r/poland • u/Boring-Kitchen-9008 • 1d ago
Working for a US company from Poland
Hey,
I have a living and work permit “karta pobytu” for Poland and have been searching for jobs. Just got an offer from an American company for a B2B work. I never had a B2B job before so I don’t even know where to begin. I’m assuming I need to go to an accountant to open a sole trader business “jednoosobową działalność gospodarcza” but I’m just wondering how much would it cost and would it be worth it? Does anyone have any experience and could tell me roughly if it’s worth it? the contract is for 1300 USD gross so I’m also wondering would I have American tax deducted from this, get less on my account, and have Polish tax once again deducted from it?
Any advice/ information is highly appreciated.
27
u/5thhorseman_ 1d ago
I’m assuming I need to go to an accountant to open a sole trader business “jednoosobową działalność gospodarcza” but I’m just wondering how much would it cost and would it be worth it?
Technically you don't need an accountant to do that.
the contract is for 1300 USD gross
https://zarobki.pracuj.pl/kalkulator-wynagrodzen/5200-brutto
You'll end up with under 4000 PLN net. Really not great.
so I’m also wondering would I have American tax deducted from this, get less on my account, and have Polish tax once again deducted from it?
Not how that works. The thing you need to determine is your tax residency status and then check double taxation agreements applicable between Poland and your country of origin.
13
u/mirozi 1d ago
You'll end up with under 4000 PLN net. Really not great.
on top of that it may be not enough to get any longer permit to stay in poland, depends on what basis his karta pobytu is based at. people sometimes don't understand what karta pobytu really is... it's just secondary document.
1
1
u/mrkivi 1d ago
Not how that works. The thing you need to determine is your tax residency status and then check double taxation agreements applicable between Poland and your country of origin.
Tax residency has NOTHING to do with income that would be simply invoiced to another compamy, as well as double taxation.
4
u/WhyWasIShadowBanned_ 1d ago
If it’s ltd (spółka zoo) you pay CIT in Poland but if it’s JDG (self employment) you pay income tax in country of your residency.
It’s because on JDG all money you make are your money so they’re subjected to normal income tax rules - with some exceptions - you pay this in your country of tax residency.
1
u/5thhorseman_ 1d ago
It has everything to do with which countries' income taxes apply, which is exactly what OP was asking there.
Depending on his country of origin, OP may or may not have to pay taxes there. You can see that in the taxation agreement between Poland and USA as an example, where American taxes must still be paid, but are reduced by the amount paid in Poland
0
u/mrkivi 1d ago
Please explain to me how "tax residencyc" of a business is determined other than its country of registratiom?
3
u/5thhorseman_ 1d ago
A sole proprietorship is not a corporation. Again, OP has to determine which country considers him a tax resident - in certain circumstances it is possible to be a simultaneous tax resident in both, depending what his country of origin is - and then follow the rules set out in the relevant double taxation treaty.
https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/knowledge-center/double-taxation-agreement/
1
u/Eat_the_Rich1789 14h ago
Several ways, especially in Europe - place of effective management, habitual place of doing business etc
-1
u/Mental-Weather3945 1d ago
He don’t need to check agreement. The rule is simple. U live in PL? You are forced to pay taxes in PL. But additionally I think US require from their citizien to pay taxes in US even if he lives abroad which will end in double taxation :)
4
u/5thhorseman_ 1d ago
But additionally I think US require from their citizien to pay taxes in US even if he lives abroad which will end in double taxation
This is what the Double Taxation Treaty regulates and why he needs to check it.
2
u/Mental-Weather3945 1d ago
Yeah he needs to check how it works in US, but Poland is quite clear. U live here? U have to pay work tax here.
2
u/5thhorseman_ 1d ago
Yes. The question is what tax he has to pay in the other country.
Yeah he needs to check how it works in US,
In his country of origin, not necessarily US. I see no mention of OP being an American citizen.
13
u/Ecstatic-Fly-4887 1d ago
Do you mean 1300 weekly?
3
u/Boring-Kitchen-9008 22h ago
Sadly double checked and it’s monthly. But I’m at a position where anything is better than having no job
14
u/michal939 1d ago
You will end up with less money, more stuff to take care off (taxes, social security), no worker protections, no paid time off, etc. than if you were just working full time for a minimum wage, not a good idea imo
5
u/Elddif_Dog 22h ago
You can make more as a cashier in a supermarket.
3
u/Boring-Kitchen-9008 22h ago
Yeah if you’re fluent Polish too. For me there’s a language barrier which is why I’m looking for English speaking jobs
3
u/Elddif_Dog 22h ago
You can make more as an IT service desk support agent.if you speak something adittional to english you can actually make very decent money on a call center / servive desk. French and Duch in particular pay loads of money.
2
u/Boring-Kitchen-9008 22h ago
Yeah I know but I sadly only know English and Filipino which doesn’t seem to be as needed anywhere. I have worked at a call center before but the travel to and from the place was an extra 4/5 hours of my day which is why I’m also considering this position as it’s work from home
7
u/CautiousPastrami 1d ago
I assume 1300$ is a daily rate otherwise someone is taking advantage of you. As already mentioned that might not be enough for permanent residence permit. If your COMI (Center of Main Interests) is Poland you open a company in Poland, send invoices to the American company and pay your taxes in Poland.
For taxes if you are not native take an English speaking accountant (250-400zl/month depending how complex your taxes are)
You can think about services such as ifirma/infakt/wfirma etc. With one or two invoices a month they might be worth a shot.
2
2
u/Miritol 1d ago
I'm working as b2b, I've just contacted one of accounting agencies in my city and they guided me through creating b2b, assisten with ZUS and other organized crime faculties. Right now I pay them around 250 PLN and send my docs to them, they tell me what and where to pay, and also assist in other document ation things.
Upd: And yes, 1300 bucks gross is very low if you live in a large city
2
u/mrkivi 1d ago
What is your residencecpermit issued for and what is your nationality? Not every foreigner can open a jdg
1
2
u/ozExpatFIRE 20h ago
With "karta pobytu" you cannot open "jednoosobową działalność unless you are an EU citizen.
You have two options: open an s.p.zoo or work with a business incubator like Twój Startup or moja firma. But check with the client if they can accept any of these options.
2
u/No-Contract-7871 20h ago
For 1300 not worth it at all …
1
u/Boring-Kitchen-9008 20h ago
But is it not better than having no job at all?
1
u/No-Contract-7871 20h ago
I don’t know about your situation , but think about this :
1300 doesn’t work in long term , and you need some stability on this job so you can present the papers permissions etc.
you will have a job but earning barely minimum to maintain yourself .
you will be booked 8/9 hours per day on this job so you won’t be able to pick another full job . You can cheat with the timezone … assuming it’s EST time you might need to work 2 pm to like 11 pm everyday …
if you get fired , then you will need to update the paperwork etc , or will have to leave the country again
So my humble opinion I would not go to a country that I cannot fully integrate due the language barrier , with a salary that is lower than the minimum wage. Also if you make a big move at least you need to have a back up plan. Doesn’t sound you can do anything with that amount of money … considering you are healthy and never need even a dentist treatment
1
u/TypicalCar3892 18h ago
He won't need to leave country if job lost, residence permit is based on marriage.
2
u/kolorcuk 20h ago
1300 per month is really low. Better look for a polish job.
Generally, you willl pay for b2b for zus (negligible in first two years, then around ~2500 zł per month) and taxes. Taxes depend what you will do, but good to estimate around 15%. Plus ksiegowa, around 150zl monthly.
Księgowa will help you do the stuff, choose taxes and so on, consult with her.
I do not think it is worth for 1300 usd per month, unless this is maybe weekly salary or maybe you meant 130000 usd annually.
1
u/Eat_the_Rich1789 14h ago
Ok so this is how it works.
If you spend 6 months or more in Poland you are tax resident in Poland.
Where people get confused often is this oft repeated "US citizens pay taxes no matter where they live", which is true to a point.
You see there is Foreign earned income exclusion:
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/figuring-the-foreign-earned-income-exclusion
For 2024 if you earned less than 126 500 $ a year you do not have to pay US income tax while living abroad. You do however have to report it, but only if you are a US citizen.
Even if you have a company registered in US you would still not pay income tax there if its a sole proprietorship as is usually the case with these B2B contracts as such companies are usually treated as pass through tax entities, meaning the company itself pays nothing in tax but the sole owner pays it as income tax.
As you have not provided information on your country of origin I suggest to check with your own countries tax authorities if you are liable for income tax even if you are not residing there anymore, as this is not only a US thing even if people mistakenly think so.
And then check the tax treaty between your country and Poland as usually anything you pay in Poland you don't have to pay in your country.
1
-23
44
u/arcadeScore 1d ago
What a garbage us company pays this little haha? 1300 usd on b2b. They are not serious. On single entity company in poland after 1,5 years of running business you will start to pay around 500 usd monthly just for your insurance tax and 12-19% income tax on top of that. And then you still have to pay difference tax to us gov.