GTN Mobility Tax Blog

Hosted by MWC

Managing mobile employees across borders can get complex fast. From tax residency and short-term business visitor rules to payroll, social security, and treaty relief, there’s a lot to coordinate to stay compliant and reduce risk. That’s why the Mobile Workforce Collaborate (MWC) is hosting a corporate-only roundtable designed to help HR and mobility teams tackle these challenges in Canada, Mexico, and the UK, with clear, practical takeaways.

Business travel is on the rise, and it’s putting C-suites at risk of tax violations. According to the Global Business Travel Association, 71 percent of travel buyers say business travel increased at their company in the last year. What many corporate leaders don’t realize is that, as business travel ramps up, they may not be reporting taxes for equity compensation correctly.

This article outlines why equity compensation compliance is so challenging for traveling C-suite executives and what your team can do to help protect both your employees and the company from tax headaches.

Managing mobile employees comes with more than just logistical and HR challenges. It also requires careful coordination between your global mobility and corporate tax functions. Mobile employee activity can trigger corporate tax exposures such as permanent establishment risks or tax reporting obligations. At the same time, your company’s corporate tax position can directly impact the individual tax outcomes for your mobile employees.

Important note on streamlined filing compliance procedures -- This article specifically discusses the streamlined foreign procedures, not the domestic procedures. To qualify for the foreign procedures, a taxpayer must meet the IRS’s non-residency requirement. For a US citizen, this means that in one of the past three years for which the original or properly extended US tax return due date has passed, they did not have a US residence and were physically present outside the US for at least 330 full days.

US citizens and permanent residents (green card holders) 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 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 filing compliance procedures (streamlined procedures).

On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14247 (EO 14247), titled “Modernizing Payments to and from America’s Bank Account.” This directive aims to overhaul how the federal government handles financial transactions by transitioning from paper-based payments, such as checks and money orders, to secure, efficient electronic payment methods.

While the goals of this order are centered around security, cost-efficiency, and modernization, its implementation may pose challenges for mobile employees, especially those working outside the United States or without access to the US banking infrastructure. This article outlines what EO 14247 mandates, who it affects, and the important steps mobility program stakeholders should consider as the September 30, 2025, implementation deadline approaches.

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law, H.R. 1, referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA or simply “the Act”), a sweeping overhaul of the US tax code. While OBBBA affects all US taxpayers, it is important for companies and their mobile employees to consider key areas of impact.

This article summarizes key provisions of OBBBA that impact individual taxpayers, with special emphasis on what it means for mobile employees and their employers. From updated tax brackets and deduction changes to newly introduced savings plans and remittance taxes, understanding the implications of this new law is essential for employers looking to manage cost, risk, and employee satisfaction.