Wage Tax Info
SSA Questionnaire Will Determine Expat Wage Deductions
Comments are being sought by the U.S. Government on a questionnaire for U.S. citizens working outside the United States that will determine if those workers should pay Social Security deductions.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is seeking comments on a list of 15 “information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)” in the Federal Register dated May 28, 2008, and would like comments on the listed programs by June 28, 2008. Among those 15 SSA data packages is the “Questionnaire About Employment or Self-Employment Outside the United States,” Form SSA-7163, which is used to determine three possible actions by the SSA for those U.S. expatriate workers. The possible actions are:
- Whether work performed by beneficiaries outside the United States is cause for deductions from their monthly benefits.
- If a foreign or regular work test is applicable to a U.S. expatriate worker.
- The number of months, if any, for SSA-imposed deductions on a U.S. expatriate worker.
SSA expects about 20,000 annual responses to Form SSA-7163, and each response should take about 12 minutes to complete, but the agency seeks comments on the accuracy of its estimated time burden as well as its need for the information. SSA also would like comments on Form SSA-7163's “practical utility;” “ways to enhance its quality, utility and clarity” and “how to minimize the burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.”
Comments and recommendations on the information collection questionnaire can be submitted by the U.S. Postal Service, e-mail or facsimile to the OMB or the SSA. The addresses and relevant information for each are:
- Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 725 17th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20503; fax phone number, (202) 395-6974 and e-mail address, OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov.
- Social Security Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235; fax phone number, (410) 965-6400 and e-mail address, OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov.
Article by J.J. Smith, June 2008 from http://www.shrm.org/global/news_published/CMS_025786.asp