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I have dual citizenship, Italian /USA. I am a resident in Italy. I normally pay all my taxes in Italy. Is it possible to pay taxes in USA on one job (service work-self employed) that I did for an American client / USA resident that was paid into an account in USA ? Or do I have to pay the taxes on it in Italy?

I am also a Italian citizen and resident, both work and taxes. I am also an American citizen, not resident.

I always declare my earnings in USA, but I am exempt from most taxes because the USA has an exemption from double taxing for people who earn under $80,000 yearly and pay the taxes on it in Italy.

What I was trying to understand is can I pay taxes on the work I did in USA only in USA, not where I am resident, Italy? Of course, taxes are much higher in Italy. Also It would be a good thing for me to pay into Social Security that otherwise I don't have to.

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    So to clarify, as far as the Italian government is concerned, you're an Italian? For tax / work purposes?
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Nov 27, 2014 at 3:57

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I'm not an accountant and I'm not liable for any action you take as consequence of reading the subsequent text.

You are a resident of Italy and as such you pay all your taxes in Italy. I think it does not matter that you did a job in another country.

There is a treaty against double taxation between the US and Italy so you may want to read it: http://www.finanze.gov.it/export/download/novita09/CCDI_ITA-USA_25.08.99.pdf

Also here's the italian law on income from abroad: http://www.altalex.com/index.php?idnot=61924

Maybe you can detract the taxes you paid in the US and pay the rest in Italy, or other kind of agreements may be in force.

Italian law is complicated so you may want to use a commercialista.

I don't think the fact that you're also American concerns the italian state agencies, you're an italian resident in Italy and if you have to pay taxes on your global income, you have to pay them regardless of where it comes from.

There is plenty of Italian craftsmen doing single contract jobs across the frontier in Switzerland so you may want to look for further information on Italian websites dedicated to these issues, they surely exist.

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  • (+1) Lots of useful information but beware, the OP should not assume that rules for cross-border commuters necessarily apply to his or her situation. There are special agreements about that, certainly within the EU (but also with Switzerland, possibly as part of their bilateral agreements with the EU, although I don't know all the details).
    – Gala
    Commented Nov 27, 2014 at 16:20
  • Yes, that's why I specified craftsmen doing single contracts, the cross-border commuters are ruled by entirely different agreements (which are also very outdated currently and need urgent revising but that's politics so I'll stay away from that), especially if they live within 10 km of the border. They're mostly ruled by bilateral agreements among countries made in a pre-EU era. EDIT: My dictionary says artisan is a synonym of craftsperson but I guess that normal English speakers would never use such a latinism.
    – Formagella
    Commented Nov 27, 2014 at 16:45
  • Maybe it would be worthwhile to add these details/warning to your answer?
    – Gala
    Commented Nov 27, 2014 at 17:05
  • Very rarely, and only in very specific cases, tax treaties have any application on citizens/tax residents.
    – littleadv
    Commented Nov 28, 2014 at 4:59
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Since you're a US citizen - you must pay your taxes to the US regardless of where you live or work. There are certain exclusions available for foreign earned income if you don't physically reside in the US, and potential treaty provisions, but the basic requirement to pay taxes to the US stands regardless of where you live.

In addition, you must probably pay taxes in Italy if that's where you live. Check with a local accountant who's familiar with the Italian-US tax treaty.

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    A US citizen must file a return to the US regardless of where they live but that doesn't necessarily mean that they must pay tax to the US. @Constanza makes it clear that he understands this in his third paragraph.
    – tetranz
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 17:34

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