Freelancing remotely for a US company 25 April 2022 at 12:41PM in Employment, jobseeking & training 5 replies 183 views

shoe_dog

Hi, i've been freelancing (sole trader) as a web developer in the UK for a number of years. Recently i've been approached by a few web design studios in the US asking if i'm available to work on projects remotely from my home studio in the UK. 

Are there any legal or tax complications that might stop me from doing this?

Grumpy_chap

shoe_dog said:

Hi, i've been freelancing (sole trader) as a web developer in the UK for a number of years. Recently i've been approached by a few web design studios in the US asking if i'm available to work on projects remotely from my home studio in the UK. 

Are there any legal or tax complications that might stop me from doing this?

Do you work via Ltd Co or sole-trader?

shoe_dog

Grumpy_chap said:

Do you work via Ltd Co or sole-trader?

Sole-trader

TBagpuss

I think you would want to write into your contracts with them that English, rather than US law, applies to the contract .It's pretty common for any international contract to specify which countries law applies to any dispute, and if you don't then you would need to check out the relevant laws in the US and the specific State in which the contract was to be implemented 
I'd speak to your accountant to check whether there are any tax implications . 

Under UK law I believe that you would declare you income in the usual way on your tax return and the fact that it is from the US would not alter your tax position here. I don't think as a non-US citizen living outside the US that you would incur any tax in the USA but it would be sensible to double check 

Savvy_Sue

US tax can be a nightmare, but there's no shortage of people who've been there, done that, and can help with the forms to be completed. I think you may have to do returns, even if it's clear no tax is due. Definitely worth talking to an accountant with an interest in this area.

Sandtree

shoe_dog said:

Hi, i've been freelancing (sole trader) as a web developer in the UK for a number of years. Recently i've been approached by a few web design studios in the US asking if i'm available to work on projects remotely from my home studio in the UK. 

Are there any legal or tax complications that might stop me from doing this?

There shouldn't be given you are resident and domiciled in the UK.

Obvious considerations:

1) What currency is your payment going to be in? If is USD then you are at risk (positive and negative) of FX movements
2) How are they going to pay you? - your bank may charge fees for international receipts
3) What legal jurisdiction will cover the contract? If the relevant state for them then debt collection etc may well be much more difficult etc
4) Have you informed your insurers that your client will be US based? Expect a large increase in premiums if you haven't