Who Must Pay Self-Employment Tax?
If you are abroad and you are a self-employed U.S. citizen or resident you generally are subject to the self-employment tax. This is a social security and Medicare tax on net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more a year. Your net self-employment income is used to figure your net earnings from self-employment. Net self-employment income usually includes all business income less all business deductions allowed for income tax purposes. Net earnings from self-employment is a portion of net self-employment income. This amount is figured on Schedule SE (PDF). The actual self-employment tax is figured on net earnings from self-employment.
