Collecting Social Security while living outside the United States
Moving abroad does not end your benefit, but citizenship decides whether it keeps coming and how much tax the SSA keeps back.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Social Security keeps paying most retirees who move abroad, in US dollars and without adjustment for exchange rates, but the rules split by citizenship. A US citizen can be paid in any country where the SSA can send payments, and remains subject to US income tax on up to 85% of benefits under the same thresholds as at home. A noncitizen who is not a green card holder has 30% withheld from 85% of each payment, an effective 25.5%, unless a tax treaty applies: residents of Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Romania and the United Kingdom pay no US tax on their benefits, and residents of Switzerland are taxed at 15% of the whole benefit. On a $1,800 monthly benefit, that is $459 withheld under the standard rule and $270 in Switzerland. Noncitizens also need a qualifying condition, such as citizenship of a listed country, to keep receiving payments after six full calendar months outside the United States (SSA publication 05-10137, April 2026).
Tax withheld from a nonresident's benefit
Tax withheld each month
$459.00
| Effective rate on the whole benefit | 25.5% |
| Deposit after withholding | $1,341.00 |
| Withheld over a year | $5,508.00 |
Noncitizens only. US citizens and green card holders file a US return instead.
Citizens and noncitizens are taxed differently
The first question for anyone collecting abroad is citizenship, not country. A US citizen, or a lawful permanent resident, is taxed by the United States on worldwide income wherever they live, and Social Security benefits follow the usual rule: up to 85% can be taxable depending on other income (IRS Publication 915). The SSA does not withhold anything automatically; you can ask for voluntary withholding, and you file a return.
A nonresident alien is taxed at source. The SSA withholds 30.0% of 85.0% of each payment, which comes to 25.5% of the benefit, and reports it on Form SSA-1042S at the end of the year. Tax treaties change that for residents of a few countries.
| Monthly benefit | Standard 25.5% | Switzerland 15% | Treaty-exempt countries | Deposit, standard case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $255.00 | $150.00 | $0 | $745.00 |
| $1,800 | $459.00 | $270.00 | $0 | $1,341.00 |
| $2,500 | $637.50 | $375.00 | $0 | $1,862.50 |
| $3,500 | $892.50 | $525.00 | $0 | $2,607.50 |
The treaty-exempt list in the SSA publication 05-10137 is Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Romania and the United Kingdom; the United Kingdom means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Publication 915 adds that an Italian resident must also be an Italian citizen to benefit. Under the treaty with India, benefits based on US federal, state or local government employment are exempt for people who are both residents and nationals of India. The SSA's Alien Tax Screening Tool checks a specific case.
A US citizen abroad: same thresholds as at home
Living in Lisbon or Mexico City changes nothing in the formula of Publication 915. Half of the benefits plus other income, including tax-exempt interest, is compared with $25,000 and $34,000 for a single filer. With $1,800 a month, $21,600 a year:
| Other income | Provisional income | Taxable benefits | Share taxable |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $10,800 | $0 | 0.0% |
| $20,000 | $30,800 | $2,900 | 13.4% |
| $40,000 | $50,800 | $18,360 | 85.0% |
At $20,000 of other income, $2,900 of the benefits is taxable. The country you live in may tax the same benefit; the SSA's publication points out that many foreign governments do and suggests asking that country's embassy in Washington before you move.
Will the payments keep coming? The rules for noncitizens
For US citizens, the SSA continues payments in any country where it can send them. Noncitizens must meet one of the conditions listed in publication 05-10137, or payments stop after six full calendar months outside the United States. "Outside" means away from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa for at least 30 days in a row. Once payments stop, they restart only after a full calendar month in the United States.
- Citizens of 29 countries keep all types of benefits abroad, among them Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland and France.
- Citizens of a second group, which includes Mexico, the Philippines and Australia, keep benefits based on their own earnings; dependents and survivors must also meet residency conditions.
- Citizens of a third group, which includes China, India and Morocco, keep benefits if the worker earned at least 40 credits or lived 10 years in the United States.
- Residents of a country with a Social Security agreement keep their benefits, with special limits for residents of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
Dependents and survivors who are not US citizens may need to show 5 years of residence in the United States in the family relationship, unless an exception applies. The SSA's Payments Abroad Screening Tool walks through these conditions for one person.
Where payments cannot go
The Treasury prohibits payments to people living in Cuba and North Korea. A US citizen there receives the withheld payments after moving to a country where payment is possible; a noncitizen loses the payments for the months spent there. The SSA generally cannot send payments to Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with exceptions under restricted conditions. Elsewhere, the SSA can deposit into a US bank account from any country or, in countries with an international direct deposit agreement, into a local account.
Work before full retirement age
The SSA earnings test follows you abroad, in two versions. If your foreign job is not subject to US Social Security tax, including when an international agreement exempts you, the foreign work test withholds the benefit for every month with more than 45 hours of work, regardless of pay; owning a business counts even without working in it. If your work abroad is covered by US Social Security, the ordinary annual test applies: $24,480 in 2026, $1 withheld per $2 above it. Dependents on the record lose their payments for the same months. From full retirement age on, neither test applies. The earnings limit page details the US version.
Reporting and questionnaires
The SSA sends questionnaires to beneficiaries abroad every year or every two years, depending on age, payee status, the type of benefit and the country; failing to return one stops payments. Changes of address, work, marriage, divorce and similar events must be reported to the SSA or the Federal Benefits Unit. The benefit itself is computed in dollars and does not rise or fall with exchange rates.
Medicare is a separate decision. It generally does not pay for care outside the United States, so some people abroad hold off on Part B, at the price of a premium 10% higher for each 12-month period they could have been enrolled. The Medicare premium page shows the 2026 amounts.