Canadian dev working remotely (contract) for a US company. How to get paid?

3 points by grsites 10 years ago | 5 comments

I am a Canadian who just landed a (short-term contract) job working remotely for a US company. Since this happened through a (US) recruiter, my employer would pay the recruiting firm, who would pay me.

The problem is that the recruiter is unable to find any viable option to pay me. They suggested I incorporate in the US and get a US corporate bank account (corp to corp), but this would be very time-consuming. They also suggested they pay me through their Canadian subsidiary, provided I incorporate in Canada.

Why can't they simply pay me as a 1099 contractor. Are there any people doing this sort of thing? How do you get paid?

Thanks in advance...

PerfectElement 10 years ago |

I'm Canadian and I've been working for an American company for 3 years now.

I found a good accountant that explained me the pros and cons of incorporating based on the income and I decided to incorporate.

This makes getting paid easy, as you're just a company providing a service for another company. I just invoice the American company and they pay me via PayPal.

Make sure you are aware of the extra costs before you incorporate.

These are my costs, in case it helps (I'm in Ontario):

- $500 fee to incorporate using a firm (it's usually done in one day).

- $1200 paid to my accountant every year.

- $200-$300 paid to my bookkeeper every year.

- $10/month for a business bank account

Another thing to be aware of is that you have to get the money from your corporation to your personal account somehow. You can either be in the payroll of your company or take dividends. I opted for the latter, but the best option varies based on your income, lifestyle, retirement planning, etc.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I can also hook you up with my accountant; he's excellent.

grsites 10 years ago | |

Thanks! That's what I was planning to do, but the recruitement firm that would be paying me (and billing the client) is terrified of paying an invoice to a foreign firm, they are adamant about it. I might just have to go to the client directly, it's a company in the finance sector, I'm sure they can figure out how to send money to someone.

lhorie 10 years ago |

I created a incorporated company, and a business bank account, and they send me a check payable to my company.