Peter Scheller
Berater für Wirtschaftsprüfer, Rechtsanwälte, Steuer- und Unternehmensberater

„Wenn es knifflig wird.“

Blog-Archiv

Not every “pension” is a pension

von Peter Scheller (Kommentare: 0)

The headline sounds paradoxical, but it reflects how loosely the word “pension” is used in everyday English. Many people call any old-age payment a “pension,” often assuming it is paid for life or at least for a fixed period. For tax analysis in both the United States and Germany, however, you must distinguish between different categories of benefits because the labels, reporting, and tax rules differ.

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Payouts from US pension plans - The new regulation

von Peter Scheller (Kommentare: 9)

Payments from US pension plans must be taxed in Germany if the beneficiary is deemed to be resident in Germany. This applies to both US citizens and Germans who have their main residence in Germany. Until now, the German taxation regime for payouts from these plans was very favorable. This has changed fundamentally as of January 1, 2025.

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Auszahlungen aus US-Altersvorsorgeplänen – Die Neuregelung

von Peter Scheller (Kommentare: 5)

Auszahlungen aus US-Altersvorsorgeplänen müssen in Deutschland besteuert werden, wenn der Leistungsempfänger in Deutschland als ansässig gilt. Das gilt sowohl für US-Staatsbürger aber auch Deutsche, die in Deutschland ihren Hauptwohnsitz haben. Bisher war das deutsche Besteuerungsregime für Auszahlungen aus diesen Plänen sehr vorteilhaft. Dies hat sich zum 1. Januar 2025 grundlegend geändert.

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Attention: Change in the taxation of qualified US pension plans

von Autorenteam (Kommentare: 21)

So far, withdrawals to persons who are tax resident in Germany were only taxed on the difference between the withdrawal and attributable contributions. If the recipient of the payment had reached the age of 60 and the plan had been in existence for more than 12 years, only half of the difference was taxed.

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401(k)-Plans and German taxation

von Peter Scheller (Kommentare: 46)

US pension plans are an important cornerstone of retirement planning both for US citizens and US residents. As long as citizens and residents remain in the USA the tax consequences are straight forward. However, if a US citizen or a citizen of another state relocates to Germany and withdraws money from such a plan, the tax situation changes and becomes more complex. This is particularly so because many questions regarding the German taxation of withdrawals form 401(k)-plans or IRAs are still unresolved. However, a recent ruling of the German Federal Fiscal Court clarified one outstanding point.

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