Job Discussion Forums

[Chris33166]

Has anyone taken advantage of the educator tax treaty?

I think doing so would be advantageous for anyone earning >16k/month here. For anyone who hasn't heard of this tax treaty, basically the deal is this: for up to 3 years, no Chinese tax, but must pay US tax. No foreign earned income exclusion, to the best of my knowledge. My understanding is that this treaty now includes most teaching jobs; in the past, it was restricted to tertiary education.

What I know: have to fill out IRS form 8802. And probably, prod my university to process the paperwork.

But just how advantageous this would be hinges on whether FICA taxes need to be paid.

So, question 1 -
Do FICA (social security, medicare) taxes need to be paid? The answer seems to be no if the employer has no connection with the US. But, I always second-guess myself when it comes to understanding what the IRS actually means....

Question 2 -
How long does this process take once I get form 8802 to my Chinese university...I'd like this to start next September.

Question 3 -
Is the income, then, basically self reported? I can't imagine my university reporting income to the IRS. I have income statements from my employer that could be used in case of an audit, but other than that it seems like they'd just have to trust me, it seems.

I bet there's a lot of other things I haven't thought about...so any other information / advice would be great!