Working Remotely For US Company as Sole Trader

Hey guys! I've read through most of the more recent posts that people has created about working remotely for a US based company. My current company has offered to allow me to continue to work for them (everything that I do can be done 100% remotely) once I move and while we have several international employees, there is no UK office or anything set up in the UK.

I see that the best way to go about this is to get myself set up as a sole trader and treat this as contract work. I'm curious if anyone has actually done this or this has just been discussed on the boards. And if I were to be successful with this, how long does it take to get set up as a sole trader and get a national insurance number, etc. Thank you!

I am commenting to see any replies. I am in the same boat and being offered to be 1099 contract employee. I am concerned because from what I have read I would be taxed from the US around 25% (or more) then by Scotland (where we are moving) a 40% tax as I would make more than 43k in pounds.


Look forward to hearing others experience with this.

You will need to register for Self Assessment as a sole trader in the UK. The UK gets the first cut. If your earnings are £43K, you deduct the tax-free allowance, and pay tax on the balance, so you would normally be in the 20% bracket, not the 40%. You will also pay NI contributions in the UK. And yes, you need to get a National Insurance number ASAP.

You do NOT pay self-employment tax in the US. You WILL need to file a tax return, but either take the FEIC to exclude your income or the FTC to use UK tax paid to offset US tax due.

That's the short & simple stuff. Others will come along and provide more specifics.


You need to do a bit of reading

Thank you so much, Vadio! I'm not in the UK yet, just trying to get all my ducks in a row before I get there and this was very helpful.