GTN Mobility Tax Blog

Foreign nationals employed within the United States are subject to US federal tax rules, but those rules don’t apply uniformly across all tax types. While income tax obligations often depend on tax residency, payroll taxes, specifically Social Security and Medicare taxes, follow a different set of rules. Employees working in the US on an F-1 or J-1 visa may qualify for a temporary exemption from FICA tax withholding, depending on their visa status, tax residency, and the nature of their work. 

With today’s ability to work from anywhere, understanding and staying on top of the reporting and ongoing US filing requirements can be difficult. And for employees working outside of their typical Home location, not only understanding these requirements but also being diligent in adhering to them, is especially important. For US citizens, permanent residents working outside of the US, and nationals of other countries who become tax residents of the US, there is a specific annual filing requirement related to non-US financial accounts held.

Today's global mobility teams support a much wider range of cross-border activity than traditional assignments alone. Remote work, business travel, equity compensation, cross-border payroll, short-term assignments, and evolving reporting requirements have all expanded mobility's workload, often without a corresponding increase in staff or budget.

This creates both a capacity problem and a coordination challenge. Simply adding another system or automating an isolated task addresses only part of the problem.

Remote work, hybrid work, business travel, and cross-border work have become a permanent part of how organizations operate. And while these flexible work arrangements create new opportunities for attracting and retaining talent, they also introduce complex tax, payroll, immigration, employment law, and corporate compliance obligations that many organizations struggle to manage.

For high-net-worth families, transferring wealth to the next generation requires careful planning. In the United States, estate and gift taxes apply to certain transfers of wealth made during life or at death. While recent legislative changes have increased the amount individuals can transfer without federal tax, the rules remain complex, particularly for families with international connections.

As organizations compete for talent, flexible work arrangements are no longer a perk, they are an expectation. However, while employees gain flexibility, employers may take on new and often unseen compliance risks.

To you, the HR manager, “home” means employees should work from the address reflected in company records and payroll systems. But to the employee, “home” may simply mean they can work remotely from anywhere they choose. That could mean working from another location within their Home country or from another country altogether.