I work for a Foreign Embassy, and we are not allowed to participate in US Social Security System. How to do the Social Sec deduction?

[MaryK1]

Thank you!  The person I want to ask will be here tomorrow so I will have a better answer for you!

[maximusmatte]

I hope Saturday treats you well. Have you found an answer for my questions? Thank You so much in advance.

[need4help]

Hello, I am exactly in the same situation as this thread. Can you please let me know how should I file taxes? a Turbotax advisor said to file 1099NEC, but not sure if this is the case since we are not allowed to pay social security, only federal taxes. I only have a paper that says the total yearly gross income and that's all. How do I file taxes? Swedish embassy. Thank you. 

[need4help]

Was there an answer to your question @maximusmatte? I am exactly in the same situation, same scenario, same everything and I don't know what to do. Any help someone can provide could help. Thank you!

[nhu6086]

Did y’all find an answer on how to fill this out in TurboTax? My spouse is in the exact same situation as well, greencard holder, French National working for the French embassy in the US, no W2, just a letter stating total income and proof of employment. I keep reading on the IRS website that his wage is not subject to income tax and self employment tax (social security and Medicare tax) but can’t find anywhere how to enter all that in TurboTax, please help! Thank you!

[ErnieS0]

You can enter your spouse's income and then back it out under a tax treaty exemption.

Alumni tax expert @Leonard offers an excellent explanation in How to claim a tax treaty with TurboTax?

You shouldn't have to do anything with US social security. The French government would not withhold that so there would be no need to back that out. If anything, your spouse is probably contributing to the French-equivalent.

[nhu6086]

Thank for your reply. I read that filing the 8833 form could make you lose your green card and is frown upon by uscis and discouraged by immigrations lawyers. Is this the only way to do this through TurboTax? We wouldn’t want to take any risk with this immigration status. 

[ErnieS0]

You can get a diplomatic exemption from US income tax. For more information see Employees of Foreign Governments or International Organizations.

You can contact the Office of Foreign Missions at (202) 895-3500.

See: Diplomatic Tax Exemptions

[ErnieS0]

You can get a diplomatic exemption from US income tax. For more information see Employees of Foreign Governments or International Organizations.

You can contact the Office of Foreign Missions at (202) 895-3500.

See: Diplomatic tax Exemptions.

[HoustonTex]

nhu6086, I had a similar situation with my permanent resident spouse who worked in a consulate for many years, and I share your concern over losing the green card. When you read the IRS rules about working for foreign embassies/consulates, be aware of the context - is the section you're reading dealing with DIPLOMATS (or other workers assigned by their government/foreign service) or is it dealing with LOCAL STAFF?  Diplomats and assigned workers usually have special diplomatic visas.  On the other hand, my spouse obtained her green card after petitioning as my spouse, and some years later applied for the consulate job as LOCAL STAFF. Also note that the consulate never deducted any foreign tax or foreign social security from my spouse's pay, which is another indicator that she did not have DIPLOMAT status.

Note that LOCAL STAFF can be US citizens or green card holders.

US citizen LOCAL STAFF pay estimated taxes every quarter, including Income tax and Self Employment tax.

Green card holder LOCAL STAFF pay estimated taxes, but only on the income tax. 

Both US citizen and green card holder LOCAL STAFF have to file Form 4852 Substitute W-2.

Based on my experience, it can be tricky for the green card holder to convince TurboTax software to calculate only Income tax without adding the Self Employment tax.

I'm not an expert, and I don't know the details of your spouse's situation (I think some green card holders may have different rules, depending on the country), so don't take my word for it. I'm just offering another point of view from personal experience, and I fear the threat to maintaining Immigration status over the chance to save paying some taxes due to possibly mis-interpreting the applicability of a tax treaty to my spouse's circumstances.

Good luck with filing your taxes 🙂 !

[nhu6086]

Yes thank you, after some further research. I declared my spouse’s income as additional regular income in TurboTax, which gets income taxed like everything else. Because there is a treaty with France, I put in a foreign tax credit for the taxes he is already paying in France so that there’s no double taxation. So at the end he is paying all the taxes like any US citizens/green card holders, except just not double taxed in both countries