Us Expat Working Remotely For Us Company - Tax Help

[veritas238]

what am I missing here. you are not a resident of argentina and do not have an argentine passport. dual residency.you are receiving money into your US bank account. your company is going to claim your payment through a 1099 or w2 form as cost of doing business. you are trying to avert the immigration laws in argentina. the IRS will know you are receiving money though your social security number associated with your account. you will pay taxes and you will die at some point. if you magically find a solution to your problem, post it. I have a lot of friends working abroad that don't have a charitable religious foundation receiving money in the united states. learning to live abroad is a gift. go experience it. also use the history of this site to read up. bajo zero can help when you have immigration problems. again, good luck

Hi Jbeaste176,

I think the thing you may be missing, and maybe i was not clear enough, is that I would not have to pay any US income tax if I am in the US less than 30 days per year and make less than 100K USD per year. With that knowledge, I was wondering if there is anyone else in Argentina that earns a US salary that maybe is on a tourist visa, or if anyone has overstayed their tourist visa and how difficult it is to get an apartment with a tourist visa, even if I can rent from someone with a US bank account and transfer money into their account.

 

[steveinbsas]

I think the thing you may be missing, and maybe i was not clear enough, is that I would not have to pay any US income tax if I am in the US less than 30 days per year and make less than 100K USD per year. With that knowledge, I was wondering if there is anyone else in Argentina that earns a US salary that maybe is on a tourist visa, or if anyone has overstayed their tourist visa and how difficult it is to get an apartment with a tourist visa, even if I can rent from someone with a US bank account and transfer money into their account.

What you want to do, "[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]avoid paying US income tax and Argentinian income tax" may not (legally) be possible.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Just living and working outside the USA more than 330 days of the year does not make you eligible for the foreign income exemption.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]You have to have a "tax home" somewhere.[/background]


Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - Requirements

To claim the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign housing exclusion, or the foreign housing deduction, you must have foreign earned income, your tax home must be in a foreign country, and you must be one of the following:

• A U.S. citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year,
• A U.S. resident alien who is a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect and who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or
• A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.

If your "tax home" is not in Argentina you may not qualify for the exemption. If you don't have temporary residency in Argentina and are not paying taxes in Argentina you may not be able to claim Argentina as your tax home.

It is also possible (and is highly probable) that the money you are being paid in the USA, (deposited directly into your US bank account) would not be considered "foreign earned income" by the IRS, especially If your employer is reporting your income to the IRS and contributing half of your FICA,

You can get an apartment with a tourist visa but the term of the rental agreement cannot (legally) exceed six months. The "only" way you could get a long term (two year) lease for an unfurnished apartment through an Argentine friend is if they had a property they could use to guarantee the rent. Many landlords only accept properties that are owned by a family member (aka close relative) of the person whose name is on the lease. It is doubtful that subletting the apartment to you would be acceptable to the landlord.

Even if you can find someone who owns an apartment in BA and also has a US bank account in which you could deposit the rent, they would be responsible for paying the taxes on the rental income in at least one of the countries

Making "visa runs" every 90 days does not make you "legit" in the eyes of migraciones and living in Argentina while working for a US company and being paid in the USA does not make you eligible for temporary residency in any category. One alternative is to apply for Argentine citizenship, but then you would be required to pay income tax in Argentina.

In that case you would qualify for the foreign income tax exemption, but you would still be required to pay the FICA on your income.

I have no info about the religious visa and would be interested in knowing more about it, especially what kind of information migraciones would ask for regarding foreign income and/or the scope of the religious activities (if any) that are required in order to obtain the visa.

PS: The two year "residency" requirement for citizenship would have begun the first day you ever set foot on Argentina soil, so if you have previously visited Argentina, the clock will have already started ticking.



Here is some "useful" information about what is considered a tax home:


Tax Home

Your tax home is the general area of your main place of business, employment, or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home. Your tax home is the place where you are permanently or indefinitely engaged to work as an employee or self-employed individual. Having a "tax home" in a given location does not necessarily mean that the given location is your residence or domicile for tax purposes.
If you do not have a regular or main place of business because of the nature of your work, your tax home may be the place where you regularly live. If you have neither a regular or main place of business nor a place where you regularly live, you are considered an itinerant and your tax home is wherever you work.



Example 2 includes detailed info that would be relevant in whether or not an individual has a tax home in a foreign country:

For several years, you were a marketing executive with a producer of machine tools in Toledo, Ohio. In November of last year your employer transferred you to London, England, for a minimum of 18 months to set up a sales operation for Europe. Before you left, you distributed business cards showing your business and home addresses in London. You kept ownership of your home in Toledo but rented it to another family. You placed your car in storage. In November of last year, you moved your spouse, children, furniture, and family pets to a home your employer rented for you in London.
Shortly after moving, you leased a car, and you and your spouse got British driving licenses. Your entire family got library cards for the local public library. You and your spouse opened bank accounts with a London bank and secured consumer credit. You joined a local business league, and both you and your spouse became active in the neighborhood civic association and worked with a local charity. Your abode is in London for the time you live there, and you satisfy the tax home test in the foreign country.



https://www.irs.gov/...foreign-country

The example provided does not say anything about paying taxes in a foreign country. Perhaps that is because it assumes the the person living and working in London would be paying taxes in the UK.

If you do not have temporary residency in Argentina (just the tourist visa) you will not be able to open a bank account and if you rent an apartment in a friend's name I don't see how you would be able to claim Argentina as your tax home. Even if you are living outside of the USA more than 330 days of the year, if your employer is paying you in the USA the IRS might not consider you salary as "foreign earned income. " If that's the case, you wouldn't qualify for the exemption.










[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)].[/background]

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

EXACTLY as Steveinbsas wrote.

IF IF IF you live in a foreign country (not counting Cuba or any other travel-restricted zone) you have two options for reducing your US income tax. 1) The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion which in 2016 was U$100,400 and 2) Foreign Tax Credit which reduces your US tax obligation for the monies you paid in income tax to a foreign country or US territorial possession. Note: The foreign tax credit is pretty complicated. The most simple way is the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

However, you need a tax home somewhere. If you claim Argentina as your tax home you need to demonstrate it by either the Bonafide Residence Test or the Physical Presence Test. Also, they ask you if you are required to pay foreign taxes and what type of Visa you have.

It is hard to have your IRS cake and eat it, too. Not to mention that you can't legally work in Argentina on a Tourist Visa. They consider living here as a Resident and using public services without paying for them as stealing. Go figure.

 

[Pensador]

To the OP get a tax lawyer in the US that knows expat law there is a lot of confusion in this thread I am not going into I know what the deal is but it is just better to deal with professionals that know and are educated in these things. I am not one of them I pay others to deal with these things.

 

[domthegreat]

• A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.

Sounds like to meet that requirement you need only be outside the country for more than 330 full days. NO where does this phrase say anything about your residency status abroad or even if you need to be in one place for XX days...as long as you are outside the US for the minimum of 330 days in a "foreign country or COUNTRIES" you meet that requirement. I don't know where all this residency stuff is coming into play from everyone else's comments...

But even if you do get out of the income tax you still need to pay self employment tax which is not reduced by the foreign earned income exclusion.

As with everything tax related you are the one who has the burden to prove it if you get audited...so you best consult a pro. PM your email and I will recommend a firm the specializes in Argentina/USA tax prep for expats. they know their stuff.

 

[Pensador]

• A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.

Sounds like to meet that requirement you need only be outside the country for more than 330 full days. NO where does this phrase say anything about your residency status abroad or even if you need to be in one place for XX days...as long as you are outside the US for the minimum of 330 days in a "foreign country or COUNTRIES" you meet that requirement. I don't know where all this residency stuff is coming into play from everyone else's comments...

But even if you do get out of the income tax you still need to pay self employment tax which is not reduced by the foreign earned income exclusion.

As with everything tax related you are the one who has the burden to prove it if you get audited...so you best consult a pro. PM your email and I will recommend a firm the specializes in Argentina/USA tax prep for expats. they know their stuff.

Bingo!

 

[jbeas176]

vertias. I have an idea for you. form an LLC in the US. receive your money from the company thru a 1099 employee position. deduct your travel and living expenses thru he LLC. residency will not matter as far a the IRS is concerned. residency is a problem by both countries when paying taxes, if legal. steve and gs are spot on.

 

[Pensador]

As a US citizen your tax home is the US you can bounce around to as many countries as you like working and earning income physical presence is a way out. A loop hole but I am a resident in Uruguay and they do not tax international income and expats get a 5 year no income tax benefit. After that things change but I have not made a dime in Uruguay and plan to keep it that way. I still get the credit. But damn the lawyers are expensive and what ever you do.. do not have off shore bank accounts big red flag and do not own businesses unless you have big bucks that opens the door to endless audits. We Americans are slaves to 9 digits and expats are taxation without representation. American expats are the most abused expats on the planet no doubt about it.

 

[Girino]

vertias. I have an idea for you. form an LLC in the US. receive your money from the company thru a 1099 employee position. deduct your travel and living expenses thru he LLC. residency will not matter as far a the IRS is concerned. residency is a problem by both countries when paying taxes, if legal. steve and gs are spot on.

Do you think the IRS is not on the lookout for self-employed freelancers that "mask" themselves as LLCs to avoid paying self-employment tax?

 

[veritas238]

Thanks everyone for all of the input. I would not be physically present in the US for more than 30 days per year, so I feel that I would meet the requirements to claim the Foreign Earned Income Tax credit. It appears my best option would not be to try and live in Argentina for 5 years on a tourist visa, even though I could probably avoid paying Argentine income tax, but possibly stiff have to pay US income tax regardless of claiming the foreign earned income tax credit or not.

If I became an Argentine resident, then I understand that I would have to pay taxes to the argentine government on my US earned income, and be able to avoid paying tax on my US earned income..... but would I have to supply them with copies of my US tax return, or some sort of income statement, or how do they (and myself) know how much I would owe them since taxes would not be directly deducted from my employer?