Melitzilla

Hi all, my husband has been offered a 12 month transfer from London to their NYC office. I have a few questions Im hoping you can help with

We'll looking to move in November with our 3 year old & new born but are unsure of areas that are commuting distance to Midtown and have some green spaces where our 3 year old can tear around!

Are we better off storing our belongings in the UK and renting furniture and electrical goods (as shipping seems to take 2/3 months).

One of the benefits offered with the employers package is health & dental insurance up to the value of $1500 a month to ve claimed via his expenses - does this seem enough for a family of 4?

The employer has also offered $6000 to cover realtor fees - again not sure if this is enough? We're planning to visit in July to meet with a realtor (once weve found one!) and look at some areas

thanks in advance

Noorah101

This doesn't sound right, the part about "to be claimed via his expenses". Does that mean he spends medical and dental out of pocket and the company reimburses him up to $1,500 a month? So you guys would not be covered by the company health insurance?

Rene

Melitzilla

They want us to take out our own medical insurance and reclaim the monthly cost

Noorah101

*** Ouch ***

If that's the case, you'll just have to shop around and see how much individual health & dental will cost in premiums for a family of 4. It won't be cheap. And there will be a deductable, or co-pays, prescription costs, etc.

Rene

SanDiegogirl

..... so the monthly cost is for premiums only I presume? A private scheme (as opposed to a Group (company) scheme) for a family of four could easily come to that. As mentioned on top of premiums there are usually deductibles, and copays, (things you have to pay before your insurance company steps in) so don't expect the premiums to be the only costs for health care.

.... and what happens if any of the family group cannot get insurance?

The issue about pre-conditions and what it will cost people who have pre-conditions but may be mandated to be taken on by the insurance companies has not been fully sorted yet.

With regard the realtor fees, as a buyer you usually don't get charged realtor fees; its the seller who pays for these. However you will get closing costs from the Title company - depending on the complexity of the purchase 6K should be enough.

Lbjen

If you're only going for a year you definitely don't want to buy anything. If its really only for a year you're better off renting somewhere in NYC and really enjoying the city, if your budget stretches to it of course.

Michael

That seems strange since normally companies operating in the US, if they offer benefits, certain benefits have to be offered to all employees or they can't get the tax advantages (a deduction for medical insurance premium paid by the company and no tax due to the employee for to benefit). The company seems to be flirting with federal law. I think health insurance, pensions, life insurance, and several other benefits fall into that category. Other benefits are taxable to the employee.

If he is expensing the health costs to a maximum of $1,500 per month, that may be taxable to the employee since it isn't a business expense but a personal expense.

I don't understand why your family is not placed on their group plan.

Pulaski

Several things don't smell right. Is he going to be put on the US payroll at all, or just paid as per usual through the UK payroll? ..... And if the latter, how are US income and payroll taxes going to be deducted?

Michael

And the employee taxes (workman's comp, unemployment compensation, possibly short term disability, etc.) that the company is supposed to pay to state or federal governments!! A company may be able to get away without paying employment taxes for a few months but if can get iffy after a longer period of time and the employee is the one that normally gets penalized.

penguinsix

Hmm...

The fact they are giving you cash to handle your insurance is an interesting bit that makes me wonder if they are truly (as required) going to switch you to the US payroll or try to keep you on the UK payroll. There are a number of US taxes, such as unemployment, workman's compensation, not to mention city, state and local income taxes that a US company has to pay on behalf of their employees. They may (wrongly) be thinking they can just keep paying you in the UK and everything will be fine.

If you are coming over, you would rather be on a group plan than on a private, individually purchased plan on the open market. Not only will the monthly cost be lower, but there are things like pre-existing conditions and waiting periods that would be waived due to the fact you are coming from a 'credible coverage' situation (NHS).

notonuksoil

I presume you are going to rent as you are only here for 12 months. You will usually be looking at a minimum of one months rent as a bond sometimes more, plus your first months rent paid in advance.
If you find a realtor to work with you to find a rental property be aware that they may try and charge you a finders fee, again this can be the equivalent of one months rent. I'd advise you not to sign an exclusivity agreement with a realtor. If you find homes you like go directly to the listing agent, it may save you a finders fee. This works in the burbs but not in NYC where you have to have a realtor working for you.
We searched for rentals online from the UK in areas we liked to get a feel for what was available before we arrived for our reccie, once here it was a whole different ball game. Good rentals went VERY quickly we had to pay a bond in February for our first house here to secure it and then paid rent from the April but didn't arrive until May.

Pulaski

Given that the seller pays all the realtor's fees on a sale/ purchase it sounds like the employer is offering to pick up the fees connected to a rental. $6,000 might be enough to cover the fees for a rental.

Melitzilla

We'll definetley be renting, My husband will be paid his UK salary in the UK. We'll ask about the insurance. We currently have private insurance here in the UK so are looking into options to transfer that with us.

Anyone recommend some family friendly areas we should be looking at?

penguinsix

Just so you know, this can be a problem.

Your husband is physically working in the United States. As such, he is liable for US taxes on his income, which you probably figured, and his company is required to make not only withholding tax payments but additional taxes for unemployment, workers compensation, etc.

For example, if you are a company in the UK and hire someone and pay £100,000, your actual expenses are £109,000 or something like that, due to the PAYE expenses and other taxes that you owe for having an employee. The same is true in the United States. His company is supposed to be making these payments on his behalf.

Now the rub--if the company doesn't make these payments, guess who gets saddled with them? The employee. He is basically considered 'self employed' and will be required to make these tax payments. So from the £100,000 salary, automatically deduct the £9,000 the company is supposed to be paying from his income.

I suspected this would be the case when they told you he would be 'reimbursed' for health insurance that you purchased. They're trying to avoid their responsibilities and have him work in the US and get paid in the UK and think that would be ok. (Just think of the converse--everyone from around the world wants to work in London, but says they will pay taxes back in their home country rather than the UK because "that's where the paycheck is deposited". Think that would go down well with the voters?).

You may want to consult a US-UK tax accountant on this setup before you accept. The last thing you'd want is to work here and get saddled with a large tax liability simply because your company doesn't want to do the proper withholding and taxes.

notonuksoil

As your kids won't be of school age while you are here you have a little more choice in my opinion as you won't join the frenzy of people looking to live in the areas with the best schools.

Manhattan would be great for a year as you will get to enjoy all it has to offer parks, museums etc on your doorstep but it will more than likely be in an apartment if thats something you would consider.

Looking further afield my area of "expertise" is lower Westchester. Areas such as Scarsdale and Bronxville are very expensive due to the schools but both have boundaries with Yonkers and New Rochelle which are not considered to have good school systems. The houses are considerably cheaper there are some really nice areas in both Yonkers and New Rochelle with an easy commute into the city. Here is a link to a site with a few examples
http://www.randrealty.com/Search/119...onkers/1_A_AD/ if you change the search criteria for the school districts you will see a huge difference in price and availability for the houses in those areas.