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One common misunderstanding is that income tax and social security are the same. However whilst many jurisdictions are continually looking to align these two 'taxes', in most jurisdictions they remain very different in terms of rates, regulations and processes.

When looking at the social security position for internationally mobile employees, the world can essentially be split into three different categories and this article will consider, at a high level, the employee and employer social security position for each:

1. Ìý

   •ÌýÌýÌýÌý intra-European Economic Area (EEA) assignments (with some changes effective from 1 January 2021)

2. Ìý

   •ÌýÌýÌýÌý reciprocal agreement location assignments (for example the US)

3. Ìý

   •ÌýÌýÌýÌý 'rest of the world' assignments

One similarity between tax and social security is the 'source' rule. This is the basic default principle that you pay the duties in the country where the work is performed, unless other provisions or exceptions apply. However there are a number of international social security agreements which do provide for social security obligations to arise in a specific country, by reference to the