WFH from outside US

New / Eng
hstgshb.

New Eng

PRE
Amazon
hstgshb.
Jul 4, 2020 25 Comments

Twitter and many other companies said that employees can work from home permanently, does this mean that they can be living/working from outside US while employed at the US company?

And continue paying taxes in the US.

For instanceliving in Canada but employed at the US company and wfh in canada

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TOP 25 Comments
  • Sony
    Lirik

    Go to company page Sony

    Lirik
    If they have a legal entity in your country, you would probably technically be employed by them. Otherwise I think you would need to be hired as consultant
    Jul 4, 2020 9
    • New
      fiddlestick

      New

      fiddlestick
      The short answer is no, you can’t do this. Google is your friend if you care about the details of why.
      Jul 4, 2020
    • Rubrik / Eng
      extexe

      Go to company page Rubrik Eng

      extexe
      Companies would be obligated to track your VPN connections to keep their tax records clean. Imagine, you having residence address in Seattle or any other state tax free address, but actually living in California, same thing for this as well.
      Jul 4, 2020
  • Sony
    Lirik

    Go to company page Sony

    Lirik
    Plus if you go OP's route, you would need to make sure you have a work visa or citizenship in the country if you are planning on doing that for a long time
    Jul 4, 2020 3
    • Sony
      Lirik

      Go to company page Sony

      Lirik
      Not in the US... You can't just go live in another country for long periods of time...use Google bro
      Jul 4, 2020
    • New / Eng
      hstgshb.

      New Eng

      PRE
      Amazon
      hstgshb.
      OP
      I have been searching but didn't see what the restrictions are, could you give some light?
      Jul 4, 2020
  • True North Solutions / Eng
    sparkydame

    True North Solutions Eng

    PRE
    Schneider Electric, ABB
    sparkydame
    This is me. Canadian hired for TPM position with Amazon in Seattle. Can't cross the border right, everyone is still WFH anyway, so I've been hired through the Canadian org. Canadian salary, Canadian benefits, WFH in Alberta. Eventually I'll move when it's safe, but now I'll qualify for not just the TN/H1-B but the L-1 (employee transfer). The L-1 is preferable for me as I can then get my partner in on it and get them a work permit (not possible on the TN).
    Jul 4, 2020 2
    • New / Eng
      hstgshb.

      New Eng

      PRE
      Amazon
      hstgshb.
      OP
      Nice, so they hired you through Amazon Canada because when you were hired everyone was wfh. Do you think those who were hired (for Seattle office) before the wfh started are able to go work from Canada (if the border was open) and still keep their status in US and get paid as a US employee and pay taxes to US?
      Jul 4, 2020
    • True North Solutions / Eng
      sparkydame

      True North Solutions Eng

      PRE
      Schneider Electric, ABB
      sparkydame
      I don't think it would be that simple. There's tons of tax implications based on where you have residency (not just citizenship). Ultimately, Amazon wanted me enough to go through the process of hiring me through the Canadian org with the expectation I will move to the US at a later date. They can do this because the company had done it before. Other companies might not be as flexible.
      Jul 4, 2020
  • Scenario 1: Have an LLC in the US.
    This basically means your company is hired by a US company and your company is paid. How your company pays you is between you and your company. Your company needs to pay US taxes and you need to pay taxes where ever you are living.

    Scenario 2: You claim you’re in the US while working from somewhere else
    Assuming you are a US citizen and a Canadian visa holder, you should be able to do this. The reason you need to be a US citizen is because you’ll have issues on h1b. I think your h1b becomes inactive if you’re not in the country for 6 months. There’s nothing illegal about this. You’ll just have to pay taxes both in US and Canada. But you’ll be lying to the US company by saying you’re working in the US. At some point, the lie will be caught and you’ll be let go for breaching some contract.

    Scenario 3:
    The US company does not care where you are and is willing to pay you US pay. Small companies may do this because they don’t want to go thru the headache of handling different country tax policies. But large companies will likely have an office in that country and would rather pay you the local pay.
    Jul 4, 2020 5
    • New / Eng
      hstgshb.

      New Eng

      PRE
      Amazon
      hstgshb.
      OP
      Thank you that makes sense, I don't want to lie just want to find the best possible way to talk my company to allow me spend time with my family outside US while working remotely.
      Jul 4, 2020
    • NVIDIA
      asdlowhdi

      Go to company page NVIDIA

      asdlowhdi
      Thanks for this discussion. What if a big company agrees to #3? Will that be okay? Coming in twice a month perhaps?
      Jul 8, 2020
  • Google
    corpse0

    Go to company page Google

    corpse0
    So what if there are tax restrictions that restrict this? Its not like we can't sleep after telling a harmless little white lie right?
    Sep 12, 2020 0