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

„Wenn es knifflig wird.“

Blog

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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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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