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Moving to Germany. Who to inform, P85?, NHS?

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    #21
    Originally posted by engineer
    The Status of being a freelancer is not related to the durance of a project but to the way you are working. As soon as you are more or less full time present in the employers rooms, have an office there etc. Then you might be considered as a normal employee and will have to pay social "taxes" at you income - so will your employer. In reality this is not the case, if you change the employer regularly that way, that you have more than one source for your income during a tax year, since you are considered to be a consultant. So the durance indirectly is relevant though for this. Working 4+4 month over christmas , the money will appear in two years and be less then 50% most probably. Even longer periods are mostly no problem, if this happens once and you typically change positions and countries every year.

    If you are working as a sub contractor, it is even less a problem, since you do not have an official place of work at your end customer's (but at your agency in theory). Without having that formal "desk" you are at first an external per definition and it requires strong proofs to consider you as a hidden internal. Also it is harder to investigate and in case your agancy is an english resident, the german insirance cannot get money from you anyway.

    But remember: This all is the theory! Practically the officials to not have the time and people and also not the information about job details and workers to check that, so the risk is small anyway, no matter where and how you worked. This usually happens in larger companies where regular inspections of the employment contracts and all that take place.

    On the other hand there are many cases where the german social insurance did investigations and came to the conclusion that the role had not been a freelancer position and people had to pay, as I reported earlier in this forum. Estonishingly the tax officials may come to a different conclusion so you still are a freelancer and pay social fees though afterwards. This happens to german "freelancers" regularly which leads to much work since many tax aspects (VAT e.g.) have to be reverted and reinterpreted.

    Unfortunately the judges speeches are not fully clear and change! Mostly they are "pro" freelancer, sometimes they are not.

    -------------

    Another thing is residence! If you reside more than 50% of a year in a country (with you first address there) you might have to pay your taxes there. This again changes the situation. The most easy way is to keep you address in the homeland and interrupt the work regularly, so you job is a journey. Mixing tax systems mostly is more work than benefit. I had such a case beeing in Austria for more than 6 months.


    Just want to correct one thing here. The tax office do not collect "Sozialversicherung", it is not a tax and is not handled by their tax officials at all. Sozialversicherung ("Social costs") are handled by the Pensions govt. dept. Social Insurance investigators enquire about your status as self-employed. Obviously when you tell them you're a "Freiberufler" this is a form of self-employment, but with regards to the social insurance investigators they want to know is, are you self-employed. The tax people might however challenge your Freiberufler status and try and collect "Gewerbesteuer" (business tax). But this is not Sozialversicherung. A Freiberufler won't be judged on whether he works for one employer ett etc but on whether the work is professional. If you don't have a Engineering qualification they may decide that you are not a professional freelancer; however they would still consider you as self-employed and demand you pay an additional business tax.

    The Sozialversicherung and Business taxes are two separate things that you have to watch out for when acting as a Freiberufler. You would only have to worry about Sozialversicherung if you were to work for several years and it would be highly unlikely that you would face anything like penalties as it is an insurance not a tax.
    Last edited by BlasterBates; 19 June 2012, 15:49.
    I'm alright Jack

    Comment


      #22
      Originally posted by contractor23 View Post
      If you maintain a home in the UK, you are a UK resident, and are not legally required to do anything. You are a UK resident provided you return once in a while - the consulate should be able to give you full details of which website to check. I have found consulates to be poor providers of info, regularly getting things wrong, so make sure you get a URI or something in writing.
      H´m thats interesting - does that mean that I can work in Germany
      or anywhere else in the EU and still maintain a footprint in the UK
      for the purposes of SC Security Clearance eligibility ??

      Comment


        #23
        Originally posted by Tightfit View Post
        H´m thats interesting - does that mean that I can work in Germany
        or anywhere else in the EU and still maintain a footprint in the UK
        for the purposes of SC Security Clearance eligibility ??
        You'll not get clearance as a contractor, unless you're really good and really needed.

        My good buddy got SC'd on the last permie place I was at, where I got mine, and he'd spent a while working in CH, took 5 months to get his clearance, doubt any contracting role will wait that long.

        Comment


          #24
          Originally posted by stek View Post
          You'll not get clearance as a contractor, unless you're really good and really needed.

          My good buddy got SC'd on the last permie place I was at, where I got mine, and he'd spent a while working in CH, took 5 months to get his clearance, doubt any contracting role will wait that long.
          Well not all the Contracts are Contracts these days, their are
          the FTC´s which last longer. Besides it´s worth going Perm for
          a while just to get that SC Cleared feather in your cap &
          on your CV. Lol.

          Anyway it´s good to hear guys who have worked abroad but
          still secured their SC. I know one man who took a job in
          Dublin but insisted on commuting from Northern Ireland. Their
          were two reasons for this.

          1. Southern Ireland has the meanest period of grace in which
          you can drive a UK registered car while living & working in Eire.
          Rest of Europe - You have 6 months to convert your UK car
          to foreign plates or sell it for your adopted countries Car
          and Reg Plates.

          See quote below from Citizens Advice Bureau Eire:

          Within 7 days of your vehicle arriving in Ireland, you must book
          an appointment with the NCTS for it to be inspected - see
          'How to apply' below. At the inspection the vehicle will be examined to ensure its characteristics match those recorded in the registration documentation. You pay the VRT charged after your vehicle has been inspected at the NCTS centre. The registration process must be completed within 30 days of the vehicle's arrival in Ireland.

          Once the vehicle has been registered by the Revenue Commissioners and the VRT paid, you (or your motor dealer) will receive:

          A receipt for the VRT paid showing the registration number assigned to your car
          A Form RF100 for use when you are applying to pay motor tax
          You must display the registration number within 3 days. Failure to display the new registration number is an offence and you can be fined by An Garda Síochána. You can obtain vehicle registration plates from any motor factor. There is more information in our document on vehicle registration plates. Vanity/personalised registration plates are illegal.

          Importing a vehicle into Ireland


          2. Maintaining eligibility for SC Security cleared jobs. By having
          a permanent or temporary address in Northern Ireland, he reckoned
          he maintains the DVA´s residency rules.

          So good to know their are people who have worked abroad without
          compromising their SC either current or eligibility.
          Last edited by Tightfit; 3 January 2014, 03:20.

          Comment


            #25
            Why do you obsess about SC roles? Rates aren't any higher and they are usually positioned in some shiitehole town in the back of beyond which costs a fortune to get to.

            HRMC Newcastle, DVLA Swansea, Met Office Exeter, ONS Newport and DWP Lytham for example.

            Comment


              #26
              Originally posted by stek View Post
              Why do you obsess about SC roles? Rates aren't any higher and they are usually positioned in some shiitehole town in the back of beyond which costs a fortune to get to.

              HRMC Newcastle, DVLA Swansea, Met Office Exeter, ONS Newport and DWP Lytham for example.
              Your right but their again:

              1. The Long running - Need to get off the Bench thread means, their are
              some desperate Contractors out their who would consider anything other
              than sign on at the career Graveyard called the Jobcentre, every fortnight.

              2. Well you never know, I might get that tap on the shoulder. The subtle
              friend of a friend who's recommended me for the Security Services,
              MI5 or the more glamorous MI6. So always good to have your SC to hand
              for such eventualities.



              Of course these days the Security Services also use the less subtle approach
              like the dozens of email mail shots we get about GCHQ now recruiting.

              Comment


                #27
                Where did you source the German IT contract?

                Hi All,

                Very interesting to read your thread. I'm a UK contract of 12 years, recently married a German and looking to move to Germany an ideally retain my IT contractor status.

                Have seen various contracts in Germany pop up over the years, even contracted for multiple German organisations in the UK. However - having difficulty finding a reliable job site with IT contractor roles in Germany. If you have any ideas they will be gratefully received.

                Danke

                Comment


                  #28
                  Originally posted by Analyzer View Post
                  Hi All,

                  Very interesting to read your thread. I'm a UK contract of 12 years, recently married a German and looking to move to Germany an ideally retain my IT contractor status.

                  Have seen various contracts in Germany pop up over the years, even contracted for multiple German organisations in the UK. However - having difficulty finding a reliable job site with IT contractor roles in Germany. If you have any ideas they will be gratefully received.

                  Danke

                  Call up the agencies with a presence there, Manning Global, Alexander Mann etc. - do your research - ask, them what they have got, get a gig, network like crazy & then aim to go direct to client in DE. German business culture IMHO makes it a lot easier for a manager with clout to plug you in as a supplier SAP.

                  Comment


                    #29
                    Originally posted by stek View Post
                    Why do you obsess about SC roles? Rates aren't any higher and they are usually positioned in some shiitehole town in the back of beyond which costs a fortune to get to.

                    HRMC Newcastle, DVLA Swansea, Met Office Exeter, ONS Newport and DWP Lytham for example.
                    Are yes - the Contractors equivalent of being - sent to Siberia.

                    Comment


                      #30
                      Contract in Germany

                      New question to old thread.

                      I have am in reciept of an offer for a four month contract in Germany, I have my UK LTD company and was wondering what would be the least hassle\tax efficient way to set myself up.
                      I will start with four days a week in Germany moving down to three after a month.

                      Do I need to setup myself in Germany as a contractor and other associated gubbins or can i just invoice through my UK LTD and inform the German Tax authorities that I will be paying tax in the UK so that the don't come after me?

                      When I germany, i'll be staying in hotels\Airbnb and maintaining my home in the UK and will be flying back every week.

                      Thanks in advance.

                      Comment

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