
Ask HN: Structure for Canadian working remote for Bay Area startup? - svCanuck
I (a Canadian in Canada) am currently in discussions with a startup in the San Francisco Bay area that would result in me being their first remote employee. I have read the recent threads about remote work, so this post is more about the contractual logistics of this sort of thing.<p>Does anyone have any experience in this sort of setup being a Canadian remote employee (or contractor) for an American company? Taxes, payroll, CPP&#x2F;EI deductions, benefits, all these things are on my mind. I&#x27;m going to talk to a local accountant soon but thought I&#x27;d check here first. Thanks in advance.
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debunn
Having researched this scenario myself (as a Canadian looking to possibly work
remotely for a US company), I've found the following article helpful (although
the tone may be a little too lighthearted IMO):

[https://medium.com/inside-formstack/working-remotely-for-
an-...](https://medium.com/inside-formstack/working-remotely-for-an-american-
company-as-a-canadian-e96296eea477#.kuip1u6pg)

Unless the US company wants to set up a Canadian corporation / subsiduary, and
issue you a T4 and withhold (and pay half of) your EI and CPP (or pay some an
external company to do it for them), odds are you'll be working as a self-
employed consultant / contractor and sending them invoices for your services.
The one US company I've interviewed with so far said this is the way they
handle paying foreign workers.

A word of caution, you'll want to make sure - for both your sake and your
employer's - that the CRA doesn't view you as an employee if you're claiming
to be a self-employed contractor (penalties would apply.) I'd recommend
reading more about it here (with links to CRA's site in the article), and
discussing this with your accountant before signing an offer:

[http://www.taxtips.ca/personaltax/employees/employeevscontra...](http://www.taxtips.ca/personaltax/employees/employeevscontractor.htm)

I'd also suggest your offer be explicit in matters of control over work,
ownership of tools, and other items that could make the CRA feel you're an
employee versus a contractor.

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svCanuck
Thanks for the links, I appreciate it.

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sfrailsdev
I have experience being a american remote worker for a company that is based
in canada. They have a wholly owned subsidiary managed by trinet
([http://blog.capterra.com/top-zenefits-
competitors/](http://blog.capterra.com/top-zenefits-competitors/)) that
employs me and my fellow SF coworker.

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rvpolyak
Best less hassle way for both parties is to have them run your payroll through
a Canadian payroll company who will do the payroll deductions and issue a T4
year end. Many U.S. Companies do this for their remote employees.

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debunn
It looks like you're right - you can have a Professional Employer Organization
act on behalf of the employer in regards to payroll, HR and other compliance
matters:

[http://www.salesforcesearch.com/bid/147571/How-Does-a-U-S-
Co...](http://www.salesforcesearch.com/bid/147571/How-Does-a-U-S-Company-
Payroll-Their-Canadian-Sales-People)

Just don't try and pay employees without doing the proper paperwork with the
Canadian government (or use a PEO to do it for you):

[http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/services/tax/tax-
tracks/episode-59-...](http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/services/tax/tax-
tracks/episode-59-payroll-issues-for-cross-border-employees-receiving-
incentive-compensation.html)

If an employer only has one or two Canadian employees though, they may want to
go via the self-employed route I mentioned in an earlier reply.

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gesman
You may start as a corp-to-corp consultant or, if full time employment is an
arrangement - get TN visa.

This will allow you to freely be in USA for work or stay in freezing cold
miserable canadian winter if you so desire :)

