Tag Archives: U.S. Totalization agreements

US Social Security eligibility and #Americansabroad

Of course it’s always more complicated  if you are self employed.

The above tweets reference  two nice blog posts by U.S. tax lawyer Virginia La Torre Jeker J.D.

There is a general presumption that U.S. citizens must pay U.S. Social Security, Medicare  and Self-Employment taxes. The presumption is rebutted if one resides in a country that has a “Totalization Agreement” with the U.S. Since 1984 Canada has had such an agreement.

I recommend both of her posts to you.

As she notes:

… old age catches up with everyone, and a savings plan for retirement should be put into place.  Here, the expatriate must be very careful since it is quite easy to be led down a path of investing in offshore products that yield little more than terrible US tax consequences.   Make sure you understand the US tax implications of any offshore product before you sign on the dotted line.

Concluding thought:

Some U.S. citizens abroad, depending on your employment history in the U.S., may have accumulated enough credits to be eligible for U.S. Social Security.

At some point this is  something that needs to be considered.