Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

Does anyone know the answers to this?

My friend tells me that i can file a w4 form and opt out of paying Social Security and medicare. This will also mean that it will stop my federal taxes being withheld also and i will have to pay that in April. Does this sound correct to anyone?

I have a marriage based permanent resident card for a few years and my tax status is single (none) with allowances/extra being Fed-1/0/tx-0/0

Thanks

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

Unlikely if you are a permanent resident. That automatically makes you resident for taxes, so you get to pay the same as a US citizen.

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

I think if you return to the UK you can get some of it refunded, I heard that somewhere but it could be total hogwash!

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

While you can stop the witholding of income taxes in certain circumstances, I've never heard of anyone stopping FICA (SS & Medicare) witholding.

It should be noted that if you are not having your taxes withheld, they are not 'due in April'--rather they are due every 3 months, technically (I think). You can hold back and pay it all in April, but if it is greater than a certain percentage of something (there is a forumla) you get hit with a penalty that you have to pay ON TOP of your taxes.

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

Unlikely for a permanent resident. When I was on an L1 I opted out of social security and medicare but had to prove that I was paying into an equivalent in the UK (the UK branch continued my pension payments there) and I had to sign something to say I had the intention of returning to the UK within 5 years. It didn't stop federal taxes being withheld though.

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

How did you do that?

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

No way if you are permanent. However, if you return to the UK before you have contributed enough for a USA Soc Sec. pension, the UK Soc. Sec. allows for your USA contributions in its calculation of your UK pension.

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

Don't know exactly, my company sorted it all out. I don't know what the full regulations are but it was something to do with being able to show you were paying into an equivalent elsewhere.

A google search brought back this as the first result:

"In reality many foreign workers, including highly-skilled employees here on H-1b visas, pay no Social Security taxes whatsoever. Since the 1970s the Social Security Administration has concluded so-called “Totalization Agreements” with about 18 different countries, under which foreign workers may have their Social Security deductions sent to their home country program (rather than the SSA), and vice-versa. One of the primary objectives of the agreements is to eliminate dual Social Security taxation as would occur when a worker sent to the U.S. by his employer must pay tax to both the United States and his home country."

http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Libra...ves/SaveSS.htm

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

More officially:

"On the other hand, if your employer sends you from one country to work for that employer or an affiliate in the other country for five years or less, you will continue to be covered by your home country and you will be exempt from coverage in the other country. For example, if a U.S. company sends an employee to work for that employer or an affiliate in the United Kingdom for no more than five years, the employer and the employee will continue to pay only U.S. Social Security taxes and will not have to pay in the United Kingdom."

http://www.ssa.gov/international/Agr...phlets/uk.html

Re: Do I have to pay Social Security and medicare?
 

Probably if your on an H1B visa, you can hold the payments, but might as well pay it and then tie it into your UK contributions when you move back.