Sandra2020

3 questions, please help:

1. Does a US citizen need a UK visa to work remotely from the US for a UK company?
2. Does a US citizen need a UK visa, to do work for a UK company whilst living and working in the US and on a US contract?
3. Can a US citizen have a contract with a US subsidiary and do work for a UK company?

I guess the last two questions are basically the same. I want to know if a US citizen is able to do work or work for a UK company from the UK and if they would require any visa from the UK?
Thank you

Pulaski

1. No
2. No
3. No

What anyone does, for work or otherwise, while located in the US has no relevance whatsoever, in any respect to the British government even if you are accessing documents, applications or systems housed in the UK. Remember a visa is a travel document and if you are not travelling to the UK then not only do you not "need" a visa, there is no visa for you to apply for. You can also easily (when air travel is normalized post Covid19) travel to the UK for business purposes - internal or client meetings, giving or receiving training, etc.

In fact your questions strike at the very heart of "off-shoring" of work from western industrialized countries, to countries in Asia and Latin America - an employer in the US, UK, Western Europe etc. can contract directly or indirectly with workers in other countries and have absolutely no issues with visas and work permits, none whatsoever!

Sandra2020

Thank you so much Pulaski - I really appreciate your prompt response.
So even on a UK contract, a US citizen working in the US does not require a visa as it's for travel - got it!
I guess the next question is, would the US citizen working in the US on a UK contract have to pay UK taxes?

I think the easiest and cleanest way is to have the US citizen working in the US doing work for the UK company on a US contract from a US subsidiary.... right?

Pulaski

I just realized my answer to your original Q3 should have been "Yes"
You're welcome.
You are liable for income taxes where you are personally located, geographically speaking, when you are actually doing the work. That is certainly true for income taxes in both the US and UK, so if you are in the US while working you will be liable for US income taxes (federal, and when applicable state and city income taxes too), irrespective of who your employer is, where they are located and whether you are contracted directly, or through a subsidiary or agent, and also irrepective of where the account is located that you receive your pay. .... The US and UK (and most contries) tax you based on where you are located, not where your pay is received.

This does confuse some unsophisiticated employers if they try to put a non-resident on their payroll, as all payroll software forces deduction of local income and payroll taxes. The only way to do this is make the non-resident "employee" a contractor, and pay them gross (no taxes deducted) and they would be "self employed" in the country where they live and work.
Right, that would be easiest.

Sandra2020

Thank you thank you thank you!

You have been most helpful!

Pulaski

You are very welcome.

BTW if you go down the route of being a contractor and paid gross, you should request that "gross" the UK company paays you includes adding in the employer's payroll taxes (called "employer's NI contribution" in the UK) as you will have to pay the US equivalent from your gross pay received.