Tax Treaties & Totalization Agreements

Tax Treaties

Tax Treaties are agreements between the U.S. and certain other foreign countries, with the purpose of reducing or eliminating double taxation of your income by both countries. Over 60 countries have entered into Tax Treaties with the U.S. Most tax treaties allow U.S. citizens or residents to exempt all or part of their Foreign Earned Income from taxation by the foreign host country when you are only working there a limited number of days insufficient to establish residency in that country. However, U.S. citizens and residents are usually required to include income from the foreign country on their U.S. Income Tax Return (Tax Treaty provisions take priority over the general provisions in the Internal Revenue Code).

United States Income Tax Treaties - A to Z

Totalization Agreements

The United States has entered into Totalization Agreements with 24 other countries. These agreements establish reciprocal rules with countries that have a government social pension plan, similar to U.S. Social Security. Totalization Agreements are separate from any Tax Treaty.

Before you choose which country Social Security Plan you will commit to, be sure to review the Totalization Agreement first.  Below is a list of countries that have Totalization Agreements with the United States.