I got a job... sort of!
 

Well, my current UK boss didn't rubbish the idea of having a US branch, however, also didn't endorse the idea immediately but will review once a bit of company restructuring has taken place early next year. In the meantime he has confirmed that he will engage me for as long as the business needs me and as long as we both want to continue the arrangement. What we don't have sorted yet is exactly how and this is where I need your help to point me in the right direction. Yes, I've read and Googled including numerous threads on this site which don't fully answer my particular questions. We're not a large company (45) so we don't have fleets of lawyers or accountants, certainly not of the international variety. Obviously once I get into this fully, I will need an accountant with the experience necessary - I found a couple via this site. My company won't help too much - it's either a DIY job or not at all. They want me but not enough to start paying thousands extra in either time or money. As they're green at this, I have an open slate upon which to suggest the "how" of this working. Some of the suggestions below may not be appropriate or even legal, which is where I need guidance. Essentially I'm a software architect in practice if not on paper.

Firstly, unless something goes spectacularly mammary glands vertical at the embassy interview, I'll be a green card holder upon entry to the US, able to work for any employer. I'll be resident in the US.

My first questions are where and how I should be paid. Initial thoughts would be to the UK bank account = easiest route for employer, slightly more hassle for me.

Next, can I opt to be paid tax free in the UK and instead be taxed in the US (California)? Is that a better idea financially? I know about double taxation: it's more about which method results in more money in my wallet!

There was mention of changing my contract slightly so my place of work would be the US but still fully employed by the UK. Same salary, same benefits in general. An alternative would be to pay me by the hour - I understand I ought to up my salary request as I wouldn't then receive holiday or other benefits. Hourly is probably easier for my employer and have to say sounds better for me too.

Next is the possibility of a US entity, owned by myself, LLC or S-Corp probably. This entity would bill the UK company on an hourly or piece rate. This also opens up the possibility of contracting for other (US) employers - one I have wants to give me work but not enough for a full time position, so this might suit him as well.

Finally, a US entity but this time owned by the UK company. I didn't discuss this and I don't know how well it would work. It would have to be minimal fuss for the UK company though. If it affects UK accounts or regulations then it starts to get tricky and he's not interested in going there.

For my purposes, I also want minimal fuss. If any of the options above (or anything not suggested yet) help solve problems such as getting car loans, apartment rentals, health insurance then I'm rather keen to know. I did ask Mr AutoSource about a UK employer but didn't get a definitive answer one way or the other (I don't think he knew), and I'm assuming a lack of US employer may well be an issue elsewhere.

Anyway, at least I have focus on what to do now: just need to finesse the strategy above. Thanks for any help.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

If you are working in the US, you are required to pay US taxes no matter the source of the income or the country of origin. If you are self employed, you will pay self-employment tax instead of FICA which is about 2x the amount of FICA since you would be paying both your share as well as the employers share. If you are self employed, you are not covered for unemployment or workman's compensation benefits since you are not paying those premiums. If you are self employed, the are advantages in that you can write off many expenses against income that are not allowed when employed by an employer.

A LLC or a S corp does nothing for you as far as taxes but only protects you personally from lawsuits.

If you are an employee of a company, that company must withhold and pay taxes that you owe as well as pay their share of taxes for things such as FICA, unemployment insurance premium, workman's compensation premiums, and possibly other state taxes.

If you will still be working for your company and receiving all your benefits, those benefits may or may not be taxable to you depending on how they are setup (US regulations require benefits be setup in a certain way to be tax free). The company would likely need to hire a tax accountant as well as a payroll service to issue you your check to make sure they are in compliance.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Sounds to me that there are 3 issues:

Employee - UK

Employee - US

Consultant

Assuming that your current Employer comes up with the right deal for the later, my guess is that is the one you will go with.

So then the issue is how you want operate, as an individual or with your own company. I know people who do both, something to discuss with a CA CPA. Not a biggie and something that can be set up quickly.

Whether you Employer wishes to set up in the US at some future point, well that would be his call.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Geoff

If you are going to be employed in the US then I would consider using Insperity (administaff). There are 3 of us in the US company and we get big company benefits through using them and payroll is all done via them (including payment).

For example, health insurance is as part of the Inpserity group as opposed to a small company where insurance is hard to come by- which means you don't have to take out your own insurance.

Lots of reasons to use them, but for us health insurance was key.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

I'm unclear as to whether you're referring to a UK company with an employee in the US or a US company. Probably the latter, in which case I'm not sure it's relevant. But thanks anyway.

Thanks, the latter does sound more appropriate.

Let's just say I will not be relying on this happening! This assignment could last 6-12 months and if it doesn't show any signs of starting to happen by 6 months then it probably won't. At least I'll be established in the US by then which should make it easier to look for permanent jobs.

In my 18 months here, I've never heard of this! Thank you, this sounds promising.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

It doesn't matter whether the company is a US or a foreign company and whether the employee is a USC, LPR, or a non immigrant. Both types of companies must follow US tax laws when employing someone in the US. If there were loopholes that allowed foreign companies to be able to treat their US employees differently than US companies to gain an advantage, all US companies would then register themselves as a foreign company to get a better advantage (probably in a Caribbean island where employers and employees aren't taxed or little taxed).

Therefore all companies (whether domestic or foreign) hiring a US employee must pay their fair share of taxes to the US and state governments as well as follow regulations for tax free benefits.

Also when setting up a LLC or S Corporation, you now become an employer as well as an employee of yourself. Since you are an employer, you must pay the employers taxes for your employees (yourself) and you as an employee must pay your share of state and federal taxes.

US federal and state governments tax based on residence of the employee (in which country the employee works) and not on whether the employer is foreign or domestic or which type of company the employee works for. However there can be some advantages and disadvantages as far as taxes and other issues for the company as to whether a LLC, S Corp, or C Corp is setup. Generally the differences are whether the company will have to pay taxes for certain benefits provided to the employee and whether the company is liable for corporate income taxes (C Corp). Generally a C Corp is able to provide more employee tax free benefits as long as plans are setup according to regulations.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Right. I was thinking on avoiding double taxation with the treaties and so I'd pay UK taxes and get it written off (either mostly or wholly) when declaring on the US tax returns. I think I was confused as it seemed you implied I'd still have the pay taxes. Anyway, I'm confusing myself! :confused:

Judging by what people have said in this and older threads, I think I should be looking at becoming self employed and billing the UK company for hours worked via my own US entity. Then, I *think* that means the UK company pay gross (nothing withheld) and then I pay all the taxes you mentioned earlier on pass-through from the US entity. Does this sound right? Hmm, are there any UK taxes on such an arrangement?

I'm also trying to work out what an "equivalent" UK permanent to UK hourly contract conversion should be, to take account of lost benefits. For example, if my yearly salary was £100,000 (I wish) including holiday, sick pay, pension, taxes, then what would my hourly salary be, out of which I'd have to pay pension and taxes, and take unpaid leave? One ready-reckoning was to drop 000 so £100,000 pa would be £100 ph; however, that was US-based.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Sounds reasonable for the US, big variable is Health Insurance costs.

For the UK I would up it a bit.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Since you are working in the US, the US federal and state governments get first dibs on taxes and you are expected to pay taxes to US governments. The double taxation treaties would then mean that you would be required to try to get taxes back from the UK government and not the US government. As an employee in the US, you are required to pay US taxes on earned income.

Normally a break even income between working as a contractor as compared to an employee would typically be between 30%-50% more. In the Silicon Valley, some contractors charge double of the hourly pay of an employee.

You need to consider no paid vacation, no paid holidays, no bonuses, additional self employment taxes, no company provided health insurance, no company provided life insurance, no company provided short and long term disability, loss of tax free 401K savings, no unemployment benefits if laid off, no workman's compensation if injured, and possibly more benefits lost.

On the other side, you can write off a lot of expenses against income that the normal employee cannot write off. Sometimes this can be savings of 10s of thousands of dollars (just ask Poppy Girl).

Also check which type of company to setup (LLC or S Corp) to try to get the most tax free benefits that you pay for yourself. I don't think either is allowed to provide very many tax free benefits like the C Corp. In other words, I suspect that a LLC or S Corp or the employee will need to pay taxes on most benefits (eg. health insurance) and can't be expensed by the LLC or S Corp. I suspect if taxes are paid by the employee, the employee can write health insurance premium costs as a normal deduction but not as a business expense (normal deduction write off has limitations such as only medical expenses above 7.5% of your income can be written off and AMT (Alternate Minimum Tax) can be applied if too many deductions are taken). AMT does not affect business expense deductions.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Considering it's taken me 5 years to get overpaid tax back from HMRC, the less they have to do with my life, the better! And no I don't imagine the IRS is much different.

Taking my salary with that sort of conversion gives the "right" ballpark for my type of job as a contractor in LA so that seems about right.

Thanks.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Damn, they've replied saying they need at least 5 employees... though you have 3? :confused:

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Do you get US benefits with this "job"? Healthcare? Dental? Vacation? Sick/Personal Time? Access to 401K savings plan? Flex Spending Plans?

Why are you not just planning on this "position" as a temp one and look for a US position which will give you benefits.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

No, that's why I'm trying to work out the increase in salary that takes all that into account.

Because I don't have much hope of getting a job without the visa in my hand and I need a back up plan in case even with a visa I struggle for a job. If I do manage to find one then great. The above plan is likely only going to last a few months to a year anyway - at least I have something in place.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

Pay - Get them to use a currency exchange outfit like xe.com and get a fixed contract rate for 12 months or whatever, it will make things predictable...

Tax will be place of residence, so the US...but if you're working as a contractor for a US company, if you set it up that way, you'd be able to deduct more costs than if you were an employee of this company, but you'd need to figure in your tax obligations on top.

As for medical insurance, you can join a tech union, of which there are a few, as well as guilds etc, so you can get in on pooled plans...or at worst, maybe a city business chamber of commerce. Another option would be joining the IGDA, bit of a joke I know, but the one and only benefit is the insurance that you can get through them, which might not be cheap, but it's grouped...handful of states you can't do this though and I don't know about CA.

Re: I got a job... sort of!
 

I've been looking for a couple of hours now, without finding any suitable unions/guilds.

However, I did find these around the area I'm looking. But none offer healthcare (at least not obviously).

Not a joke at all! My home business is games so I may well qualify, and CA isn't excluded in the list. Excellent, thank you.