Hi All,
I understand that as married filing separate with a non-resident alien spouse living outside of the US in the UK, I cannot contribute to a Roth IRA. We don't have kids yet or any dependants, so head of household doesn't work either. However, for a traditional IRA I understand I can still use this if I claim FTCs, however one of the requirements is that you/your spouse aren't covered by a retirement plan at work. I have searched the IRS websites and the retirement plans they refer to seem to be US ones and it would be noted on your W2. I don't work for a US employer and neither does my wife, and since the IRS doesn't seem to recognise foreign pensions, I am guessing it's safe to assume we aren't covered by retirement plans at work? Our companies offer retirement plans however these aren't US retirement plans
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Am I safe to contribute to a traditional IRA given the above? If not, I am unsure of how Americans who work for foreign employers with foreign spouses even contribute to an IRA given that there are foreign retirement plans, etc
I contribute to my workplace pension but I still want to open an IRA just in case. If I open one, do I need to report it to HMRC or can I just leave it as it's protected by the treaty?
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Thank you for any advice!