USA IRA Pension Funds - UK citizen

EdSwippet

Cook_County said:

No objection in theory; but in practice it is hard to get anyone at the IRS to agree with a 1040NR for a pension LSD - even ignoring the US/UK tax treaty. 

No objection in practice either, one would hope. This should not be hard. The treaty text is unambiguous, and the 1040NR copes fully with pension withdrawals.

There is absolutely no reason to overpay US tax -- which is what a 30% tax rate on pension growth will cause -- based on a worry that the IRS might question something. The treaty exists to be used, not to be ignored. In my own personal experience with 1040NRs and 8833s, the IRS has never once queried a valid treaty claim. And if they do, it is easy to demonstrate in this case why a treaty claim is justified.