GTN Mobility Tax Blog

The number of businesses choosing to move employees abroad, as part of their efforts to increase their international presence, is increasing each year. Unfortunately, some businesses are exposing themselves to unnecessary risks when it comes to tax compliance in the Home and Host countries of those employees by failing to have a plan in place to avoid mobility tax problems. Below are five common mistakes made by employers who move employees abroad.

All US citizens and permanent residents must file federal income tax returns if they meet the IRS filing threshold. The amount of this threshold will vary depending on factors such as age, filing status, and type of income (i.e., income from employment or self-employment). For example, a single individual under the age of 65 would be required to file a 2019 US federal tax return if their gross income exceeded $12,200. If the earnings came from self-employment, this same person would need to file a US federal tax return if their net earnings exceeded $400.

It is not uncommon for businesses expanding their operations across international borders to discover that moving employees abroad has created tax issues—and unfortunately, they often don’t discover this until they receive notice that overseas employees are noncompliant in either their Home or Host country. 

Keeping up with regulations around global taxes, travel, and expatriate programs can be difficult, especially when juggling multiple other priorities. Our team of industry experts continually creates informative resources to help you navigate the tax landscape. 

Our team of mobility tax professionals is always looking to keep organizations updated on industry trends and regulations regarding international employees. In addition to our regularly updated blog, we put a wealth of resources at your fingertips regarding mobility tax, global equity, and business travel—including on-demand webinars, online newsletters, and downloadable guides.

We’ve put together this roundup of some of our top blog articles that we published in Q2.

US citizens and permanent residents working outside the United States generally are still required to file annual US tax returns, and the IRS is constantly updating its technology to better locate those non-filing taxpayers and bring them into compliance. However, in addition to increasing its enforcement capabilities, the IRS has also taken steps to encourage non-filers to come into compliance by waiving penalties for those taxpayers eligible to take advantage of the streamlined offshore compliance procedures.