Korean Job Discussion Forums

Snowkr · Joined: 03 Jun 2005

Hey everyone

Please forgive me if there is another recent thread on the exact same topic... I scanned them but didn't see anything too recent.

I've raised this issue before.

HAS ANYONE WORKING IN KOREA HAD TO PAY U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY TAX ON YOUR KOREAN INCOME?

Last year I paid in 1400.00USD and this year I'm paying over 1500.00. Ouch! Every other American teacher I met in my city said they never paid any such thing. I know we're excluded from paying federal income taxes on our foreign salaries so long as we're working 330 days outside the U.S., but according to the IRS website and every CPA I've spoken to, I OWE THIS S.S. tax since it wasn't witheld by my Korean employer (naturally).

I don't actually know if my hagwon paid into the pension plan or not. We were a small school. I know income tax was deducted and I never got anything back... pension or otherwise.

Also, does anyone know the contact telephone number for H&R Block in Seoul? I used to have it but I've lost it since coming back to the states.

Please... I'd really like some feedback from any Americans working in Korea!!

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

Thats kind of the point of paying into the Koean pension--to avoid the more expensive SS cost. I think that if you aren't payin Korean pension, then you have to pay the SS tax.
I use a tax accountant in the U.S. He deals with a lot of overseas expats, so he's good for our situation. If you want his contact info, let me know.

The Hammer · Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 2:18 am Post subject:

slow_life · Joined: 29 Dec 2006 Location: here

My tax man informed me that since all my income is from overseas work, I am not permitted to contribute to Soc Sec............so I haven't done that for 14 years. Kind of nice, since I already qualify at the maximum....

lastat06513 · Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:46 am Post subject:

The pension you are suppose to get when you leave Korea IS a replacement of social security that you were suppose to pay as a deduction from your salary if you worked in the US.

I am back in the US and one of the first places I visited was the SSA office in the federal building and I explained to them that I worked overseas. They printed up a statement showing how much I had put into the system and how much I would be getting back when I retire or collect SSI (which I can say would be miniscule).

Now that I am back in the states and working, I am starting to pay into social security again.

I have never heard of anyone having to pay social security tax while in Korea, unless they did work related to the US government or work with a US company (and they are an American citizen).

When I applied for my pension, I had to show my SS card and sign a statement of reciprocity that I wasn't paying into both systems, which was evidence that I didn't have to pay into social security until I got back to the states.