GTN Mobility Tax Blog

This article was originally published in Mobility Magazine.

Corporate moves are surging. According to an Atlas Van Lines report, 70% of all companies reported an increase in employee relocations last year. Unfortunately, relocating employees in the US or abroad could require tax obligations that not all HR and mobility professionals are prepared for.

What’s more, many leaders often assume their relocation management company (RMC), mobility tax provider, or local payroll provider will automatically handle tax compliance for their domestic and international moves. That’s not always the case. This article will look at the common misconceptions about relocation tax compliance and lay out tips to help your team avoid tax violations and maximize tax savings for moving expenses.

In the ever-evolving landscape of global mobility, the traditional landscape of long-term assignments has given way to a rising prevalence of permanent transferees. However, many companies have not established a formal mobility tax program for permanent transferees. Instead, a typical approach is to simply provide a cash stipend to the permanent transferee with the suggestion to use the funds to find a local tax provider to help them with their tax matters in their new country.

Are you satisfied with the level of responsiveness from your current global mobility tax provider? Do you have access to a team of seasoned professionals who are well-versed in the latest mobility tax trends? Are you receiving clear and actionable advice in a timely manner? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, it may be time to consider switching to a new mobility tax provider.

If your auditor doubles as your company’s mobility tax services provider, you may have found benefits from this seemingly convenient arrangement.

It’s not unusual to see companies using the same firm to provide multiple kinds of accounting and tax services, especially for emerging and fast-growing companies. However, it is important to be aware of the challenges that may arise in this situation and understand why it may be beneficial to use different firms for your auditing and mobility tax needs.

By understanding your specific needs and the service limitations that can exist for audit firms, your organization will be in a better position to assess and select a vendor that will provide the experience needed for your mobility program and employees.

In case you missed it! We prepared a checklist that will walk you and your company through key mobility tax questions and considerations you should give thought to when implementing a work anywhere policy.

While many companies have employees working from home, or even working from anywhere in the world, they are faced with many questions that have taken on new meanings. Questions like: What state or country are my employees working from? Are they creating taxable events in the location they are working from? Is the company and employee still compliant with tax authorities? And while these are all questions you have likely had to ask in the past, now more than ever, it is important to find the answers. As you continue to evaluate your company’s need to keep employees working from a place outside of their usual office, here are further considerations you and your company should keep in mind.