@Paul ******
I'm unsure also; this is my first year. I'm thinking of it this way; you must fill out a return for your SS, no matter what. So if you make more than "x" you will pay taxes. If you pay less than "x", you are still filing a return, even if you pay no tax. It's that you are credited the amount you owe by the federal government. So even though you don't pay anything, you are still being taxed. Also, the amount you pay into SS is already being taxed at your income level. That's how I think about it. I could be wrong. But like I said, no one really knows what's going on, and there is no hard and firm rules yet, so I'll worry when someone spells it out and I can see what, if any, liability I have. I don't think Thailand will tax SS and retirement income. The amount they make from taxing retirees will be nowhere near the loss they will realize when thousands of falang retirees move to Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, or the Phillipines, etc.