Second job working from home for an American company - Please help

coconutcurls

saker75 said:

Instead of being an alien employee, would they consider you as a freelancer? That way they pay you as any other supplier and you only deal with HMRC. 

Thanks - that was my thinking and that is what I asked the HMRC adviser. But she brought up me paying tax in the USA too but wasn't sure... I just don't have the whole day to be on the phone talking to numerous advisers who give conflicted advice...this lady was the 3rd one on that day.

I will do some more digging later but the info on the HMRC website didn't give me any real definite answers 

Ditzy_Mitzy

saker75 said:

Instead of being an alien employee, would they consider you as a freelancer? That way they pay you as any other supplier and you only deal with HMRC. 

Almost certainly not, sorry.  The IRS have a specific definition of an 'independent contractor', a freelancer in effect, and the work described by @coconutcurls will fall foul of that.  More here: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-defined

Even if she (?) were able to claim independent contractor status legitimately - which will be almost impossible in a call centre role where fixed hours are required - she would still be required to pay the appropriate self-employment tax in America which would render the whole exercise pointless.  The American system, as I understand it, levies less tax overall but also contains far fewer loopholes and dodges than does ours; it's all black and white with the IRS.  

In regards to the other question, sorry if you got the wrong end of the stick but I wasn't referring to specific agents offering American domiciled jobs.  I was talking about American companies setting up UK arms or transatlantic contracts; analogous to working at McDonald's, really.  

Doshwaster

JGB1955 said:

One of my neighbours works for an American company from 17:00 to 22:00 every evening.  She also has a part-time  day-time job.  Doesn't seem to have had any issues combining the two.  

All depends on how it has been setup. Is she paid by a UK subsidiary of the US company through PAYE or is she a self-employed contractor?

If it's the former then it's no different to any other second job. In the latter then it can get very complex when it comes to taxes, getting time off or if anything goes wrong. 

saker75

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

saker75 said:

Instead of being an alien employee, would they consider you as a freelancer? That way they pay you as any other supplier and you only deal with HMRC. 

Almost certainly not, sorry.  The IRS have a specific definition of an 'independent contractor', a freelancer in effect, and the work described by @coconutcurls will fall foul of that.  More here: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-defined

Even if she (?) were able to claim independent contractor status legitimately - which will be almost impossible in a call centre role where fixed hours are required - she would still be required to pay the appropriate self-employment tax in America which would render the whole exercise pointless.  The American system, as I understand it, levies less tax overall but also contains far fewer loopholes and dodges than does ours; it's all black and white with the IRS.  

In regards to the other question, sorry if you got the wrong end of the stick but I wasn't referring to specific agents offering American domiciled jobs.  I was talking about American companies setting up UK arms or transatlantic contracts; analogous to working at McDonald's, really.  

If OP worked through a UK based umbrella company would that be feasible? Depending on the value of the work of course and whether it made financial sense to do so. 

Ditzy_Mitzy

saker75 said:

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

saker75 said:

Instead of being an alien employee, would they consider you as a freelancer? That way they pay you as any other supplier and you only deal with HMRC. 

Almost certainly not, sorry.  The IRS have a specific definition of an 'independent contractor', a freelancer in effect, and the work described by @coconutcurls will fall foul of that.  More here: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-defined

Even if she (?) were able to claim independent contractor status legitimately - which will be almost impossible in a call centre role where fixed hours are required - she would still be required to pay the appropriate self-employment tax in America which would render the whole exercise pointless.  The American system, as I understand it, levies less tax overall but also contains far fewer loopholes and dodges than does ours; it's all black and white with the IRS.  

In regards to the other question, sorry if you got the wrong end of the stick but I wasn't referring to specific agents offering American domiciled jobs.  I was talking about American companies setting up UK arms or transatlantic contracts; analogous to working at McDonald's, really.  

If OP worked through a UK based umbrella company would that be feasible? Depending on the value of the work of course and whether it made financial sense to do so. 

Absolutely feasible, but then she would just be working for a UK entity anyway as the vast majority do; employees of McDonald's are technically in that position, as are many more.  It would make far better sense to look for a part time work at home job over here, if that is what is desired, and forget about the American angle.  

penners324

Onr thing that's not been mentioned is the potential for FATCA submissions by your bank. A lot of banks will run a mile (ie shut your accounts) in they think there are FATCA implications in you working for a US company