An American Remote Worker in Katowice
October 4, 2015 8:07 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking for advice and more questions about working an American job remotely while living in Poland.

My US employer (headquartered in Massachusetts, but I technically work at a corporation they acquired, which is in Texas, and am myself currently in Texas) has recently expressed an interest in allowing me to work remotely, meaning that I would no longer need to live in Texas, which is not my home. In the short term, I'll be moving closer to my family in Michigan, but I want to explore the possibility of living and working in Poland, where my wife is from, and need advice on how to proceed in pursuing that.

My understanding of the tax law is that I will need to pay Polish taxes out of the income I earn while living there. The American government will want their cut as well, but I can offset that by claiming an "exclusion" of up to around $100,000, pro-rated for the amount of time I'm actually abroad. Since I make way, way less than that, it seems like I can just exclude all of my income from American taxes, and just pay the Polish ones. I understand that I will need to consult a lawyer or tax professional on this, but my question for MeFi is: which one? A lawyer or a tax preprarer? An American one or a Polish one?

The other big question is: What does my employer need to do? I presently work under the usual American-working-in-America arrangement where HR withholds some money from my paycheck and then I settle up the difference by filing with the IRS in April, either cutting them a check if I underpaid, or getting a refund if I overpaid. Do I need to get HR to withhold my Polish taxes for me, or can I just tell them to stop, and handle paying them in Poland myself?

If I'm working physically in Poland, does that mean my employer will need to honor all of the Polish labor regulations, including things like vacation time, scheduling, overtime, etc? If so, they probably won't go for it.

The other question, in case anybody happens to be familiar with Polish immigration law (I realize this is a slim chance) is how I get permission to work from Poland. I am married to a Polish citizen (we were married in Michigan, but we have properly registered it in Poland, changed her name in her passport, etc), so I can't imagine it will be difficult, but what do I need to do? Do I need to get a visa from the consulate here before I leave? Can I go on my 90-days-visa-free-because-I'm-American, then apply for work permission at some office? Will the EU customs guys know all of this stuff if I enter somewhere other than Poland (probably Frankfurt, based on past experience)?

In short, I know I can't get legal advice from MeFi, but I'm hoping I can at least get some general advice on where to start this daunting project. I'm willing to do whatever in terms of filing paperwork, etc, but I want to know what I actually need from my employer's side. Would this be easier if I had them reclassify me as some kind of contractor or consultant?
posted by LiteOpera to Work & Money (2 answers total)
 
Be careful on all fronts.

I am not a tax preparer. I am not a lawyer. I have however lived abroad for close to 20 years in 3 different countries so have some experience with all of this. I have never lived in Poland, so my knowledge is general and may not apply in all parts.

1.
You need to talk to someone *first* who has experience with taxes for US citizens abroad, and ideally someone who has experience in Poland as well. You need to make sure you qualify for the exemption if your employer is in the US and you are being paid with dollars from the US. I am not sure they would find Poland to be your tax home in those circumstances. This would be a tax advisor/preparer, IMO, and not a lawyer. The American Citizens Abroad organization can probably point you to good resources.

Really do get help-- at least the first time you do it-- the taxes aren't the hard/bad part. FBAR and FATCA reporting are the hard/bad parts. You need to get that right even if you don't owe taxes.

2.
If your tax home will be Poland and you will be considered an employee in Poland, then it is very likely your employer will need to adhere to Polish law. This and your other question about immigration are things you should take to a lawyer. They can also tell you if it would be better for you to start your own business as a consultant and work for your old company in that way. That will get you out of some issues, but may get you into others. For instance, a friend of mine did something similar in NL, but then Dutch law did not recognize you as being a one man company unless you had more than one client. You need to consult an immigration lawyer-- probably one in Poland-- for these and and all other similar issues.

3.
Be aware that in much of Europe these days, entering on a tourist visa and then applying for residency is seriously frowned upon. In the past, it used to be quite normal, but in many countries it is now an excellent way to get kicked out. So check this with a lawyer, and don't listen/trust all the people who said they did it that way. They may well have done so, but I know that at least western Europe has really changed their view on the process in the last 5 years. Once you have residency, then entering other EU areas should not be an issue since you will have a residency card or stamp in your passport. But an immigration lawyer can answer all of this.

4.
Don't be too discouraged, because it's definitely do-able, and living in Europe was one of the best decisions I made as a stupid student-- great experience and a really high quality of life. But I would invest the time/money in finding out the rules ahead of time so you don't get tangled up in tax issues later.
posted by frumiousb at 8:49 PM on October 4, 2015 [2 favorites]


Be aware that in much of Europe these days, entering on a tourist visa and then applying for residency is seriously frowned upon. In the past, it used to be quite normal, but in many countries it is now an excellent way to get kicked out. So check this with a lawyer, and don't listen/trust all the people who said they did it that way. They may well have done so, but I know that at least western Europe has really changed their view on the process in the last 5 years. Once you have residency, then entering other EU areas should not be an issue since you will have a residency card or stamp in your passport. But an immigration lawyer can answer all of this.

This. Not worth the risk.

I would actually recommend check out the visa angle before the tax angle. Start with the Polish consulate nearest you.
Look here Consular info
Look here Polish ministry website
and here Blue Card Poland
Will the EU customs guys know all of this stuff if I enter somewhere other than Poland (probably Frankfurt, based on past experience)?
Don't fly into Schengen territory with intention to stay without a proper visa. The "EU costums guy" will send you back (I know an American this happened to just last month, wanted to go to Austria for work/study without proper visa, they had everything lined up except visa angle, and were sent back from Frankfurt to US.). Lying is also not at all advisable.
posted by 15L06 at 2:04 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


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