Non-citizens who collect Social Security while living outside the United States generally lose 25.5% of each check to federal withholding, and people living in Cuba or North Korea cannot be paid at all. Social Security’s publication on payments abroad says the agency withholds a 30% tax on 85% of the benefit unless a tax treaty says otherwise. The ban on Cuba and North Korea comes from the Treasury Department.
The two rules hit different people for different reasons. The withholding is a tax taken out before the money leaves the United States, and a treaty can shrink or erase it. The Cuba and North Korea bar is a sanctions rule, and for non-citizens it permanently costs the months spent there.
How 25.5% comes out of each check
The arithmetic is simple. Thirty percent of 85% works out to 25.5% of the gross payment, so a $2,000 monthly benefit arrives $510 smaller, at $1,490. Over twelve months that is $6,120 withheld on a single benefit.
The rule is spelled out in Social Security Publication 05-10137, “Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States,” dated April 2026. It says non-citizens who are not U.S. permanent residents generally have the tax withheld. Permanent residents are outside that group, so green card holders do not face the 25.5% cut under this rule.
Non-citizens collecting from overseas, and relatives who manage a parent’s or spouse’s payments, should settle two things: whether the country of residence has a treaty, and whether the check is arriving at 74.5% of the gross benefit. A payment that comes in short is not a mistake if the withholding applies, and a treaty benefit is not automatic if it has not been claimed.
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The tax-code basis is section 871(a)(3), which says 85 percent of any Social Security benefit is included in gross income for a nonresident alien and that the usual section 86 formula “shall not apply.” That removes the base amounts and the sliding scale that apply to taxpayers in the United States. The 85% inclusion starts with the first dollar.
Treaties that cut the withholding
The publication lists countries whose tax treaties with the United States eliminate the withholding: Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Romania and the United Kingdom. Under those treaties a retiree who lives in the country keeps the whole benefit, which on the $2,000 example is the full $510 a month.
Switzerland is the middle case. The publication says benefits paid to non-citizen residents of Switzerland are taxed at 15%. Benefits based on U.S. federal, state or local government employment are exempt for people who are both nationals and residents of India. The rates and country lists are those printed in the April 2026 edition, so retirees in any of these countries should confirm current terms with the agency before relying on them.
Treaty status is the question to put to Social Security’s Alien Tax Screening Tool. The agency’s page says it withholds “a 30 percent flat tax from 85 percent” of benefits “unless you qualify for a tax treaty benefit.” Social Security also sends a year-end statement showing benefits paid and any income tax withheld, which is the document a retiree needs when preparing any U.S. or foreign tax filing.
Where Treasury bars payments
The Treasury Department prohibits payments to people residing in Cuba or North Korea, the publication says. The rule works differently for citizens and non-citizens on the back end. A U.S. citizen who lived in either country can receive the withheld payments after moving to a country where Social Security can send them.
A non-citizen cannot. Under the Social Security Act, a non-citizen cannot receive payments for the months lived in Cuba or North Korea, even after moving to a country where payments are allowed. Those months are lost, not delayed, so every month of residence there is a month that is never paid.
A separate list covers Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Social Security generally cannot send payments to people in those countries, though certain eligible people can qualify for an exception if they agree to restricted payment conditions. Without an exception, payments are withheld until the person leaves for a country where the agency can send them.
The publication adds that other Treasury sanctions could affect payments in other countries. Retirees planning a move should ask the agency about the destination before the date they leave, not after the first deposit fails to arrive.
Who to ask at Social Security
The publication gives a number outside the United States, +1-410-965-0160, and a mailing address, P.O. Box 17769, Baltimore, MD 21235-7769. In the British Virgin Islands, Canada and Samoa, the nearest Social Security office takes visits. Everywhere else, beneficiaries contact their Federal Benefits Unit, listed on the agency’s foreign services page.
On a $2,000 benefit, the three outcomes are far apart: $2,000 for a retiree in a treaty country such as Canada, $1,490 for one in a country with no treaty benefit, and nothing for a non-citizen in Cuba. Where a retiree lives sets the check long before any claim form is filled out.
Payment arriving short from abroad?
A check that lands 25.5% short, or does not land, leaves a retiree abroad with a rent bill and no answer. The withholding, the treaty claim and the sanctions bar each have a different fix, and the first step in all of them is knowing exactly when a payment was due and how much was expected.
The Social Security Check Protection Kit includes the 2026 payment calendar and a first-24-hours plan for a late or missing payment. Its Part 4, Late, Short or Wrong Payments, walks through what to do the day a deposit is not what it should be.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
