Telecommuting from colombia

expatriate says on Nov 29, 2005, 03:48:

Just do it I agree. You'll be paying taxes to the U.S. and are of no concern to any Colombian agency.

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Michael_B says on Nov 29, 2005, 06:08:

I thought the 1st 80k you made was tax free since you do not live in th US? Why the need to pay US taxes if you are not in the US?... If that is the case I would say that Fla is my home due to no state income tax....

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chrispej says on Nov 29, 2005, 07:25:

Not tax free You can check the IRS web site but if I remember right, you must work in a foreign country for a foriegn company. You must reside in that country for the entire year except for 5 or 10 days. I forget which. With those requirements, you can earn up to 80,000 US tax free.

I am also checking into working for a US company and living in Colombia.

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JohnD123 says on Nov 30, 2005, 08:52:

Thanks guys Thanks for the advice guys. I think I found what you guys were referring to - the foreign earned income exclusion: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc853.html

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rocinante says on Nov 30, 2005, 17:37:

open a corp offshore Have the employer do a corp to corp payment.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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Mr. Hollywood says on Nov 30, 2005, 19:08:

The tax skinny You should definately do your own due dilligence about the tax issues. Read IRS form 2555 which defines what you can and can't do. I also recommend you get a good tax person because there are a lot of variables that come into play.

The simple version is you, as an individual, can exclude the 1st $80,000 plus $12,000 in housing costs from your foreign earned income. You must be out of the US for 330 of 365 days straight (not calendar year). The exclusion does NOT apply to investment income or to self-employment tax, if that's your status.

If your spouse is working, you can double the exclusion but only up to the amount he or she actually earns.

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platano says on Nov 30, 2005, 19:36:

You might want to check out this book... Citizens Working Abroad : How to Count Your 330 "Qualifying Days" for Claiming $80,000 tax Free Each Year of Foreign Earned Income (Series 100: Individuals & Families) (Paperback)
by Holmes F. Crouch

It was published in April 2005 so it's not terribly out of date.

plátano

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calipro says on Nov 30, 2005, 19:56:

There are really any issues except...... You are going to need a visa that allows you to stay in Colombia for a year. It will be a snap to get a spousal visa seeing that you are married.

I know a guy "greg" from the planet-love.com board that has been telecommuting from Cali for the last 14 months. He isn't married to a colombiana but his employer helped him get a business visa so he could work in Cali. One other thing, he had to become an independant contractor because his employer didn't want to be liable for him living in Colombia.

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