Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice around working for a US company remotely in the UK. I am in talks with a company of working for them remotely in the UK, however the company is unsure if it is 100% possible due to tax purposes.

I am wondering is there a solution to this or a way of doing it? I am not a US citizen and do not hold any visa that allows me to work in the US.

Thanks

You will need to pay income and payroll (employee's and employer's NI) taxes in the UK, which in practice means one of two things. Either

[1] the US employer has a UK payroll to put you on (or is prepared to pay a contract company, typically an accounting firm, to create and manage a payroll to put you on), or

[2] you work as an independent contractor, paid gross by the US "employer" (including the value of the US employer's payroll taxes), and then you register as self employed in the UK and handle all the income tax and NI yourself.

So long as you are working in the UK your eligibility to work in the US is irrelevant. .... FWIW you will, when VWP/ ESTA visits to the US recommence, be able to visit your US employer to attend meetings, meet clients, give or receive training, etc. but not to "work" while physically in the US.

The fact they are unsure screams small business to me. As such Pulaski's #2 option is probably the most suitable path forward.

Not necessarily. IME most (not all) Americans are either [1] utterly clueless about how other countries work, or [2] assume that everything works in other countries exactly the same way that it does in the US. Both seem to apply irrespective of education, or the size of the organization. .... Oh,and I'm not talking only about taxes!

Its fine you will be 1099 from a US perspective and self employed from a UK perspective, you are paid gross from the US so make sure you gross up to cover your NI and any benefits you want. Also consider who will carry the FX risk, will you be paid in $ or GBP? As others have noted you need to be careful about time in the US, when I was in this situation I came over every few weeks for a day or 2 for meetings with managment and shareholders to the US and then went home to the UK and Ireland to work.

Thank you all for the help! Will update with anymore information once I speak further with the employer.