Reader Questions for moving to America & New York

Emma asks: "Does anyone have any experience in working for an Australian company while living here? Is it allowed? What are the tax implications both here and in Aus? I have work authorization (GC holder) so that isn't an issue I'm just not sure where to start looking for answers!" I had a chat with my friend Jason, at UpTrend (a company that specializes in tax for those from Australia living in the U.S.): First things first, because of the mention of a U.S. Permanent Residency Green Card: As the individual in question has a green card, there are no visa complexities that would come into play if she were without a visa and needing to have sponsorship via the company to work (i.e. the Australian Company provides her with an E-3). As always though, it depends on exactly who is employing you: From a tax perspective, the answer depends on whether the Australian Company has established a subsidiary LLC (i.e. a U.S. facing subsidiary). If so, then they would provide the individual with a W-2 / 1099 as any normal american company would which would then be leveraged on their US tax return. This return will then be leveraged on their Australian return (if they file) for foreign tax credit purposes. What about if they don't have a subsidiary LLC in the U.S.? If they do not have a subsidiary LLC and their presence is only through an Australian company (i.e. purely foreign business activity), then they will likely provide the individual with a payment summary like in Australia. The individual will need to prepare their Australian taxes leveraging this and then prepare their US tax returns after the fact using this. The individual will receive foreign tax credits for tax paid on the Australian return to offset against tax to be paid on their US return in order to avoid double taxation. Did that answer your question or do you have more? Comment below or email questions@americajosh.com! UpTrend is a boutique accounting, business and tax advisory firm passionate about providing expert solutions to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. Their team is comprised of qualified accountants with extensive experience across multiple industries. They also specialize in providing Australian expat tax and financial advice. The scenarios mentioned above are of a general nature and each individidual case may have complexities that make reliance on the scenarios unreasonable. The Reader must not use the information without seeking professional advice. The information is not intended as legal, accounting, financial or tax advice. Uptrend Advisory, related organisations, employees and directors are not liable to you or anyone else for decisions or actions resulting from placing reliance on the information contained in the site.

Reader Questions

Tax Implications: Working for a foreign company