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Is income of nonresident German research associate exempt under the US tax treaty with Germany?

I am from Germany and I work as a Research Associate on a J-1 visa for 1 year and a half. Since I heard about the tax treaty between Germany and the US, I applied for tax exemption in sponsor payroll office.

I have heard that if I stay longer than 2 years I have to pay back the taxes for the 2 years I was on exemption.
I am currently engage with a Us citizen and we are thinking on married next year.

My question is if I married before my 2 years exemption expires, do I still need to pay taxes back for the 2 years I was on the Germany-US TAX treaty exemption?
Any feedback will be appreciated.

Topics: Domestic & International Compliance Foreign National Resident Employee Germany

23 weeks ago, USA Viewed 289 times

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Tax Professional Answers

Gary Carter

The retroactive clause in the treaty was amended with the 2006 protocol. You can access the German treaty through www.form1040nr.com/taxtreaties.php. The protocol says that the retroactive provision no longer applies if you exceed the two year period, but only if you are in the U.S. for a temporary visit after the two-year period. If you stay in the U.S. permanently, the retroactive provision apparently still applies.