Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

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jperickson
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:58 pm
Location: Finland

Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by jperickson » Sat Dec 19, 2020 4:57 pm

Hello - I will be moving to Finland in 2021 from the US on a residence permit (family-based, not work-based). I want to keep working for my company which is based in the US, but as a contractor. I've looked into the pros and cons of tmi vs OY (including on this forum), but one question I still don't know the answer to is: What exactly is the difference/benefits of a tmi versus just having my US-based client pay me directly and I count it as income, no tmi or OY registered? Is this even an option in Finland? Is it because of VAT registration and YEL insurance? In the US it is generally possible to do this, but usually an LLC is advised because of liability. But from what I've read, a tmi doesn't seem to offer you that same protection anyways. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!



Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

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betelgeuse
Posts: 4350
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by betelgeuse » Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:45 pm

jperickson wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 4:57 pm
Hello - I will be moving to Finland in 2021 from the US on a residence permit (family-based, not work-based). I want to keep working for my company which is based in the US, but as a contractor. I've looked into the pros and cons of tmi vs OY (including on this forum), but one question I still don't know the answer to is: What exactly is the difference/benefits of a tmi versus just having my US-based client pay me directly and I count it as income, no tmi or OY registered? Is this even an option in Finland? Is it because of VAT registration and YEL insurance? In the US it is generally possible to do this, but usually an LLC is advised because of liability. But from what I've read, a tmi doesn't seem to offer you that same protection anyways. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
When you are not registered, your US client will, for example, have reporting duties to Finnish authorities. For example, to the incomes register. Usually they are not willing to figure out and do those.

KenKenKen
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:04 pm

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by KenKenKen » Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:26 pm

I have the exact same situation as you.

I found out that If I join the Finnish tax system, I will need to follow the local tax system to pay a quite high amount of tax.

So what you may need to consider is check around with your income rate how much tax you may need to pay for the gov of Finland.

If it is not worth doing, I suggest you find a job there.

Because I also consider I may need to sleep at 1800 in Finland and wake up at 0200 in the midnight to star to work.

That probably messes with your life a bit too much.

jperickson
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:58 pm
Location: Finland

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by jperickson » Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:50 pm

KenKenKen wrote:
Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:26 pm
I have the exact same situation as you.

I found out that If I join the Finnish tax system, I will need to follow the local tax system to pay a quite high amount of tax.

So what you may need to consider is check around with your income rate how much tax you may need to pay for the gov of Finland.

If it is not worth doing, I suggest you find a job there.

Because I also consider I may need to sleep at 1800 in Finland and wake up at 0200 in the midnight to star to work.

That probably messes with your life a bit too much.
Was your rate somehow significantly different than what the Vero calculator (https://avoinomavero.vero.fi/_/) predicted?

betelgeuse
Posts: 4350
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by betelgeuse » Fri Jan 22, 2021 8:17 pm

KenKenKen wrote:
Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:26 pm
I found out that If I join the Finnish tax system, I will need to follow the local tax system to pay a quite high amount of tax.
What do you consider high? The Ltd (osakeyhtiö) rates are quite low (in comparison to rates in Finland in general).

FinlandGirl
Posts: 1322
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by FinlandGirl » Sat Jan 23, 2021 12:37 pm

KenKenKen wrote:
Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:26 pm
Because I also consider I may need to sleep at 1800 in Finland and wake up at 0200 in the midnight to star to work.

That probably messes with your life a bit too much.
You've got the math on the timezones wrong.
10:00 in New York is 17:00 in Finland and 10:00 in California is 20:00 in Finland.

Not the typical Finnish office hours, but working 14:00 to 22:00 Finnish time has enough overlap with the US for meetings and other real-time communication.

jperickson
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:58 pm
Location: Finland

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by jperickson » Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:49 pm

betelgeuse wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:45 pm
jperickson wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 4:57 pm
Hello - I will be moving to Finland in 2021 from the US on a residence permit (family-based, not work-based). I want to keep working for my company which is based in the US, but as a contractor. I've looked into the pros and cons of tmi vs OY (including on this forum), but one question I still don't know the answer to is: What exactly is the difference/benefits of a tmi versus just having my US-based client pay me directly and I count it as income, no tmi or OY registered? Is this even an option in Finland? Is it because of VAT registration and YEL insurance? In the US it is generally possible to do this, but usually an LLC is advised because of liability. But from what I've read, a tmi doesn't seem to offer you that same protection anyways. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
When you are not registered, your US client will, for example, have reporting duties to Finnish authorities. For example, to the incomes register. Usually they are not willing to figure out and do those.
Do you know where my employer could find out more information about what their reporting duties would be? While I don't think they will actually go down this route, they say they want to explore it.

betelgeuse
Posts: 4350
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Working as a contractor in Finland for a US company

Post by betelgeuse » Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:12 pm

jperickson wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:49 pm
betelgeuse wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:45 pm
jperickson wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 4:57 pm
Hello - I will be moving to Finland in 2021 from the US on a residence permit (family-based, not work-based). I want to keep working for my company which is based in the US, but as a contractor. I've looked into the pros and cons of tmi vs OY (including on this forum), but one question I still don't know the answer to is: What exactly is the difference/benefits of a tmi versus just having my US-based client pay me directly and I count it as income, no tmi or OY registered? Is this even an option in Finland? Is it because of VAT registration and YEL insurance? In the US it is generally possible to do this, but usually an LLC is advised because of liability. But from what I've read, a tmi doesn't seem to offer you that same protection anyways. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
When you are not registered, your US client will, for example, have reporting duties to Finnish authorities. For example, to the incomes register. Usually they are not willing to figure out and do those.
Do you know where my employer could find out more information about what their reporting duties would be? While I don't think they will actually go down this route, they say they want to explore it.
One would start here: https://www.vero.fi/en/incomes-register ... ligations/


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