General rules
Under the agreement, a detached worker remains subject only to the social security
taxation and coverage laws of the country from which the worker was sent or from which
the self-employment activity was transferred provided all of the following conditions are met:
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The period of work in the host country is expected to last no more than 5 years. The 5-year period begins with the date the work in the host country
begins or January 1, 2009 (the effective date of the agreement), whichever is later;
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The employment relationship (in the case of employment) or the business activity (in
the case of self-employment) existed before the worker is transferred from the home country; and
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If an employee is sent by an American employer to become an employee of the company's
affiliate in the Czech Republic, the American employer must have entered into an agreement
with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under section 3121(l) of the IRS Code to provide
Social Security coverage for U.S. citizens and residents employed by the affiliate.
In such cases, the employer must still obtain a certificate of coverage from SSA to
establish the exemption from Czech Social Security taxes.
NOTE: The detached worker rule may apply even if the worker does not go directly from one
country to the other but first works in a third country.