Contracting Overseas - Paid by UK Company

[mrv]

Take it easy, gentlemen, no harm intended. I just heard about one project in Australia that has had pretty high demand for contractors recently, so I thought maybe you were talking about the same thing. As it turns out - probably not.

[DiscoStu]

There are two questions that have to be considered:

1. Where are you tax resident?
2. Where is your company tax resident?

I haven't looked into the Australian rules but I do know that the answer to 2 for another antipodean country is that the company becomes resident in their jurisdiction the moment that the control of the company (i.e. you) becomes resident in their jurisdiction.

It is potentially a trappy situation but one I am sure can be mitigated with the appropriate preparation.

Thanks Gonzo. Decided to use a UK umbrella so I'm assuming 2 won't apply.

Spoke to Abbey Tax and they've said that < 6 months I should be OK for tax residency - any point after that and I should see an Australian tax specialist.

Think this could be a bit of a minefield if the contract comes off...

[Gonzo]

So my first question is, can I invoice through a UK Ltd / Umbrella or do I need to start getting involved with the Australian tax system and invoice through an Australian company?

There are two questions that have to be considered:

1. Where are you tax resident?
2. Where is your company tax resident?

I haven't looked into the Australian rules but I do know that the answer to 2 for another antipodean country is that the company becomes resident in their jurisdiction the moment that the control of the company (i.e. you) becomes resident in their jurisdiction.

It is potentially a trappy situation but one I am sure can be mitigated with the appropriate preparation.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Does a word "traffie" mean anything to anyone in this thread?

No Care to enlighten us?

[DiscoStu]

Does a word "traffie" mean anything to anyone in this thread?

Thank you for this most helpful contribution

[mrv]

Does a word "traffie" mean anything to anyone in this thread?

[ASB]

Chaps / Chapesses

First, for the benefit of NLUK, I've searched and read a lot and I'm still utterly confused I'm leaning towards speaking to an Australian account to try and clarify my position but I'm hoping someone could clue me in beforehand.

I may have the chance to do 6 months in Oz at some point in the near future, however the client company will be based in the UK.

So my first question is, can I invoice through a UK Ltd / Umbrella or do I need to start getting involved with the Australian tax system and invoice through an Australian company?

What I did in this situation was:-

a) Invoice the UK company which was where my direct contract was. The aus outfit was part of the same multinational
b) Aussies rented my apartment.
c) Aussies gave me a car
d) Aussies gave me 50$ a day. I opened a bank account at a local bank and it was transferred into there
e) Pretended any potential tax problems din't exist and if they did would eventually get sorted out somehow with a.

My visa was a business visa valid for a year, I stayed 9 months.

Was I in full compliance with Aus rules ?? I believe so until month 7.
Did I care ? No.

[Rob79]

You could use an umbrella company in this situation; if the contract extended beyond the six months you may need to reconsider as, beyond this point, you may become liable for local taxes

Agreed.

Most OECD territories have a 6 month rule meaning that once you are working in the country for longer than that you will be liable for local tax.

On the basis that you have to be "on site" to do your work there, if you plan on staying longer then you will need to investigate setting up a local company.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

You could use an umbrella company in this situation; if the contract extended beyond the six months you may need to reconsider as, beyond this point, you may become liable for local taxes

[mudskipper]

IIRC, our Aussie pal who got banned said that you can't work through a ltd in Oz - you have to go with an umbrellaish setup.

[northernladuk]

This man is cut out!

[DiscoStu]

Thinking about it, despite my permie-dom I've still kept the PCG membership, think I'll give them a call in the morning.

[northernladuk]

Chaps / Chapesses

First, for the benefit of NLUK, I've searched and read a lot...

You da man!

[DiscoStu]

Chaps / Chapesses

First, for the benefit of NLUK, I've searched and read a lot and I'm still utterly confused I'm leaning towards speaking to an Australian account to try and clarify my position but I'm hoping someone could clue me in beforehand.

I may have the chance to do 6 months in Oz at some point in the near future, however the client company will be based in the UK.

So my first question is, can I invoice through a UK Ltd / Umbrella or do I need to start getting involved with the Australian tax system and invoice through an Australian company?