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We have this issue, and the answer is "it's complicated". We have some people as FTEs, this is done via a PEO who handles a lot of the overhead for us. This wor

We have this issue, and the answer is "it's complicated". We have some people as FTEs, this is done via a PEO who handles a lot of the overhead for us. This works within the USA. We also have some contractors within the US that we work with directly. We also have staff in other countries, we either pay a US entity they own, or we pay a company as a vendor in that country, and that company takes care of paying the individuals. We also have a few direct international contractors for whom we ensure we're compliant on the US side of things, but they're responsible for everything on their side of the equation. One thing to understand about fully remote is that it can mean a lot of things to HR. For example, if they approve 100% remote, does that mean you're outside of an office? Outside of a city? Outside of a state? Country? Are you nomadic? I can tell you that when I was previously employed by a company where one of my conditions was I want to be 100% remote in another state, the agreement was I was hired in State A, and then my boss didn't enforce butts in seats, and they ignored that I was in State B from their side of the fence, and I paid taxes in State B. It was illegal, and I wouldn't recommend doing this.

periheli0n 5y ago
Yep, I figured that it’s not the best idea to pretend to be working in country A while actually living in country B. Health insurance, social security are the Prime issues. Besides, the company could get rid of me anytime simply by stating that I’m in violation of my contract since I’m not in country A.
ghaff 5y ago
And a number of states are getting much more concerned with collecting any taxes they're owed. Someone was even telling me that their business travel will be audited on an ongoing basis to ensure someone isn't working sufficient days in a different state to require a separate tax filing. In practice, I could almost certainly work from laptop in an adjacent state (on my own dime) for a bit and no one would care but actively misleading about your address of record is not advised.
- bberenberg 5y ago
  This is a good point I forgot to mention. We have to be careful to never let staff from outside of NY enter the state and do any kind of business here or they can hit fairly serious tax issues.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    That seems extreme? I know NY is especially stringent but people do attend conferences and the like. I haven't seen a few days here and there being an issue AFAIK. I think at one point the metric was 14 days but don't even see that currently. I'm pretty sure if someone headed to the Javits for a day had to file a NY tax return that would be pretty much the end of Javits conferences.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
      ...and the wiseguys that run things there, er, 'dere, would not be happy... But kidding aside, I feel that the restriction may be an overreaction. Lawyers and accountants can sometimes overcompensate when it comes to stuff they don't fully understand. I had a friend that wrote a 99-cent iOS app (I don't think he made enough to cover hosting and licensing fees), and his accountant was a bit "over the top." He insisted that my friend could get into serious tax jeopardy over the App Store stuff, and insisted that he pay about a 50% tax. Hearing about it was painful. Sounded like the guy needed "help," but I'm told that otherwise, he was an outstanding accountant.
    - bberenberg 5y ago
      It really depends on the individual, more so than the company. We have one team member who previously lived in NYC, then moved during the pandemic. This has been classified as a "convenience" and requires a continuation of taxes in the state. If they re-enter the state in the new tax year, the state can argue a continuation of this. The point isn't that the state is right, the point is the risk of an audit and overhead of dealing with it is high and we don't want to expose team members to that nightmare.
    - bradknowles 5y ago

periheli0n 5y ago

Yep, I figured that it’s not the best idea to pretend to be working in country A while actually living in country B. Health insurance, social security are the Prime issues. Besides, the company could get rid of me anytime simply by stating that I’m in violation of my contract since I’m not in country A.

ghaff 5y ago

And a number of states are getting much more concerned with collecting any taxes they're owed. Someone was even telling me that their business travel will be audited on an ongoing basis to ensure someone isn't working sufficient days in a different state to require a separate tax filing. In practice, I could almost certainly work from laptop in an adjacent state (on my own dime) for a bit and no one would care but actively misleading about your address of record is not advised.

bberenberg 5y ago
This is a good point I forgot to mention. We have to be careful to never let staff from outside of NY enter the state and do any kind of business here or they can hit fairly serious tax issues.
- ghaff 5y ago
  That seems extreme? I know NY is especially stringent but people do attend conferences and the like. I haven't seen a few days here and there being an issue AFAIK. I think at one point the metric was 14 days but don't even see that currently. I'm pretty sure if someone headed to the Javits for a day had to file a NY tax return that would be pretty much the end of Javits conferences.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
    ...and the wiseguys that run things there, er, 'dere, would not be happy... But kidding aside, I feel that the restriction may be an overreaction. Lawyers and accountants can sometimes overcompensate when it comes to stuff they don't fully understand. I had a friend that wrote a 99-cent iOS app (I don't think he made enough to cover hosting and licensing fees), and his accountant was a bit "over the top." He insisted that my friend could get into serious tax jeopardy over the App Store stuff, and insisted that he pay about a 50% tax. Hearing about it was painful. Sounded like the guy needed "help," but I'm told that otherwise, he was an outstanding accountant.
  - bberenberg 5y ago
    It really depends on the individual, more so than the company. We have one team member who previously lived in NYC, then moved during the pandemic. This has been classified as a "convenience" and requires a continuation of taxes in the state. If they re-enter the state in the new tax year, the state can argue a continuation of this. The point isn't that the state is right, the point is the risk of an audit and overhead of dealing with it is high and we don't want to expose team members to that nightmare.
  - bradknowles 5y ago