The 1983 amendments provided for withholding a tax from 50 percent of the monthly
title II benefits paid to nonresident aliens, after December 31,1983, for months after
November 1983. In 1994, the amount of the Social Security benefits subject to this
tax withholding was changed to 85 percent, effective with benefits paid after December
31, 1994. The proceeds of this taxation accrue to Social Security trust funds.
In withholding this tax, SSA acts as a withholding agent of the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS). Thus, resident status, citizenship determinations, evidence requirements, etc., are made
under IRS policy and law and these may not be the same as SSA's definitions and requirements.