(over)

How International Agreements Can Help You

I

f you are among the growing number of 

Americans who spend part of their careers 

working outside the United States, you may 

wonder what effect this will have on your 

Social Security taxes and benefits. The United 

States has made agreements with many other 

countries to help you avoid double taxation 

while working abroad and also help you qualify 

for future Social Security benefits.

The table below lists the countries which the 

United States has Social Security agreements 

with and shows the effective date of each.

Countries with Social Security Agreements

Country Effective date

Australia Oct. 1, 2002

Austria Nov. 1, 1991

Belgium July 1, 1984

Canada Aug. 1, 1984

Chile Dec. 1, 2001

Czech Republic Jan. 1, 2009

Denmark Oct. 1, 2008

Finland Nov. 1, 1992

France July 1, 1988

Germany Dec. 1, 1979

Greece Sept. 1, 1994

Ireland Sept. 1, 1993

Italy Nov. 1, 1978

Japan Oct. 1, 2005

Luxembourg Nov. 1, 1993

The Netherlands Nov. 1, 1990

Norway July 1, 1984

Poland March 1, 2009

Portugal Aug. 1, 1989

Slovak Republic May 1, 2014

South Korea April 1, 2001

Spain April 1, 1988

Sweden Jan. 1, 1987

Switzerland Nov. 1, 1980

United Kingdom Jan. 1, 1985

Dual coverage and taxes

If you work overseas for an American 

company or, in some cases, a foreign company 

that is affiliated with an American company, 

you and your employer may have to pay Social 

Security taxes to both the United States and 

the foreign country on the same earnings. But, 

if you work in one of the agreement countries 

shown in this fact sheet, your Social Security 

coverage will be assigned to either the United 

States or the foreign country, so you and your 

employer do not have to pay taxes to both.

If you have been sent by your employer in the 

United States to work in an agreement country 

for five years or less, you pay only U.S. Social 

Security tax and you are exempt from foreign 

tax. On the other hand, if you were hired in one 

of the listed agreement countries or sent to that 

country for more than five years, you generally 

will pay Social Security taxes only to that 

country and will be exempt from paying U.S. 

Social Security taxes.*

In the same way, workers who are employed 

in the United States pay only U.S. Social 

Security taxes unless they were sent to the 

United States by their employer in an agreement 

country generally for five years or less.

Each agreement also includes rules that 

eliminate dual Social Security taxes for selfemployed people who work abroad and for crews 

of ships and aircraft.

Certificates of coverage

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident who will 

be exempt from foreign social security taxes 

while working abroad, your employer must 

obtain a “certificate of coverage” from the 

Social Security Administration to present as 

proof of your exemption in the other country. 

Similarly, if you are a foreign national who 

works in the United States, your employer must 

*Sometimes applying the normal agreement rules 

may yield anomalous or inequitable results. For this 

reason, each agreement permits authorities in both 

countries to grant exceptions to the rules if both 

sides agree.

How International Agreements Can Help You
obtain a certificate from the Social Security 

authorities in your home country to establish 

your exemption from U.S. Social Security taxes. 

Your local Social Security office can provide 

you with a booklet that explains how to apply 

for a certificate under each of the agreements. 

The booklet also explains the provisions of the 

agreement in greater detail. This information is 

also available at the Internet address shown at 

the end of this fact sheet.

Payment of benefits

U.S. Social Security agreements also can 

help you if you have worked in both the United 

States and a country with which we have an 

agreement, but have not worked long enough 

in either country to qualify for Social Security 

retirement, disability or survivors benefits. 

Under an agreement, each country can count 

your work credits in the other country if this 

will help you qualify for benefits.

For example, if you earned at least six Social 

Security credits in the United States, but not 

enough to qualify for a benefit, we can count 

your credits in a country with an agreement 

to make up the difference. If you meet the 

minimum eligibility requirements based 

on combined credits from both countries, 

you will receive a partial U.S. benefit that 

is proportional to the number of credits you 

earned in the United States. The other country 

also can use your U.S. credits to help you meet 

the eligibility requirements for foreign Social 

Security benefits.

Although each country may count your work 

credits in the other country, your credits are 

not actually transferred from one country to 

the other. They remain on your record in the 

country where they were earned. Therefore, it 

is possible for a person to qualify for a separate 

benefit payment from each country.

For more information

To apply for U.S. or foreign benefits under 

an agreement, contact any U.S. Social Security 

office. If you do not wish to apply for benefits, 

but need more information about these 

agreements, write to:

Social Security Administration

Office of International Programs

P.O. Box 17741

Baltimore, MD 21235-7741

USA

If you have access to the Internet, you 

can find information on agreements at 

www.socialsecurity.gov/international.

Social Security Administration

SSA Publication No. 05-10180

ICN 480195

Unit of Issue - Package of 50

Printed on recycled paper September 2014 (Recycle prior editions)