
Ask HN: Arrangements for working for US company from EU - ustoeu
I am a EU national, currently living and working in the US, but looking to move back to Europe.<p>One possibility is talking my currently employer into letting me work remotely. I am wondering if other people that are currently working for US companies remotely from the EU have any insights into what kind of legal and fiscal arrangements are necessary for something like this.<p>If I want to spare my employer the hassle, is it possible to be treated as a freelancer even though I would have a single employer? How much would that cost me if so?
Any idea of how onerous would it be for the employer to comply with EU labor regulations?
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mtmail
As employee: In order for the US company to be able to pay their share of your
income tax, health insurance and similar, they need to be a registered
business in Europe. That means opening a subsidiary and thus a managing
directory, budget, budget authority, more tax forms and paperwork. Lots of
hassle.

As a contractor: Here you register as a sole trader (depends on country) and
pay income tax, health insurance etc yourself and send them a single invoice
end of the month. Your contract (might need to translated in two languages
side-by-side) needs to say you're free to take on other clients, you can
subcontract, hire employees etc. They can't tell you how much holiday
entitlement you have. You'll loose other employee privileges like stock
options as well. If employees get bonus payments you won't (otherwise it looks
too fishy to the tax authorities).

Third option is to find a European company which is tax registered and can
make income tax, health insurance payments locally. They'd act on behalf of
your employer. Look for accountancy offices. It will require lots of inquiries
and phone call to find those.

Similarly you make a deal by getting hired by a European employment agency
(web development shop or such) and they deal with all taxes. You get a
standard salary, they send an invoice to your employer.

Actual payments (US bank account => EU bank account) is easily. I'd recommend
negotiating the fees in Euro. But be prepared if it's USD and you face
currency fluctuation.

VAT tax doesn't apply.

Good luck. Key is finding a lawyer specialized in employment law that can
draft a bi-lingual contract. In the first year you might have to file taxes in
both countries.

~~~
ustoeu
Thank you very much for your very thorough reply, a lot of useful information
there.

Had not considered your third option. Do you have any more comments on it? Are
there companies that specialize in this kind of service, or are you suggesting
just trying general accounting firms? Do you know if this company would have
to be in the same EU country as I would be working for? I.e., if the third
party is registered in Germany but I am working from Slovenia for e.g.

~~~
mtmail
I had such an arrangement for/in Germany. Our HR department found the contact.
It needed to be in the same country. Only companies in Germany can pay those
taxes because you need a (state?) tax id and it's too much hassle for any non-
German company to set that up. Plus using a German MS Windows program to even
file taxes, nevermind how many other German forms might have been needed for
them to deal with the health insurance. You can contact me via
[https://geocoder.opencagedata.com/contact](https://geocoder.opencagedata.com/contact)

Best is really to search for an accountant with specialized knowledge on
cross-border income taxation. The big players like Earnest&Young are offering
that service but you're probably a too small case.

