Moving outside EU

[dedero 4]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm actually living in Germany for 8+ years and I already got the German citizenship few days ago. The next steps are that we would like to move to Uruguay, maybe temporarily, maybe permanently.. we don't know yet..

My idea is to keep my actual job but as a freelancer but I'm not yet sure if that is even possible from my company to work from Uruguay, I work 100% remotely but here in Germany, but outside EU is another story.. so I'm thinking in the following options:

 

- Try to arrange with my boss to work as freelancer remotely from Uruguay so I don't have anything attached to the company or the country (taxes, Krankenkasse, etc)

- Do the Anmeldung in a friend's home and remain my contract like it is and work from Uruguay (not really sure if that is even possible due to the Steuerklärung, Krankenkasse, etc)

 

By the way, do you have a clue what is the impact is being Angemeldet in a friend's house while living abroad? (regardless if I have a job contract in Germany or not) Can I impact her while she does the Steuerklärung for having another person registered in her home or something like that and vice versa?

 

Any hint is very much appreciated!

 

Cheers.

[Marone 9]

Option 1 will only work if you can get around the Scheinselbstständigkeit issues your employer will run into.

 

Option 2 will only work if your employer does all the right paperwork. There is a totalization agreement between Germany and Uruguay, so at least that's the good news (https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Broschueren/international/weitere_abkommen/35_arbeiten_deutschland_uruguay.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1). There's that A1 a certificate your employer needs to get for you and they need to make sure income taxes and social contributions are paid in the right place (probably taxes in Uruguay and welfare contributions Germany). It doesn't matter if your employer sends you or if you move based on your own decision, your employer has to make sure they have all the right paperwork for whoever works for them. They'll also need to get a copy of the document that allows you to work in Uruguay.

 

If you figure out a freelance contract, maybe include a clause that you take full responsibility that you have a work permit wherever you choose to work for them and they aren't liable, and include something that that will get them around Scheinselbstständigkeit rules - if you work only for them, they have to properly employ you by German law and make sure they pay into social security for you.

 

If you occasionally reside with your friend, you could remain angemeldet there (if the primary residence is abroad, an additional residence in Germany will be an Erstwohnsitz). As such, no Zweitwohnsitzsteuer, which is good. But having other people registered at her house may impact trash fees if her town calculates those based on # of residents (some do). If you never reside with your friend, of course registering a residence there would not be legal and her giving you a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung would not be legal. It's a 30k fine but I don't know if anyone ever checks. 

 

Of course, German public health insurance doesn't do much for you in Uruguay but there are some options. You just generally have to know how long your trip will be.

 

 

[dedero 4]

@Marone wow thanks a lot for the detailed reply!, really appreciated! sorry for the delay, I never got notified for this..

 

Finally the company offered me a freelancer contract, not sure if they are aware of the agreement between Germany and Uruguay but I will tell the HR guy in case is somehow helpful

 

Now the next challenge is to know whether I have to pay taxes in Germany while getting my salary in my German bank account and living in Uruguay or maybe makes more sense to transfer that salary to a bank in Uruguay

 

Thanks a lot!

[Marone 9]

You could check out the tax treaty Germany has with Uruguay. Uruguay is a bit of a "tax haven" compared to Germany, so it might work out in your favor if you don't plan to leave much behind and not spend much time in Germany, in which case your tax residence would more likely be Uruguay.

 

For multi-currency business banking, I personally like Wise. You get an IBAN and can accept Euros and can convert that stream of income and do taxes in the country where you or your business is located. If you'll be a freelancer and your customer just pays your invoices, it's not for them to worry that you pay taxes wherever you owe them.

[Marone 9]

If you'd rather be an employee (e.g. you're not planning to get other customers), the company would likely either have to either employ you in Uruguay (so Uruguayan employment law, Uruguayan social welfare contributions) or get an A1 certificate for a limited posting abroad (German employment law, German social welfare contributions). 

 

You'd always pay income taxes in Uruguay (by yourself, even as an employee) if you spend the majority of the year there and it's your primary residence.

 

This might be a decent summary of what kind of tax rates and social welfare contributions to expect to expect.

[dedero 4]

such a great info, thanks a lot!!

[dedero 4]

In a nutshell, as soon as I pay taxes in Uruguay is not mandatory to pay taxes in Germany based on the bi-lateral treat between the 2 countries, right?

[Marone 9]

As soon as you have to pay income taxes in Uruguay (like due to moving there and residing there for >183 days), whatever the tax treaty says, yes.

 

There's mixed advice out there regarding freelancing from Uruguay, so I'm not sure if the income tax rates there are better or worse than in Germany. But if you live there and work there, Uruguay gets to tax you.