United States–Germany
Employment & Social Security
Working across the United States and Germany raises two separate questions: where employment income is taxed and which country's social-security system applies. Employment location, employer structure, remote work, assignments and self-employment can change the result.
Overview
Tax and social security have to be analyzed separately
A worker can have one answer for income tax and another for social security. The payroll treatment should follow those two analyses rather than drive them.
For income tax, the actual place of work, residence, employer facts and treaty rules are relevant. For social security, the U.S.–German Social Security Agreement determines which country's covered system applies in many cross-border employment and self-employment cases.
View the same topic from the German side
The German TaxRep page focuses on German wage taxation, payroll, German social-security coverage and the treatment of U.S. employment.
Common Situations
Start with where the work is actually performed
U.S. employer, employee living in Germany
German workdays, payroll, permanent-establishment risk and social-security coverage must be coordinated.
German employer, employee living in the U.S.
U.S. work location, German payroll consequences and continuing German coverage require separate analysis.
Temporary assignment from the U.S. to Germany
A temporary assignment can preserve U.S. social-security coverage if the agreement conditions are met.
Temporary assignment from Germany to the U.S.
German social-security coverage may continue for a qualifying temporary assignment, supported by the appropriate certificate.
Remote work from Germany for a U.S. company
Home-office work can affect wage taxation, payroll and employer obligations even where the employer has no German office.
Self-employed person working between both countries
Self-employment tax and German social-security exposure depend on where the activity is carried on and whether a temporary-transfer rule applies.
Technical Guides
Detailed U.S.–Germany employment and social-security guides
U.S. employer with employee working in Germany
Wage tax, payroll, work location and social-security coordination.
Read guideWorking remotely from Germany for a U.S. employer
German workdays, employer obligations and cross-border payroll questions.
Read guideU.S. employee assigned to Germany
Temporary-assignment rules and certificate-of-coverage planning.
Read guideGerman employee assigned to the United States
Continuing German coverage, D/USA 101 and U.S. contribution relief.
Read guideSelf-employment tax under the U.S.–Germany agreement
Which country's social-security system covers cross-border self-employment.
Read guideCertificate of coverage for Germany and the U.S.
Why the certificate matters and which authority issues it.
Read guideGerman payroll for a U.S. employer
When a foreign employer may face German payroll and registration obligations.
Read guideEmployment income under the U.S.–Germany tax treaty
Residence, workdays, employer facts and treaty coordination.
Read guideTwo-Sided Guidance
Continue with the German TaxRep perspective
Arbeit & Sozialversicherung
German-language analysis from the German tax and payroll perspective.
Open taxrep.deResidency & Moving
Residence and moving-year questions that often determine the employment analysis.
Previous topicBusinesses & Ownership Interests
Employer structures, LLCs and cross-border business ownership.
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Working across the United States and Germany?
We coordinate employment taxation, payroll, social-security coverage and the related U.S. and German reporting obligations.
Discuss your employment situation
Social Security
Which system applies?
General rule
As a starting point, an employed person is generally covered by the social-security system of the country where the work is performed.
Temporary assignments
The agreement contains exceptions for qualifying temporary assignments, allowing coverage to remain in the sending country in defined cases.
Self-employment
A self-employed person working only in one country is generally assigned to that country's covered system, subject to the agreement's temporary-transfer rules.
Certificate of coverage
A certificate documents which country's covered system applies and can support exemption from contributions in the other country.
D/USA 101 and D/USA 101 A
German authorities use these certificates in relevant Germany–U.S. cases to evidence continuing German coverage or exemption from U.S. contributions.
Health insurance is not identical to FICA
The scope of the bilateral agreement and the domestic German health, long-term-care and other social-insurance rules must be checked carefully.