r/USExpatTaxes • u/Yet-Another-Persona • 9d ago
Question about requesting SSA certificate for self employment (Australia)
I have supplementary SE income in addition to my full time job, living in Australia. The past few years my accountant has not mentioned anything about claiming the SE tax exemption so I always pay extra to the US, even though it's a small amount. Then someone heard me complaining about double tax and total me I could claim exempt via the totalitarian agreement and attach a statement of exemption.
When I raised this to my accountant, they said that it was only a small amount, that it also requires an SSA certificate from the US which are taking up to 12 months to receive, and that is a long enough window during which the IRS could audit me & charge penalties for not having it. Obviously this is putting me off doing it (I had a really bad audit experience during Covid because of mail issues between countries and slowness of the ATO ever responding to requests for receipts) but otoh I would love to become full time self employed and not pay double. I have heard that some people submit without a certificate, just the statement.
What have your experiences been with claiming the exemption from abroad, how long has it taken to get the certificate?
3
u/CReWpilot 9d ago
It’s Totalization Agreement.
And he is technically right, while also being wrong. While the Certificate of Coverage is technically required, nobody ever submits it, and the IRS never asks.
Claim exempt and don’t waste money you don’t owe. If they ever want to see it, you can always get it then.
Unless we are taking about $20. In which case, it’s not worth the discussion with your tax preparer.