The rules under which individuals are taxed impact both tax withholding and tax statement reporting. Railroad retirement annuitants are taxed under United States citizen rules or under nonresident alien rules.
For Federal income tax purposes, the "United States" consists of the 50 States and Washington, D.C.
An "unknown individual" is someone who has not provided the RRB with citizenship and residence information.
- Taxed as United States (U.S.) Citizens
Individuals taxed as U.S. citizens are:
- Known citizens of the United States, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or American Samoa, or
- Unknown individuals physically residing in the United States, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Note - Most annuitants taxed as U.S. citizens are unknown individuals physically residing in the United States.
Any such individual who plans a change of address outside the 50 States, Washington D.C., or Guam, should file Form RRB 1001, Nonresident Questionnaire, before making the address change. Failure to establish citizenship and residence information will result in assumed nonresident alien taxes being with-held from the individual's railroad retirement annuity payments.
- Taxed as Nonresident Aliens (NRAs) of the United States
Individuals taxed as NRAs of the United States are:
- Known citizens of countries other than the United States, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or American Samoa who are also known to be bona fide residents of countries other than the United States, Guam, or the Common-wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or
- Unknown individuals residing outside the United States, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.