Do Expats Pay Into Social Security? Who Owes and What It Earns You
- Who Pays U.S. Social Security Tax While Working Abroad?
- How Do Totalization Agreements Decide Where You Pay?
- How Do You Prove You Are Exempt From U.S. Social Security Tax?
- Does Working Abroad Lower Your Future Social Security Benefit?
- Frequently Asked Questions about Social Security Tax for Expats
- Greenback Gets Your Social Security Tax Right Wherever You Work
Yes, many expats pay into U.S. Social Security, and whether you owe expat Social Security tax depends on who pays you. If you work abroad for a U.S. employer, 6.2% Social Security tax and 1.45% Medicare tax still come out of your wages, with Social Security applying to the first $184,500 of 2026 wages. If you are self-employed, you owe 15.3% self-employment tax on net earnings of $400 or more, and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) does not reduce it. A foreign employer usually means you pay into your host country’s system instead.
Totalization agreements with 31 countries decide which country you pay into when two systems could claim you, and a Certificate of Coverage proves it. Every year you pay into U.S. Social Security also earns credits toward your future benefit, one credit for every $1,890 of covered earnings in 2026, up to four a year. If you end up with fewer than 35 years of U.S.-covered earnings, the missing years count as zeros in your benefit calculation. Our guides to U.S. expat taxes and taxes for U.S. citizens abroad cover the income tax side.
Who Pays U.S. Social Security Tax While Working Abroad?
U.S. citizens and green card holders working abroad pay U.S. Social Security tax when a U.S. employer pays them or when they are self-employed. Employees of a foreign company generally do not. A totalization agreement can change either answer by assigning your work to a single country’s system.
1. Working for a U.S. Employer Keeps You in U.S. Social Security
If an American employer pays you, Social Security and Medicare tax apply to your wages wherever you work, just as they would at home. The IRS counts these as American employers:
- Individuals: a U.S. citizen or resident
- Partnerships: where at least two-thirds of the partners are U.S. citizens or residents
- Trusts: where all the trustees are U.S. citizens or residents
- Corporations: organized under the laws of the United States, any state, or the District of Columbia
Your employer withholds 7.65% from your pay and matches it. The 6.2% Social Security portion stops at $184,500 of 2026 wages, while the 1.45% Medicare portion has no cap.
A foreign subsidiary of a U.S. company is not an American employer on its own. A U.S. parent can extend Social Security coverage to employees of a foreign affiliate through a section 3121(l) agreement, filed on Form 2032, and the IRS does not allow that agreement to be revoked once it takes effect. If your paycheck comes from an affiliate abroad, ask HR whether one is in place, because it decides whether you are earning U.S. credits. Employees on assignment can find the wider tax picture on our corporate expats page.
2. Working for a Foreign Employer Usually Means the Host Country’s System
If a foreign company hires you locally, you generally pay no U.S. Social Security tax and pay into your host country’s social insurance program instead. Those years also do not earn U.S. credits.
3. Self-Employed Expats and Digital Nomads Owe Self-Employment Tax
Freelancers, contractors, digital nomads, and business owners pay self-employment tax of 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, once net earnings reach $400. The tax applies to 92.35% of your net earnings, and the Social Security part stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500 set by SSA. The main exception is a totalization agreement that places you in your host country’s system instead.
The FEIE does not reduce self-employment tax. The IRS is explicit that foreign self-employment earnings cannot be reduced by the exclusion when you figure this tax. On $100,000 of net self-employment income in 2026:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Net self-employment income | $100,000 |
| Income subject to self-employment tax (92.35%) | $92,350 |
| Self-employment tax at 15.3% | $14,129.55 |
| Self-employment tax after claiming the FEIE | $14,129.55 |
The FEIE, claimed on Form 2555, can still remove U.S. income tax on that income. The Foreign Tax Credit does not offset self-employment tax. Our Schedule SE guide walks through the full calculation and the deduction for half of the tax, and our page for self-employed expats covers how these returns come together. Because no employer withholds it, self-employment tax is usually paid during the year through quarterly estimated tax payments, together with any income tax you owe.
4. High Earners Pay an Additional Medicare Tax
On top of the standard rates, the IRS applies a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax to wages and self-employment income above $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 for married couples filing jointly, and $125,000 for married people filing separately. It is figured on Form 8959. Paying Medicare tax while you work abroad does not mean Medicare covers your care there, as our guide to Medicare for U.S. expats explains.
How Do Totalization Agreements Decide Where You Pay?
A totalization agreement assigns your work to one country’s social security system so you do not pay into two. The U.S. has 31 agreements in force, and Romania became the newest on September 1, 2026. SSA keeps the official list, and our guide to totalization agreements lists every partner country and what each one covers.
Temporary Assignments Usually Stay in the Home System
Under most agreements, an employee sent abroad by a U.S. employer for five years or less remains covered under U.S. Social Security and is exempt from the host country’s system. Longer assignments and local hires generally move into the host country’s system. The agreement with Italy handles this differently, so check the specific agreement when Italy is involved. Guides to the U.S.-UK totalization agreement, the U.S.-Germany totalization agreement, and the U.S.-Switzerland totalization agreement show how this works in practice.
Self-Employed Expats Are Usually Covered Where They Live
Most agreements assign self-employed people to the system of the country where they live. A U.S. freelancer living in Germany, for example, generally pays into the German system and is exempt from U.S. self-employment tax, with a Certificate of Coverage from Germany to prove it. A few agreements follow other rules, so confirm yours before you stop paying U.S. self-employment tax.
Countries Without an Agreement Can Mean Paying Into Both Systems
Mexico signed an agreement in 2004, but it is not in force, so Americans working there are covered as if no agreement existed. In any country without an agreement in force, you can owe U.S. Social Security or self-employment tax and the host country’s contributions on the same income. Foreign social security contributions paid there may qualify for the Foreign Tax Credit against U.S. income tax, but no credit offsets U.S. self-employment tax. Contributions paid to a country that does have a U.S. agreement do not qualify for the credit at all, as the IRS confirms. If that is your situation, see our FAQ on paying Social Security in both countries without a totalization agreement.
How Do You Prove You Are Exempt From U.S. Social Security Tax?
A Certificate of Coverage proves which country’s system covers you under a totalization agreement, and it is the document that exempts you from the other country’s Social Security tax. The covering country’s social security agency issues it. Employees give a copy to the employer that would otherwise withhold, and self-employed people attach a copy to their U.S. return.
1. Request the Certificate From the Country That Covers You
If you are covered by U.S. Social Security, request the certificate from SSA through its Certificate of Coverage request page, by mail, or by fax. Employers usually request it for their employees, and the self-employed request it for themselves. If the host country covers you, its social security agency issues the certificate. Ask as soon as the assignment or business is set up, ideally before work starts, and keep every certificate in your records.
2. Give a Copy to Your Employer
The certificate is what lets payroll stop withholding the other country’s social security tax for the period it covers, so hand it over before the first affected paycheck.
3. Attach It to Your Return If You Are Self-Employed
If a foreign certificate exempts you from U.S. self-employment tax, attach a copy to your Form 1040 each year and write “Exempt, see attached statement” on Schedule 2, line 4, as the Schedule SE instructions direct. Your return then shows no self-employment tax on that income, and the certificate explains why.
Does Working Abroad Lower Your Future Social Security Benefit?
Working abroad can lower your U.S. Social Security benefit. SSA bases it on your highest 35 years of covered earnings, and if you have fewer than 35, each missing year counts as zero. Years with a foreign employer, or self-employment covered by another country, earn no U.S. credits, and there is no way to make voluntary contributions for them.
Zero Years Pull the Average Down
Take a simplified case. Say you have 25 years of U.S.-covered earnings averaging $70,000 a year after SSA’s wage indexing, then spend 10 years working for a foreign employer abroad. SSA always divides by 35 years, so the average falls from $70,000 to $50,000. The benefit formula replaces a larger share of lower earnings, so your benefit drops by less than that average does, but it does drop. Years you pay self-employment tax abroad count as covered years, so they do not become zeros.
Credits From Two Countries Can Combine
Credits determine whether you qualify at all: you need 40 credits to collect retirement benefits, and in 2026, each $1,890 of covered earnings earns one credit, up to four a year. If you fall short, a totalization agreement can combine your U.S. and foreign work periods to help you qualify, and SSA generally requires at least six U.S. credits before it does. The math is laid out in our FAQ on combining foreign and U.S. work credits.
Check Your Earnings Record From Abroad
Your my Social Security account at SSA shows every year of covered earnings, so you can spot gaps early and confirm that U.S. employer or self-employment years were credited. When you are ready to collect, our guide to Social Security for expats covers payments abroad and how benefits are taxed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Social Security Tax for Expats
No. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) can remove U.S. income tax on foreign earnings, but it does not reduce self-employment tax. Self-employed U.S. citizens abroad owe 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of net earnings of $400 or more, unless a totalization agreement and a Certificate of Coverage exempt them.
U.S. citizens cannot opt out of U.S. Social Security tax by moving abroad. The tax generally stops applying when a foreign employer pays you, or when a totalization agreement assigns you to another country’s system, and you hold a Certificate of Coverage. Years without U.S. coverage earn no U.S. Social Security credits.
Yes. The U.S.-Mexico totalization agreement was signed in 2004 but is not in force, so U.S. citizens self-employed in Mexico owe U.S. self-employment tax of 15.3% on net earnings of $400 or more. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion does not reduce it, and Mexican contributions may also apply under Mexican law.
Generally not. Wages from a foreign employer are usually not covered by U.S. Social Security, so they earn no U.S. credits, and if you finish with fewer than 35 covered years, those years count as zeros in your benefit average. The exception is a foreign affiliate of a U.S. company that has extended U.S. coverage through a section 3121(l) agreement on Form 2032.
Most non-citizens working in the U.S. pay Social Security and Medicare tax on their wages, the same as U.S. citizens. Nonresident alien students in F-1, J-1, or M-1 status are generally exempt from Social Security tax on wages for work permitted by their visa. Visa holders can read more in our guide to H-1B taxes.
Greenback Gets Your Social Security Tax Right Wherever You Work
Greenback’s accountants figure your self-employment tax, file the exemption statement when a Certificate of Coverage covers you, and account for the Additional Medicare Tax on your U.S. federal tax return, so you pay into the right system.
If you’re a digital nomad or freelancer abroad, Greenback helps you handle self-employment tax wherever you work this year. Learn more about how we help digital nomads.
Get Your Social Security Tax Right Abroad
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Social Security and tax rules change, and your situation may differ. For guidance on your circumstances, consult a qualified tax professional.
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