BASIC COUNTRY FACTS

Full Name

American Samoa

Capital

Pago Pago

Main Languages

• Samoan
• English

Population

55,465

Monetary Unit

United States Dollar

Internet Domain

.as

International dialing code

+684

Currency

United States Dollar

STATUTORY LABOR REQUIREMENTS

Probation Period

• A 90-day probationary period is standard

Annual Leave

• Employees with less than three years of creditable service earn four (4) hours or one-half work day of annual leave for each bi-weekly pay period.
• Employees with three but less than 15 years of creditable service earn six hours or three-fourths work day of annual except for the last full pay period of the year for which they earn then hours of annual leave.

Public Holidays

1. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (20^th January)
2. Washington's Birthday (17^th February)
3. Good Friday (10^th April)
4. American Samoa Flag Day (17^th April)
5. Independence Day (3^rd July)
6. Labor Day (7^th September)
7. Columbus Day (12^th October)

Maternity Leave

• Mothers are entitled to 30 days of paid maternity leave

Sick Leave

• Employees earn sick leave at the rate of four-hour or one-half workday for each full-bi-weekly pay period sick leave is earned from the first pay period of employment. 
• There is no qualifying period for the earning of sick leave.

Work Hours

• A typical day at work consists of either 12-15 hours of work.

Overtime

• The federal overtime provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 
• Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. 
• There is no limit in the Act on the number of hours’ employees aged 16 and older may work in any workweek. 
• The Act does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime is worked on such days.

13th Month Salary in Brazil

• No
• There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or 14th month salary.
• However, employees may decide to award an end of year bonus akin to the 13th month salary.
• There is no entitlement to annual leave instead it is seen as a privilege. The leave can be accrued but may not exceed 60 days.

INCOME TAX

• There is no requirement in U.S. law that PR and AS use a mirror code.
• Thus, these two territories may enact their own income tax laws, subject to any requirements in U.S. law (e.g., any such tax laws must comply with the U.S. Constitution).
• AS, meanwhile, has chosen to adopt a modified version of the IRC as its territorial income tax laws. 
• The current version of AS’s local tax code is the version of the IRC that was in effect on December 31, 2000, with some modifications
• As in other U.S. territories, the U.S. federal government imposes payroll taxes and the equivalent self-employment tax on income from work in American Samoa, but not the federal income tax on income generated in American Samoa by its residents (except from work as U.S. government employees).
• Instead, the government of American Samoa itself taxes the worldwide income of its residents, as well as the income generated there by nonresidents, largely under the same rules and rates as the U.S. tax code in effect in 2000, with certain modifications such as a minimum tax rate of 4% and an additional wage tax of 2%.
• The taxation rate in this territory averages around 27 percent on all sources of income, including wages, salaries, and self-employment.

SOCIAL SECURITY

• Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), social security tax is imposed on wages or salaries received by individual employees to fund retirement benefits paid by the federal government. 
• The following two taxes are imposed under FICA: 
  • Old-age, survivors and disability insurance (OASDI) 
  • Hospital insurance (Medicare) 

• For 2019, the OASDI tax is imposed on the first USD132,900 at a rate of 6.2% on the employee and 6.2% on the employer. 

• Medicare tax is imposed, without limit, at a rate of 1.45% on the employee and 1.45% on the employer. 
• In addition, higher income employees (but not their employers) pay an extra 0.9% Medicare tax.
• The income threshold varies by tax return filing status. Married couples filing jointly pay the extra tax on their combined wages in excess of USD250,000, single taxpayers and heads of households on wages exceeding USD200,000, and married taxpayers filing separately on wages exceeding USD125,000. 
• Self-employment income (see below) is added to the amount of wages when determining the threshold. 
• FICA tax is imposed on compensation for services performed in the United States, regardless of the citizenship or residence of the employee or employer. 
• Consequently, absent an exception, nonresident alien employees who perform services in the United States are subject to FICA tax, even though they may be exempt from US income tax under a statutory rule or an income tax treaty. 
• Certain categories of individuals are exempt from FICA tax, including foreign government employees, exchange visitors in the United States under J visas, foreign students holding F, M or Q visas, and individuals covered under social security totalization agreements between the United States and other countries. 
• These agreements allow qualifying individuals to continue paying into the social security system of their home countries, usually for a period of five years.

Contribution	Employer	Employee
OASDI	6.2%	6.2%
Medicare	1.45%	1.45%

IMMIGRATION

• US citizens and US nationals do not require a visa and may enter and leave American Samoa freely, but they do need a passport
• Nationals from Australia, Canada, UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden are issued with a 30-day entry permit on arrival
• All other nationals intending to visit American Samoa for business or holiday are required to apply for an entry visa
• All visitors to American Samoa require a passport valid for six months, a return ticket or onward ticket, and enough funds to support their stay.

Type of Visa/Permit	Documentation	Validity	Eligibility
Entry Visa	Valid passport A return ticket Proof of sufficient funds	30 days	Foreign nationals from nonexempt countries must obtain an entry visa to visit American Samoa

STATUTORY BENEFITS

• These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
• These include public holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, overtime pay
• Statutory benefits also include social security benefits

Statutory Benefits

Public Holidays

Maternity Leave

Sick Leave

Overtime Pay

Social Security Benefits

PAYMENTS AND INVOICING

• Individuals must file income tax returns on form 390 before April 15^th 
• Filing after this date may lead to interest and penalties
• Joint returns cannot be filed
• If you are not a bona fide resident of American Samoa and a nonresident alien, then you must file an American Samoa income tax return reporting income that is only from American Samoa.
• You must also file a U.S. tax return using Form 1040NR.