FileAbroad

Totalization and Social Security consultation

Working Across Two Social Security Systems? Map Coverage, Agreement, and Certificate Facts Before the U.S. Return.

A Social Security agreement can assign one system to covered work, but the result is not chosen simply by residence or by paying contributions. It depends on the agreement in force, employee or self-employed status, employer and assignment, work and residence periods, exceptions, and certificate evidence. In a paid consultation, I map those facts and the U.S. return questions, then identify what belongs with your employer, SSA, the foreign agency, or a separate adviser.

Start My Coverage Intake

Send a free inquiry first. I review it personally and explain whether a paid assessment is appropriate before you book or pay.

30 minutes · $100 · directly with Chip

The consultation

What we'll review

The consultation focuses on the facts that determine what needs further attention.

Worker, countries, and periods

Citizenship or residency, residence and physical-work countries, employee/self-employed classification, moves, overlaps, and the precise periods requiring a coverage map.

Employer, business, and assignment

Legal employers, hiring and sending entities, affiliates, temporary-assignment and return facts, section 3121(l), trades or businesses, and entity classification.

Agreement and assigned coverage

The agreement actually in force, country-specific normal rule, detached-worker or self-employed article, exceptions, transition rules, and agency or adviser positions.

Certificate and contribution evidence

Issuer, request, certificate scope and dates, amendments or denials, U.S. and foreign payroll/contribution records, and gaps that must go to an employer or agency.

U.S. return and referral path

FICA/SECA treatment, Schedule C/SE/Schedule 2 documentation, prior filings and refunds, estimates, earnings-record or benefit issues, and the correct preparation, agency, employer, or specialist next step.

After the call

What you leave with

By the end of the consultation, you'll have a clear map of the issues that need attention and the next practical step.

  • A period-by-period worker, employer or business, residence, work-country, agreement, and claimed-coverage map.
  • The exact agreement article, certificate, domestic-law, payroll, Schedule SE, contribution, refund, or agency questions that require confirmation or further work.
  • A focused records request for assignment and employment documents, entity facts, certificate applications and decisions, payroll and contribution statements, returns, and correspondence, with secure-upload instructions after intake.
  • Whether FileAbroad can accept a defined U.S. return stage and which employer, payroll provider, SSA, foreign agency or adviser, benefits specialist, or attorney must handle the remaining issues.

You are not required to hire FileAbroad for preparation after the consultation.

Scope

What the consultation does not include

The consultation is a review and scoping session. It does not include preparation or filing of a tax return, FBAR, information return, amended return, or Streamlined submission.

It also does not create an open-ended support engagement. Additional research, document review, preparation, or follow-up work is included only when it is specifically agreed or purchased.

FileAbroad does not provide legal advice or tax litigation services.

Current pricing

Optional $100 scope assessment

30-Minute Expat Tax Scope Assessment

$100

Focused review of your filing situation with a written list of the years and forms that need attention, a document checklist, key scope flags, and an exact preparation quote when FileAbroad can accept the work.

Preparation is priced separately. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed; it is not required for every preparation engagement. Straightforward tax-year-2025 federal expat returns start at $575, and standalone current-year FBAR preparation starts at $100. Prior-year, delinquent, amended, entity, trust, partnership, PFIC, Streamlined, and other complex international work is quoted after review.

See preparation services and pricing

The process

How the paid assessment works

  1. 1

    Start the intake.

    Tell me the broad facts of your situation without uploading sensitive tax documents through the public form.

  2. 2

    I review the inquiry.

    I personally review the intake to determine whether a FileAbroad consultation appears appropriate.

  3. 3

    Book the consultation.

    If the situation fits, you'll receive the scheduling and payment link for the $100 30-minute consultation.

  4. 4

    We review the situation together.

    We use the call to identify the relevant filing questions, missing information, and next practical step.

  5. 5

    Preparation is separate.

    If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you receive the written scope and price before preparation begins.

Before you book

Questions we'll use to map your Social Security coverage

Which tax years and work periods are involved, what were your U.S. citizenship or residency facts, and where did you reside and physically perform employee or self-employed services during each period?
Were you an employee, contractor, sole proprietor, partner, owner-officer, or another worker, who was each legal employer or business, where were you hired, and was there a temporary assignment, expected return, affiliate, or section 3121(l) arrangement?
Which country agreement do you believe applies, was it in force for the period, which normal or exception rule may assign coverage, and have either competent agency, employer, or foreign adviser given a written position?
Was a U.S. or foreign certificate of coverage requested or issued, for which employer, activity, countries, and dates, and are there applications, amendments, denials, renewals, or contribution statements supporting the claimed coverage?
What U.S. W-2, foreign payroll, FICA or foreign contributions, Schedule C, Schedule SE, Schedule 2, payroll corrections, refund requests, prior returns, estimates, SSA earnings records, or benefit questions exist for the same periods?
Do I need a paid assessment before hiring FileAbroad?

Not for every engagement. Start with a brief intake to discuss needs, timing, process, and pricing. Straightforward preparation can proceed directly to an accepted written scope. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed, with the fee explained before you decide.

What should I send before the consultation?

Start with the public intake and describe the broad facts of your situation. Do not send Social Security numbers, tax returns, bank statements, or other sensitive tax documents through the public intake form. If documents are needed later, I will provide secure upload instructions.

Will you tell me exactly what I need to file?

The consultation is designed to identify the filing issues that need attention and the information required to determine the next step. Some questions can be resolved during the call; others may require records, additional research, or preparation work outside the consultation.

Do I have to hire FileAbroad afterward?

No. The consultation stands on its own. If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you can decide whether to proceed after the scope and price are confirmed.

Can you review documents during the consultation?

Limited document review may be possible when agreed in advance, but the consultation is not a substitute for a full document review or tax-preparation engagement.

Related paths

If this is not the right starting point

Self-employment abroad tax guide

Review business income, expenses, FEIE, estimated tax, and the separate social-coverage workstream.

Self-employment tax and totalization

Review the agreement and certificate framework after the article is corrected to current official authority.

Self-employed abroad consultation

Use the broader business-return path when Schedule C, expenses, entities, and estimates are central.

Remote employee abroad consultation

Use the U.S.-payroll employee path when work locations, withholding, benefits, and employer coordination are central.

Foreign employer consultation

Use the foreign-payroll path when the legal employer, local wage records, and benefits require broader mapping.

Moving abroad consultation

Use the pre-departure path when coverage is one part of a larger move, state, property, account, and filing plan.

Tax treaty consultation

Use the treaty path for income-tax articles; an income-tax treaty is separate from Social Security coordination.

Expat tax filing

Review U.S. preparation only after coverage, certificate, and return-documentation facts are established.

Start here

Tell me what's going on.

You don't need to know which form, filing procedure, or service you need. Start with the broad facts, and I'll review whether intake or a paid assessment is the appropriate next step.

Start My Coverage Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form or ordinary email.