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Sole-proprietorship in US, income from UK companies - bad idea?

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  BBCWatcher 
#1 ·
Hello all -

I've recently moved back to the US (US citizen), after living in the UK for 4 years with my husband. Now we're both here in the states and I think our tax situation now seems like a giant ball of mess to me LOL. But ahem, as far as my half of the equation...

I was self-employed in the UK and doing contract work for a company there that will let me continue my work remotely (still as a contractor), but as I'm getting things set up for this, I'm having a hard time getting my head around what the best way to do this would be. (There are also a couple other potential clients from the UK that I may do work for, but haven't begun work for them until I get this figured out..)

I have the paperwork ready to register a sole proprietorship in my county, and file a fictitious business name, which all seems fine/easy. And now that I'm back, I'm aware I have to file quarterly estimated taxes which will be a new one for me, but aside from more dreaded paperwork, hopefully not too onerous a task...

However, now I'm thinking about the bookkeeping bit and starting to get a bit worried. I want to open a separate checking account to be my business account but can't find any checking accounts that seem happy to receive foreign currency directly from foreign sources without crazy fees or long holds. (Actually some of the ones I was looking at didn't even have any info on their website that I could find..)

My current company pays me directly into my UK bank account, so ideally that seems easiest for them and any future UK clients. I can then use a service like Transferwise to send myself money to the US account periodically. But are there any tax issues that arise by doing things this way? And especially if I also take on work from a US source, it makes my finance spreadsheets a bit more complicated (for example, when do i figure in exchange rates -- when I'm paid, or when I transfer into the US, or all at the end of the quarter using average exchange rate?). I don't have to start charging VAT or anything do I?!

Does anyone else have any experience with this? Is it going to be too big of a headache for it to be worth it? I'm only expecting to make ~50-60K/year this way. I don't want to lose a huge chunk of it to fees and crazy tax situations. I'd like to stay self-employed if possible but if it's a bad idea to have UK clients then I might look at seeking regular ol' employment instead.

I'm asking around for recs for accountants that specialise or at least have experience with international tax like this but want to have a better handle on things too before I start calling around (and it's right in busy tax season for them atm).

Additional info that might be relevant:

- My husband and I have been filing separately (not sure if we should be filing jointly now that he's in the US?)

In any case, thanks for any help or advice in advance! It's so hard to decide what path to go down when I'm unsure of..well everything! :confused2:

Many thanks
Bangle
 
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#2 ·
As far as the IRS is concerned, there is no difference between payments you take in from your UK customers and those from your US customers. And yes, depositing small amounts in a foreign currency will cost you dearly.

For the situation you describe, if your UK "employer" can't or won't pay you in US dollars (say, through their US branch office), then you're probably going to need to establish a UK bank account where you can accept payments, let them accumulate and then transfer the money over (and do the exchange) as needed. For a small business, this may pose real problems.

But yes, now that your husband is living in the States, you can (and probably should) be filing separately. In the year of the move, your husband can elect to be taxed as a US resident for the entire year, and generally that's the most convenient way to go.
Cheers,
Bev
 
#4 ·
The only issue that could develop from being "self-employed" is the one of the unwanted attention it could generate to be a "contractor" with only one client/customer. It used to be a real red flag for the IRS, but I don't know where they are on that right now.

I'm assuming from what the OP said that her spouse is a UK citizen. If so, then 2014 is his year of "dual status" - and yes, filing jointly would be far easier than trying to file separately, even if it means he has to include the full calendar year of his income in the declaration.
Cheers,
Bev
 
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