Can a foreign employer really owe U.S. Social Security and Medicare withholding for work performed in the States?
I always thought Social Security and Medicare withholding was mostly a domestic-employer issue, so I was surprised to read that a foreign employer can still have U.S. payroll obligations when services are performed within the United States. Our company is foreign-owned and still thinks like an overseas business, which means our internal controls are not yet set up around U.S. payroll assumptions.
Before we hire more people on the ground, I want a realistic answer on whether a foreign employer working inside the U.S. should assume FICA applies unless an exception is clearly documented.
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