PR holder residing in Canada wants to work for a US Company

[njdude26]

Hi

Im a PR card holder residing in Ontario. I was working for a company in US for 2 years. Last month i moved to Canada. Can I still work for the US Company from my home office here in Canada ? I will never have to travel to the US Office. So i will always be working from my Home office.

What is the best way for me to work for the US company and get paid in US Dollars.

I definitely cant on the US company's payroll because i dont want pay US taxes and moreover their payroll s/w will not accept any address that is non-US.
So do i work as a consultant to that company from here and get paid in US dollars into a Canadian bank account ( US Dollars account) ?

Any help will be great.

[nelsona]

You should be paid as a contractor. I wouldn't get ung up about being paid in US or Cdn dollars, as Cdn$ is better these days anyways, and you will be spending it in Canada.

[njdude26]

There is another company here in Canada who is willing to offer almost the exact same pay in CDN.

Tax wise does it make sense for me to be a contractor to the US company or work for the canadian company full time ?

is there some rule that if all my money is coming from 1 source then im considered full time employed so i dont get any tax benifit ?

Thanks for ur help

[nelsona]

You should want to get paid the most ammount of MONEY, never mind Cdn $ or US$, I'm sure you are able to make a conversion in your head: $1US = $1.17Cdn. So a person offering you $100 Cdn is offering you 15% less than the one offering $1000 US.

If you work as a Cdn employee, you get benefits, and they pay have your CPP. As a contractor, they don't.

There are some guidelines that define what is an employee or contractor. It is not necessary that you be paid by more than one client, but this helps. There are other factors involved as well, based on what services/materials/space the client provides you.

[US_Canada]

I think for purpose of his tax liability structuring, he'd want to be a contractor vs. an employee. There's so many IT contractors where I work - nobody wants to be a highly paid employee in Canada.

As you pointed out the question is more about ensuring that the equivalent US to CAD amount is paid. The contractor part would be a no-brainer.

[nelsona]

There is so many advantages to being contractor that choosing to be an employee (so long as you actulaly live in canada) is indeed a no-brain decision. Choose contractor.

[njdude26]

Ok here are some numbers

The company in US is paying me 80k USD for 21/2 years now. They are willing to pay the same as a contractor.
The company in Canada is ready to pay me about 92kCDN.
I dont know what CPP is but if youa re talking about medical then i dont need it because my wife's canadian company pays for the family.

The canadian company is not willing to take me in as a contractor, they will hire me only full time.

Some CA i spoke to in Toronto told me that I cannot work as a contractor for the company in US because i have been a full time employee for them for 21/2 years. also he says that if they are only source of income then il be considred a full time employee of that US company.

Also can you give me some numbers if i work as a contractor for the US or canadian company and if im making 80k how much am i looking at saving in taxes with contractor vs full time ?

Thanks for all your help

[nelsona]

CPP is the equivalent of social security.

I don't do numbers.

I disagree that simply because you worked as an employee in US, that you could not be a contractor in canada for that company. This is false.

Since you already have medical coverage, as well as Provincial healthcare, I would take the contractor job.

[njdude26]

Can you recommend any CAs in the Toronto area ?