BarbriSFCourseDetails
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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Tax Preparer

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, June 18, 2020

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    110 minutes

Credit Information

  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

  • BARBRI is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).

$197.00
CPE
ALL

This course will provide tax advisers with a comprehensive guide to navigating the complex area of Social Security totalization agreements. The panel will detail how totalization transactions operate and what documentation is necessary to avoid dual social security contributions. The experts will also discuss the IRS initiative to require documentation from taxpayers claiming an exemption from Social Security coverage under a claim of a totalization agreement.

Faculty

C. Edward Kennedy
Managing Director
C Edward Kennedy Jr, PC

Mr. Kennedy has more than 42 years of experience dealing with a variety of international tax matters, specializing in tax consulting services to a wide variety of clients ranging from closely held companies to multi-national businesses. His expertise includes domestic and foreign income and social security tax planning, tax compliance for individuals and corporations, tax treatment of incentive compensation plans, international assignment program administration, and international assignment policy design. Mr. Kennedy has also served as the U.S. practice leader for international social security matters for a Big 4 accounting firm. He is a frequent speaker in the areas of international tax compliance and reporting obligations U.S. information reporting requirements for foreign assets and foreign entities, U.S. tax implications of foreign pension and social security plans, and U.S. income and social tax treaty planning. Mr. Kennedy is a member of the Texas Bar and is licensed as a certified accountant in Georgia and Texas. He has a B.A. from Furman University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law.

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James P. Klein
Senior Counsel
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Mr. Klein focuses his practice in the areas of executive compensation and benefits, and tax. He has broad experience servicing clients in the areas of employee benefits, retirement plans, insurance and in the international taxation of compensation and benefits, from the employee and employer perspective. He represents companies on U.S. and non-U.S. tax and labor issues and works with corporations in ensuring that their employee benefit plans comply with ERISA.

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Description

An individual's liability for social security contributions is determined differently than the same person's income tax liability. Unlike U.S. income tax liability, which is based on citizenship or residence, social contributions are determined based on whether the individual's employment or self-employment is "covered" employment or self-employment. Likewise, as retirement benefits are determined based on an individual’s entire working career, lapses in coverage can impact retirement benefits.

In addition, most countries require a minimum period of coverage in order to be eligible for retirement benefits. Individuals working in multiple jurisdictions and contributing to the social security system of multiple countries have the potential for the loss of benefits from those social tax withholdings. The U.S. and most other countries require individuals to pay in for a specified length of time before they are eligible for benefits. This can lead to an individual having social tax withheld for benefits which will never be received.

The U.S. has taken steps to address this problem in the form of "totalization agreements." These are treaty-force agreements that eliminate dual contributions and allow affected workers to receive a "totalized" benefit where workers are subject to social contributions outside their home country. Tax advisers must understand the relevant treaty rules and documentation requirements to assist their clients in claiming totalization agreement benefits.

Listen as our experienced panel provides comprehensive and practical guidance, detailing what tax advisers need to know to help their clients navigate the area of totalization agreements to avoid double taxation and protect Social Security and other social tax benefits.

Outline

  1. Overview of U.S. Social Security contribution system
  2. Structure of totalization agreements
  3. Claiming and documenting the exemption
  4. "Detached worker" exception
  5. Self-employed workers
  6. Traps for the unwary

Benefits

The panel will review these and other vital issues:

  • How do totalization agreements work?
  • With which countries does the U.S. have existing totalization agreements?
  • What documentation do the taxpayer and employer need to obtain, submit, and/or retain to support an exemption claim under totalization?
  • How do the "detached worker" exception and the "five-year" rule operate?
  • Calculating Social Security benefits under a totalization arrangement

NASBA Details

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify how totalization agreements apply and how the agreements operate as a means of claiming exemption from dual social tax liabilities
  • Apply the "detached worker" exception to maintain home country coverage on short-term assignments
  • Determine the mechanics of "totalizing" social benefits when taxpayers have paid into two different countries' social tax regimes
  • Recognize scenarios where an employee may be exempt from Social Security withholding

  • Field of Study: Taxes
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite: Three years+ business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization with specific knowledge and understanding of Social Security, totalization agreements, U.S. workers receiving foreign-source wages, non-U.S. persons receiving wages from a U.S. company, detached worker rules; familiarity with required documentation for a Social Security tax exemption, dual taxation and employee and employer options regarding Social Security taxation.

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

IRS Approved Provider

Strafford is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).