1. I am a US person ( Citizen). Since I retired, I am also a resident of Germany ( Bonafide Resident ). Previously, while employed, I was under the Status of Forces agreement and did not require residency to be here.
2. Yes we are talking about taxation of SSA benefits provided by US Social Security Admin based and based on FICA or SECA ( Social Security & Medicare ) taxes paid both while working in the USA AND while working abroad under the Totalization Agreement .
3. Yes, I am retired. And, yes I applied for SSA benefits from US SSA while residing abroad. I did so that early as a requirement of my US government pension (CSRS Offset), which forced me to apply for and begin recieving Social Security at my minimum retirement age in 2014.
4. When did you start SSA benefits ? 2014, but now (for 2023) is the first Year in which Turbotax software asked the question about residency and treated my Social Security Income as non-taxable in the US.
5. I reported my US SSA benefits on my US tax returns only. I have never filed a German tax return.
6. My social security was earned while a civil servant of the US working in Germany so I believed it was excluded from German tax as a pension paid by the US government for for services rendered to the US government, just like my US Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension is not taxable in Germany under the tax agreement.
