For the United States, the agreement applies to social security taxes related to the
retirement, survivors, disability, and health insurance (RSDHI) programs (i.e., Federal
Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes for employment and Self-Employment Contributions
Act (SECA) taxes for self-employment, including the Medicare portion). Thus, if an
employee is exempt from U.S. social security coverage under this agreement, neither
the employee nor employer has to pay the pertinent share of the FICA tax with respect
to that employee for any period the exemption is effective. A self-employed person
is also exempt from paying SECA taxes (equivalent to the employee and employer share
of the FICA tax) for any period the exemption is effective.