# How to avoid Social Security double taxation in your filing ? (Self employed)



## Pilou (8 mo ago)

Hi all, 

I am French American, I moved back to France after a few years working in the US.
I'm a low income freelancer so I'm trying to file the 2021 IRS taxes on my own, witch is quite a challenge..
All of my income in 2021 is from freelancing in France.

I feel like I gathered enough documentation to see the difference between 2555 and 1116 but I don't manage to get straight answers on how to being taxed twice on medicare and unemployment.
I already paid the french taxes on this matter and have seen the agreement between France and the IRS but no information as to witch form I should fill out to be "medicare/unemployment exempt" from the IRS filing and my researches have been inconclusive. 

Thanks for any future insight and have a good day.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

To be exempted from US SS (actually "self-employment tax" while living abroad, you only need to provide certification that you are properly enrolled in the local (i.e. French) health care system - which you should be if you've been freelancing as a micro-entrepreneur or "auto-entrepreneur" and have your business entity established.


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## Pilou (8 mo ago)

Merci Bev !
I saw some documentation claiming this as well, I'm just not sure how to include this in the filing (i'm currently using the IRS free form website that doesn't provide much help either).
From what I understood, I have to provide a written letter and the form SE-404-1 but I can't find clear instructions on what to write on what form. 

I did stumble onto an article from taxact saying you had to attach schedule 2 and then write line 4 "EXEMPT" but I haven't seen any other source to confirm it and I can't find any guidance on the IRS website/Pub 54).

Side question : is there an actual free filing service for "expats" earning below 50k ? On the ones listed on the IRS website you either can't create an account without having a US phone number or there is some upsell attached to the filing.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Frankly, as backlogged as the IRS is these days, I would just file the "usual" forms, citing your French business entity as your "employer" and let them assume that you're employed and enrolled in the French cotisation system. If they have questions, they'll contact you for more details. But chances are it will fly through just fine with no further explanation. I did a variation on this for years and never heard boo back from the IRS.

As far as your question regarding the free filing service for expats, the simple answer is "not really." The first year I looked into this, there were only 5 free file services (out of a good dozen or more that year) that could deal with the 2555 forms at all. And of those, none of them seemed to be able to deal with a US person filing "married filing separately" unless their spouse had a US SSN or ITIN and the taxpayer was willing to list their name. It was only after I got the "spouse benefit" for my NRA spouse that SS gave him a US SSN, and then (and only then) could I finally wrestle with the IRS Free File system (but it wasn't easy). 

For all the "insisting" that non-resident citizens "must" file from overseas, they sure as heck do NOT make it easy (or in some cases, even possible) - and to be honest, they really don't seem to bother doing much with the overseas returns unless you're clearly into money-laundering or other high income activities overseas.


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## Pilou (8 mo ago)

ha, your last paragraph is a bit reassuring, I've always been filing in the US and this endeavor has been a big can of worms.. I think i have the documentation for at least 20 forms downloaded to understand what I should do.. And I'm barely starting to understand it.

So assuming I don't do the whole letter/form thing, Aren't they always calculating the SS taxes once you submit ?

My fear would be to send this over and just receive a letter back asking me for the SS payment (I have always been freelancing and using some cheap or free online tax services so i never really understood what part of what I was paying was SS or Fed Taxes).

Also, on the form where you have to put your "employer" (I believe one of the 1040) they ask for the address but there is no field for the country (assuming it is always a US one). in this case, do you just put the whole address in the type-able field ? 

Also, thanks for your fast answers. I've been spending a lot of time on this endavor and can't wait to have it dealt with.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Pilou said:


> Also, on the form where you have to put your "employer" (I believe one of the 1040) they ask for the address but there is no field for the country (assuming it is always a US one). in this case, do you just put the whole address in the type-able field ?


I haven't really looked at the most recent forms, but the only place I recall putting the "employer's address" was on the form 2555. When my husband and I were running our business out of the house I always wondered whether they'd notice that my "employer's address" was identical to my "home address" on the 1040. Never in 15 years did they ever say "boo" about that.


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## MyExpatTaxes (10 mo ago)

You would need to claim the Totalization Treaty!
Totalization Agreements | Internal Revenue Service. <snip>☺


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## shony (Jun 13, 2019)

Pilou said:


> is there an actual free filing service for "expats"


Try olt.com
It did not ask for US phone # in the past and allowed filing as MFS


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