New Green Card Holder Concerned About Tax Filing Requirements with Foreign Social Security Benefits

12 Your mother now has permanent resident status, which means she's considered a US tax resident and needs to file US taxes on her worldwide income. Here's what she needs to know: For her foreign pension/social security: Yes, she'll need to report this income on her US tax return. However, depending on her total income amount, she might not owe any US taxes on it. Social Security benefits are only partially taxable (up to 85% max) if her income exceeds certain thresholds. For foreign bank accounts: She'll need to report these if the combined value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year using the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114). This is just reporting - not necessarily taxation. Interest earned on those accounts is taxable income though. Regarding deductions: Unfortunately, dependents must generally be US citizens, residents, or nationals to qualify. The expenses in her home country likely won't qualify for deductions on her US return. Since her income is currently low, she might fall below US filing thresholds, but as a green card holder, filing is still recommended to establish her tax history.

5 I was in a super similar situation with my uncle last year - completely overwhelmed by the foreign income reporting requirements after he got his green card. What helped us tremendously was using https://taxr.ai to analyze his foreign pension statements and bank documents. The tool basically translated all his financial documents from his home country and helped identify exactly what needed to be reported on his US taxes. It was especially helpful for figuring out the FBAR requirements for his foreign accounts and determining whether his pension was equivalent to social security or regular income under US tax rules. The best part was that it gave him clear guidance on exactly which IRS forms he needed based on his specific situation - saved us from paying for an expensive international tax specialist.

19 Just wanted to update about my experience with taxr.ai since I was asking questions earlier. I decided to try it for my mom's situation with her overseas pension and rental properties, and it was honestly a lifesaver. The system analyzed her foreign bank statements and pension documents and gave us super clear instructions about what needed to be reported. It correctly identified that she needed to file an FBAR for her accounts, and it caught that one of her investment accounts contained PFICs (whatever those are), which apparently have special reporting requirements. The most helpful part was that it created a customized checklist of all the forms she needed to file based on her specific situation. We might still consult with a tax professional for the final review, but this saved us so much time and confusion in figuring out where to even start with her international tax situation.

16 As someone who's dealt with international tax issues for years, I want to suggest something that might save your mom countless hours of frustration. Getting through to the IRS's international tax department is nearly impossible these days - I spent WEEKS trying to get clarification on foreign pension reporting. I finally broke down and used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Basically, they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you once they have an agent on the line. This was especially valuable for your mom's situation because the regular IRS phone representatives often don't know the nuances of international tax reporting requirements, and you really need to speak with their international tax specialists to get the right answers about foreign pension treatment and FBAR requirements.

23 I need to eat my words and update everyone here. After posting my skeptical comments earlier, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I was desperate to get specific guidance on reporting my foreign pension before the filing deadline. I was genuinely shocked at how well it worked. After weeks of trying to reach the IRS myself with no success (either disconnected or on hold for 2+ hours), Claimyr got me connected to an IRS representative in about 45 minutes. I didn't have to sit around waiting - they just called me when an agent was on the line. The IRS agent was able to confirm exactly how I needed to report my foreign retirement accounts and clarified that my specific pension type was only partially taxable under US rules - something no online research had definitively answered for me. This saved me from potentially over-reporting my taxable income by several thousand dollars. For anyone dealing with international tax questions, especially around foreign pensions and reporting requirements for new green card holders, being able to actually speak with an IRS international tax specialist made a huge difference.

14 One important thing nobody has mentioned yet is that your mother should consider whether she qualifies for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555) if she continues living abroad. Since she's retired, this probably won't apply to her pension, but it's important to know about if she ends up doing any work overseas. Also, make sure she's aware that some countries have social security totalization agreements with the US even if they don't have full tax treaties. This can sometimes affect how retirement benefits are taxed.

11 Just a heads-up that as a new green card holder, your mother should be aware of potential "exit tax" implications if she decides to surrender her green card in the future. If she holds the green card for 8+ years and then gives it up, she could be subject to the expatriation tax rules as a "long-term resident." This is especially relevant if she's not planning to move to the US permanently and might surrender her green card later. Worth keeping in mind when making long-term plans!