IT Contract in Germany, work based mostly out of home in UK

[jamesbrown]

For the record (yet again), I have repeatedly stated on these forums that when I worked abroad I found a local accountant who was able to advise me.

It's revealing that you place so much trust in the advice of your Belgian accountant when there's a number of us here that can evidence completely contradictory advice solicited under exactly the same circumstances! Bottom line, you know you're right, end of story. Something doesn't compute with your posts, given that the central argument others are making is to solicit qualified advice from someone experienced in international taxation (and you are basing your opinions on the same advice, only from a local accountant).

[Boo]

It's revealing that you place so much trust in the advice of your Belgian accountant when there's a number of us here that can evidence completely contradictory advice solicited under exactly the same circumstances! Bottom line, you know you're right, end of story. Something doesn't compute with your posts, given that the central argument others are making is to solicit qualified advice from someone experienced in international taxation (and you are basing your opinions on the same advice, only from a local accountant).

I haven't seen such contradictory advice. And I would think a Belgian accountant would know the law that pertains to working in Belgium, no ? He was very quick to say that a Belgian Ltd Co (equivalent) needed at least 2 directors, which knocked it out of court for me.

And I base my beliefs on an actual reading of the actuial law that pertains in Belgium, which I posted myself on these forums a while back, not just on the professional advice I received.

My recommendation here has always been that people here should solicit the advice of a local accountant, what possible advantage could there be for me in saying to other people that they can work under the 183 day rule ?

It is yours, and others, continual posting of incorrect "facts" that arouse suspicions : there are very many posters here who make their living selling services to genuine contractors. Some of them are harmless or even useful, like accountants etc but others are agents, umbrellas, or worse, management companies. The corrupt practices of such firms are well documented on these forums and it is a rational supposition that someone who posts in support of those positions may in some way be influenced by them.

So tell us James, do you work in recruitment, for an umbrella or management company or the like ? Or do you actually write software for a living, via a one-man-band Ltd Company, like us PBI ?

Boo

[jamesbrown]

My recommendation here has always been that people here should solicit the advice of a local accountant

Great, so I'm sure your advice will extend to soliciting input from a local, cross-border, tax expert. You know, since, as many accountants will freely admit, they are not experts in international taxation. Glad we've cleared that up.

BTW, when you "contracted" in Belgium, were you contracting as a local accountant?

[Boo]

BTW, when you "contracted" in Belgium, were you contracting as a local accountant?

Actually, James, I think I asked first ? But since you are curious to know, no, I have never contracted as anything other than a Software Engineer, and in fact that is all I have done for the last 10 years.

But you did not answer my question : do you work in recruitment, for an umbrella or management company or the like ? Or do you actually write software for a living, via a one-man-band Ltd Company, like us PBI ?

Your reticence does not inspire confidence, to say the least...

Boo

[doodab]

Although the 183 day rule will apply to an employee of a ltd there is no guarantee that the ltd itself will not be liable for local taxes e.g. corporation and trade tax etc. This is very much a grey area at the mercy of individual tax treaties and depends on a lot of factors such as whether you have a 'permanent establishment' and so on.

Something to bear in mind is that after 183 days an employee will be liable for taxes, if you have been invoicing through the ltd that means you may have to run a foreign payroll system and at that point your company will almost certainly be deemed tax resident for everything else. This can get complex and expensive as most places don't have a 1 man ltd culture with an ecosystem of cheap specialised service providers, so if you expect, or even if there is a chance, of going over you are better off going native from day 1.

OTOH I have done short (matter of weeks) contracts with some on site work through the ltd in france and denmark with no issues. For that sort of thing it's fine.

[Brussels Slumdog]

International Tax Agreements verses EU Rules

I am not too sure as stated by BOO that EU rules override individual double taxation agreements.
Individuals pay Income tax where it is earned. In the case of Belgium you also need to prove that you were physically present in the other country in order to claim taxation relief. In the past Belgians were paying tax in Luxembourg and offsetting it against their Belgian tax without actually working in Luxembourg.
Companies pay tax where they are controlled so its a grey area. My stategy would be to bill the agency with your Ltd company and ask a German accountant whether you should declare your German days as german taxable income. You most likely wont earn more than the basic personal allowance.