Working for and getting paid from an Irish company, working from home in UK

[man1167]

I have been offered a job with an Irish company, working from home in the U.K. The Irish company has no UK company or offices, they are HQ’d in Dublin, and as such no ability to pay from here.

How might this work?
Would need to pay Irish taxes?
Would need to pay U.K. taxes?
What about National Insurance?
Would the Irsih company withhold the tax element?
Can they pay me in sterling and not withhold anything and I just take care of the taxes myself in U.K.

One option would be for me to work as a private contractor and just invoice them monthly.

What other options might I have?

Thanks for your help.

 

[CXC]

Hi Man1167,

This is an interesting situation from a tax point of view. Firstly you can either be engaged as an employee (under a contract of services) or as an contractor (under a contract for services).
If you are an employee, then assuming you are currently resident in the UK (as you menitoned you might be working from home in the UK), the Irish company will be obliged to deduct UK PAYE and UK national insurance contributions and pay these to HMRC as you are physically working in the UK. Other rules apply for those who are being relocated to the UK from Ireland on a short term basis.

If you are taken on as a contractor you will need to register as a sole trader or alternatively set up your own company and will need to pay income tax and national insurance in the UK on your wages.

Whether you will be regarded as an employee or contractor will actually depend on the relationship that exists between you and the Irish company rather than your intentions. In addition the UK has a raft of IR35 legislation dealing with contractors which has to be navigated.

Also the company would need to be careful in relation to VAT and corporation tax - even without having an office, they can be deemed to have an establishment for VAT purposes in the UK. Also they could be deemed to have a branch in the UK even without having an office there, but these VAT and corporation tax issues can be easily be avoided by having clearly defined parameters set up.

We currently manage UK payroll (& other tax issues) for Irish companies, and indeed for contractors who have set up their own companies in the UK. I will PM you my details and we can discuss your exact circumstances and also how to avoid the Corporation Tax and VAT issues in detail.
Kieran Coughlan, Tax Manager, CXC