同意，401k/ira不属于government pension
若401k/ira属于pension则同意，但是pension与否有疑问。
这个帖子写于4年前。当初我的想法是首先401k/ira与pension不同。在与退休账户有关的税务领域，pension是指defined benefit plan，也就是传统的与social security类似的退休金。1980年以来401k逐渐流行，但是pension并没有绝迹
以上这只是传统上对pension的定义，treaty语境中并不一定这样理解。所以我后面贴了article 17。但当时没有仔细读，理解错了。你的分析是对的，如果401k/ira是pension的话，那么税收不征在源头，而是在居住国征税。这是irs对这一个规则的总结
As a general rule, the pension/annuity article of most income tax treaties allows for exclusive taxation of pensions or annuities under the domestic law of the resident country (as determined by the residence article).
下面来看401k/ira是否属于treaty中定义的pension。
你贴的 文章1没有提到这个问题；文章2倒是考虑，但我觉得还有不严谨的地方
The terms “pensions and other remuneration” is not defined in the United States-People’s Republic of China Income Tax Treaty. However, the OECD defines the word “pension” under the ordinary meaning of the word which covers periodic and non-periodic payments. The OECD also provides that a lump-sum payment in lieu of periodic pension payments that is made on or after cessation of employment may fall within the definition of Article 23. See OECD 2014 Commentary, Art 18. Thus, although Article 23 of the United States-People’s Republic of China Income Tax Treaty makes a reference to “periodic payments,” the word “periodic” does not preclude Tom from excluding a lump sum IRA distribution from U.S. federal income tax. Even though the OECD or Article 18 of the United States-People’s Republic of China Income Tax Treaty does not mention the term IRA, the IRS has clarified that IRAs can be defined as pensions for articles in U.S. income tax treaties. See PLR 200209026. Since Tom is a resident of China, he can utilize the United States-People’s Republic of China Income Tax Treaty to avoid U.S. federal tax on the distribution from his IRA.
这段话说了3个意思：
- treaty本身没有定义什么是“pensions and other remuneration”
- 作者采用了OECD的定义。
- 对pension是否需要periodic payments给出了关键的证据， irs的private letter ruling 200209026。
PLR 200209026与我们讨论有关的内容是，nra去世时，其继承人取走ira内的资产，是否受美国税法约束。这个案例中的treaty定义了pensions and similar remuneration
The term “pensions and similar remuneration” is defined in paragraph (4) as periodic payments, other than social security payments covered in Article 21 (Social Security Payments), made by reason of retirement or death and in consideration for services rendered.
其中提到了periodic payment定义。去世后继承人取钱是lump sum，但irs认为仅仅如此并不改变其是pension的性质
The payments in this case are being made in lump sums rather than a series of periodic payments. However, although the definition of “pensions and other similar remuneration” in paragraph 4 refers to “periodic payments,” the fact that a pension distribution may be in the form of a lump sum will not, by itself, disqualify the distribution for treaty benefits unless the treaty partner interprets the term “periodic” to exclude lump-sum distributions.
原因在前一段提到了
In order to constitute “pensions and other similar remuneration” within the meaning of paragraph 4, the payments must be made by reason of retirement or death and “in consideration for services rendered”. In this case, we conclude that it would be appropriate to treat distributions from the TDA and the IRA as pension distributions for purposes of the Treaty.
也就是说如果从ira中取钱，目的是为了退休养老，那么不管是否是periodic payment，ira属于pension。
如果成为nra退休后从ira中取钱，按照PLR 200209026，ira属于pension
再严谨一点的话，private letter ruling不能作为court precedent，
Private letter rulings, like certain other written determinations issued by the IRS, “may not be used or cited as precedent.” 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3) (2006). Most courts, therefore, do not find private letter rulings, issued to other taxpayers, to be of precedential value in deciding the tax claims before them.
但这是目前仅有的材料，irs采用这个观点比不采用的可能性高很多。
如果nra仍在工作，从ira中lump-sum取钱，或者401k → roth ira，是否是“by reason of retirement or death”存疑。
文章1 和 文章2 是非常重要的发现，这意味着以后我们给海归建议的时候，若预期其国内税负低，在退休后再取，则应该多存pre-tax 401k；退休前我目前存疑，你可以选择相信文章1和2的律师。
