments
28	RRSP – Periodic payments
29	RRSP – Refund of premiums
30	RRSP – Refund of excess amounts
31	DPSP – Lump-sum payments
32	RRSP – Amounts deemed received on deregistration
33	RRSP – Amounts deemed received on death
36	Retiring allowance (severance pay)
37	RCAs
39	Superannuation or pension benefits – Periodic payments
40	Superannuation or pension benefits – Lump-sum payments
41	Textile, clothing, and leather goods – Assistance and superannuation or pension benefits
43	RRSP – Lump-sum payments
44	Old Age Security (OAS) payments (regular benefits)
45	Net federal (guaranteed income) supplement
46	Taxable CPP benefits
47	CPP – Disability benefits
48	CPP death benefits – Lump-sum payments
49	Taxable QPP benefits
50	QPP – Disability benefits
51	QPP death benefits – Lump-sum payments
65	PRPP – Periodic payments
66	PRPP – Lump-sum payments

Entering income from a nationally-sponsored plan

Income from nationally-sponsored retirement plans is generally reported in CRA Form T4A(P) Box 20 and should be reported in the individual tax return as Social Security benefits. To enter OAS, CPP, or QPP in TaxSlayer ProWeb, from the Federal Section of the tax return select:

Income
1099-R, RRB-1099, RRB-1099-R, SSA-1099
Social Security Benefits/RRB-1099 - Enter the benefit amount in US dollars.

Include a preparer note in the return explaining the entry. To enter a preparer note, from the Main Menu of the tax return select:

Miscellaneous Forms
Explanations
Preparer Notes - Click BEGIN if this is the first note in the return or + Add a Preparer Note.
Create a note indicating the Canadian tax document and the amount received in Canadian dollars (CAD).

Entering income from an employer-sponsored or individual plan

To enter employer-sponsored or individual retirement income in TaxSlayer ProWeb, from the Federal Section select:

Income
Less Common Income
Other Compensation
Foreign Earned Compensation - If filing MFJ, select whose income this is.
Enter the foreign employer's name and address and also the taxpayer's address. (Note that fields with a red asterisk are required.)
Foreign Pension Received - Enter the amount received converted to US dollars.
Foreign Taxable Pension - Enter the taxable amount of the pension converted to US dollars.