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April 20, 2023
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If the irs states that my Social Security is not taxable if I live in another country (Germany), why does Turbo Tax not recognise this and tax my ssa?

  • April 20, 2023
  • 1 reply
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Best answer by pk12_2

@martin-phillips , as a US person ( citizen / GreenCard ), your  Social Security Pension is taxable  to the same extent as all other SSA recipients i.e. 1/2 Social Security disbursement plus all other income is used to determine whether none or up to 85% of SSA benefits are taxable ( for federal purposes ).   So I am not sure where you are reading that your SSA benefits are not taxable.  If you are living in Germany ( or  for that matter any  foreign country ), unless  US-that country treaty  conditions preclude such )  you as a US person , are taxed as if you are living here in the USA -- USA cannot  , for tax purposes , distinguish taxation based on where you live.

 

Please tell me more about your situation so I can understand the scenario and will help once I hear from you

 

pk

1 reply

pk12_2Answer
Employee
April 20, 2023

@martin-phillips , as a US person ( citizen / GreenCard ), your  Social Security Pension is taxable  to the same extent as all other SSA recipients i.e. 1/2 Social Security disbursement plus all other income is used to determine whether none or up to 85% of SSA benefits are taxable ( for federal purposes ).   So I am not sure where you are reading that your SSA benefits are not taxable.  If you are living in Germany ( or  for that matter any  foreign country ), unless  US-that country treaty  conditions preclude such )  you as a US person , are taxed as if you are living here in the USA -- USA cannot  , for tax purposes , distinguish taxation based on where you live.

 

Please tell me more about your situation so I can understand the scenario and will help once I hear from you

 

pk

DoninGA
Employee
April 20, 2023

@pk12_2 is the expert in these matters but I need to ask one question

 

If you are a resident of Germany did you file a German tax return and if so did you report the US Social Security benefits you received on the German tax return?

August 25, 2024
  • I am a US citizen and legal resident.   
  • I have never filed a German tax return.   
  • I have been retired since 2006.  From 2006 - 2014 my pension from the US Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) was not taxable in Germany.
  • As a requirement of CSRS, I was forced to apply for and began recieving Social Security  at my minimum retirement age in 2014.  
  • I reported and paid taxes on my social security retirement on my US tax returns only.
  • Most earnings on which my Social Security is based were earned as an employee of the US government in Germany, as a US civil servant working under the US German Totalization agreement.