hi,
just wonder, if there is any pilot working for a US-carrier and commutes from and/or lives in europe.
in this case:
- what about taxes?
- taxes paid in the states or europe? both?
- how to apply the ''out of the country'' tax exemptions?
- what about health insurance?
- will the US provided health insurance cover you and your family in europe?
- how the get paid?
- salary put into a US-bank account and have it afterwards wired to europe? other options...????????
any help is appreciated
cheers trot

A friend of mine is Swedish and works for a US based regional airline. In the last year hes 'moved' back to Sweden but still works in the US. Basicly he jumpseats back to Sweden every chance he gets (twice a month) and hasn't needed to change any other aspect of his life. As far as taxes are concerened, I'm pretty sure that on paper he works and lives in the US. As for health insurance I know that he gets health insurance through work, probably also is able to hold onto Swedish free health care as well. As far as money and banking, I think that he gets paid into an US account and from there transfers it to a Swedish bank as needed.
All in all, its a lot of traveling but it works for him. Not sure if this was any help, but at least lets you know it is being done. Good luck!

So how does that work?
Does he have a green card to work in US, and passport from a European coountry. How does he file for taxes? Is there an additional tax in his country?
How hard is to commute from europe, who do you jump seat on? I did not think you could jump seat on international airlines

If you were permanently employed with an American registered airline in the USA you would need a "green" card [residency] and a Social Security card, because you'd be paying Social Security Tax, and Medi Care Tax and Income witholding tax; it wouldn't matter if you lived next door in the Bahamas or in Sweden. You will be subject to USA taxes.
If you work for a Part-121 Air Carrier then you could jump seat internationally with another Part 121 carrier if your carrier had a reciprocal agreement as such.

If your foreign income is $80,000 or less you don't have to pay uncle Sam but you still have to declare it.

There are plenty of poor slobs doing the opposite commute. The vast majority of STN based crewmembers flying for Atlas live in the US and have to jumpseat to Europe to start their trips! :ugh: :ugh:

folks,

ok, too many assumptions concerning my question about commuting from europe.

the situation is as followed:

employed by us-121 international carrier
right to live and work in either the usa and/or europe

planning to move to europe and make the commute to the US for work.
but when living in europe and have the primary residence there, what happens to taxes. will your health insurance cover you and your family.

i know there are a few folks from UPS and FEDEX doing the commute.

anybody around with relevant experience and advice?

thanks

cheers trot

In order to avoid U.S. income taxes on a total annual salary, excluding per diem, of approx $88,000, after personal exemptions and deductions your adjusted gross income would be about $80,000, you would have to stay outside the U.S. and its territories for a total of 330 days per year. You are liable to pay taxes above that amount. www.irs.gov has a thorough, detailed analysis in qualifying for foreign tax exemption. Generally, If you are a U.S. citizen and you report for work in the USA, [flying into and out of USA or flying domestically] you will be subject to income tax, no matter where you reside.
Your company Health insurance coverage is between you and the provider.

There are two ways to be eligible for tax-free status.

1. 330 days outside of the U.S. in a 365 day period.
2. Establish a residence outside the U.S.

#2 is the easiest. You simply need a residential address and you can return to the U.S. as much as you desire.

I used #2 from 1999-2006 while residing in Italy.

check 6 were you still liable to Italian taxes between 99-06

We did not have to pay federal and state income taxes on the income obtained while working outside the U.S. We all had to pay social security and medicare taxes (employer paid their percentage, we paid our percentage).

Check 6 working in Italy did you pay income taxes there

No, the US has treaties with many nations to avoid paying taxes in both nations. I was employed by a US company. Had I been employed by an Italian company I would have been required to pay Italian taxes, but not US taxes.

Check 6 - are you saying that one is US tax exempt if they are out of the country 330 days or more? Example: pilot (US citizen) works for, say SIA, and lives full time in Singapore (he/she pays full Singapore taxes on income). They make around S$220k/yr ($130K US dollars/yr). No US tax due?:D

Being a former US Citizen, Check6 isn't quite right.

If you are a US Citizen and are out of the country over 270 days/year you do get a break (very slight). In the past you started to pay tax on, I beleive it was 72,000 and has been adjusted for inflation. The first 72000 was in essence tax free. There was a MAJOR change a few years ago and now you still have the same exemption but the tax rate starts as if you had paid taxes on the exempted amount. In addition, you are required to include as taxable income any housing assistance you receive. Oh, and in addition , if your host country has taxes you pay them too!


Take a look at this and you'll see what a great deal it is!!! http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

A lot of BS that is plain wrong has been said here.

First of all, the $82K (or there abouts) exemption is on income a US citizen not residing in the US earned from a non US company while working outside of the US. Go on a business trip in the US and the portion of the salary you earned in the US is not exempt.

If you are a US resident (citizen or green card holder) working for a US based company overseas, you get taxed on the lot.

As for tax treaties, all that means is that the US and the other country do not double tax you on the same money. What that means in the case of Italy, you pay your Italian income taxes and then file your US income tax return. All that happens then is that you get to deduct the tax amount you paid to Italy from the tax you owe to Uncle Sam on the money you earned in Italy. If the tax rate in Italy is higher, then you don't have to pay it again to Uncle Sam.

You all can believe what you want. I am a US citizen and I worked for a US corporation in Europe for 6+ years and I did not pay US taxes the whole time, but more importantly I was not required to, only Social Security and Medicare.

For the facts, read IRS Publication 54. Don't believe me, believe the IRS. :ugh:

hey fellas,

meanwhile we start confusing everybody.
when talking about this issue, one needs to be particular about their status at time of declaring their taxes.

us citizen: yes or no
living overseas: yes or no
working for a foreign or us-based company: yes or no

i had the impression, that

1st case:

being a us citizen,
living overseas(either bona fide resident or outside the usa more than 330 days),
and working for a us-based company,
you can make use of the exemption, which runs to be tax-free for you first 80000-82000$. beyond that amount, you pay regular rates. no taxes to the overseas country you live in.

2nd case:
us citizen,
living overseas,
working for an overseas company of the country you reside in,
you can also make use of the exemption, but also pay taxes to the country your overseas company is registered in.


again, if i am wrong, please correct me.

cheers

Check6.

I must assume that you paid Italian taxes on that money. Those taxes are deducted from what you would owe to the IRS (That is what a tax treaty is, an agreement not to double tax you). As the Italian taxes were probably higher then the amount owed to the IRS, you ended up not having to pay anything to the IRS. So your statement is correct. I would also bet that your the US Corporation you worked for overseas had someone prepare your taxes so that is why you think you were exempt from paying US taxes.

trot,

Almost every country that has an income tax will tax you for the money you earn while working inside it's borders. The US is the exeption in that they will tax you for money you earn outside its borders.

All a tax treaty does is have the IRS agree to deduct the taxes that another country charged you from what you owe them on the amount that you earned in the other country.

If any of you have more than a philosophical interest in this thread, I would suggest that you contact a competent tax accountant.

Actually we did not pay Italian taxes, nor were we required to. But don't take my word, talk to a tax professional.