Hi there, I have been searching for information regarding working in the DR. I know that some people have found work online (or otherwise) working for US-based companies and are able to work, earning US dollars, while they live in the DR. They report their income and pay taxes to the US. But what I've been looking for is laws, American laws, regarding this. Are there any legal requirements for Americans that work for American companies while living in the DR? If anyone has any information or knows of any official links regarding situations like this, I would appreciate the heads up. If there are any Dominican laws, I would like to know about them as well. Thank you so much!
- Thread starter SanDiego
- Start date
Americans working in the DR for Americans
Any work carried out by a foreigner on Dominican soil is subject to the provisions of the Labor Code since Dominican labor laws are territorial in nature (Principle V of the Labor Code).
Work done in the Dominican Republic is subject to Dominican taxes (Articles 269 and 270 of the Tax Code.)
Work done in the Dominican Republic is subject to Dominican taxes (Articles 269 and 270 of the Tax Code.)
I know several Americans working for American companies and they all say there are no special American laws to prevent this. You must pay your taxes however.
Practical application please!
Thank you for your comments! I have another question for Mr. Guzman. You said that labor done in the DR is subject to the Domincan Labor law and also to Dominican Taxes. Can you put that into practical application? In other words, what should American citizens DO in a situation where they are working in the DR for an american company? Are they supposed to report their earnings to a specific DR government entity? And does the government actually enforce this in any way? I am not familiar with the way larger companies work in the DR, but I do know that most of the Dominicans that are self employed and those that work for smaller companies don't even pay income taxes themselves... If the DR government doesn't enforce DOMINICAN income tax for all dominicans, how can it expect foreigners to pay income taxes to them? I would appreciate any further insight that could be given!
Thank you for your comments! I have another question for Mr. Guzman. You said that labor done in the DR is subject to the Domincan Labor law and also to Dominican Taxes. Can you put that into practical application? In other words, what should American citizens DO in a situation where they are working in the DR for an american company? Are they supposed to report their earnings to a specific DR government entity? And does the government actually enforce this in any way? I am not familiar with the way larger companies work in the DR, but I do know that most of the Dominicans that are self employed and those that work for smaller companies don't even pay income taxes themselves... If the DR government doesn't enforce DOMINICAN income tax for all dominicans, how can it expect foreigners to pay income taxes to them? I would appreciate any further insight that could be given!
The way the new tax system is working, foreigners may find getting a job difficult because the system requires that you enter a cedula or rnc for an individual. Without that, apparently it does not accept the deduction for the money paid to the individual.
How much time does a person have to be in the DR to be subject to the tax laws and labor laws? For example, people may go there on vacation and work from their laptop for a couple weeks. They surely can't be expected to pay Dominican Income taxes for the time that they worked on Dominican soil. So after what amount of time would a person be subject to the tax laws?
The Dominican Tax Department has many people working in the offices of Codetel (Verizon) and also at Tricom, monitoring the internet traffic from and to the D.R.
Once they note that it is work material, they calculate the total amount of time spent on work correspondence, and if no tax report is filed by the individual, they assign a value, and calculate the taxes due.
When the individual comes to the airport, it is the job of Migraci?n to detain the individual when they are attempting to leave the DR, and to collect the taxes due.
Apparently, they have no people working at the land crossings to Haiti, so if one wanted to escape the DR without paying these taxes, they could theoretically pass over to Haiti, and then fly to anywhere in the world. (this may be one reason the Dominican Armed Forces are beefing up their numbers at the Haitian borders though).
Good luck.
Once they note that it is work material, they calculate the total amount of time spent on work correspondence, and if no tax report is filed by the individual, they assign a value, and calculate the taxes due.
When the individual comes to the airport, it is the job of Migraci?n to detain the individual when they are attempting to leave the DR, and to collect the taxes due.
Apparently, they have no people working at the land crossings to Haiti, so if one wanted to escape the DR without paying these taxes, they could theoretically pass over to Haiti, and then fly to anywhere in the world. (this may be one reason the Dominican Armed Forces are beefing up their numbers at the Haitian borders though).
Good luck.
GringoCarlos
As A resident of the DR I would like to know where you got this information and how valid is it ?
As A resident of the DR I would like to know where you got this information and how valid is it ?
What are your sources?
Verizon/Codetel can not even control SPAM farms from their servers!
This is just not happening.
Verizon/Codetel can not even control SPAM farms from their servers!
This is just not happening.
My point EXACTLY.When I asked GringoCarlos where he is getting this info from..Unless this started Today and he knows something we don't.. Lets wait for his reply....
I guess everyone here is sleeping today. OK, it's a JOKE. I won't be here on 01 April, saw this thread, and decided to have some fun. I AM GUILTY.
It's almost as stupid as the idea that someone would come to the DR, work on their laptop, send that work product to the US or somewhere else, and then trot on down to actually pay taxes for doing it. Are the secret internet police going to come and knock down your door and take you and your laptop to jail?
Think about it. If a Dominican went to Washington, DC, worked on his laptop, sent the work product to the DR, would he then go over to the IRS headqquarters and say "hey, I owe you guys some taxes, how do I pay?" And if he didn't, would the IRS hunt him down for their taxes plus penalties and interest? Or maybe Homeland Security's computers would ring an alarm, and send out troops to catch this dangerous individual. Get a life.
Come on down, do whatever you want to, and relax. It's the DR. Stop worrying.
It's almost as stupid as the idea that someone would come to the DR, work on their laptop, send that work product to the US or somewhere else, and then trot on down to actually pay taxes for doing it. Are the secret internet police going to come and knock down your door and take you and your laptop to jail?
Think about it. If a Dominican went to Washington, DC, worked on his laptop, sent the work product to the DR, would he then go over to the IRS headqquarters and say "hey, I owe you guys some taxes, how do I pay?" And if he didn't, would the IRS hunt him down for their taxes plus penalties and interest? Or maybe Homeland Security's computers would ring an alarm, and send out troops to catch this dangerous individual. Get a life.
Come on down, do whatever you want to, and relax. It's the DR. Stop worrying.
More tax questions
I am hoping that someone reading this very funny thread will be able to help me out. I am trying to convince my employer to let me work from the DR while my husband and I wait for his visa to come through. I currently work from home so I would still be telecommuting, just from a warmer climate. Does anyone know what special steps my employer would need to take? I know they would still have to withhold social security and medicare from my checks but what do they do beyond that? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am hoping that someone reading this very funny thread will be able to help me out. I am trying to convince my employer to let me work from the DR while my husband and I wait for his visa to come through. I currently work from home so I would still be telecommuting, just from a warmer climate. Does anyone know what special steps my employer would need to take? I know they would still have to withhold social security and medicare from my checks but what do they do beyond that? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thats it for them
you on the other hand will have a much harder time doing your taxes and getting the credit for foreign residency. as you would be working out of your own home you would be able to forget about your Dominican taxes (nobody knows your earning), but you need to keep track of the number of days each year that you spend in the DR vs USA, as this affects the foreign credit. check with an accountant,
you on the other hand will have a much harder time doing your taxes and getting the credit for foreign residency. as you would be working out of your own home you would be able to forget about your Dominican taxes (nobody knows your earning), but you need to keep track of the number of days each year that you spend in the DR vs USA, as this affects the foreign credit. check with an accountant,
To be eligible for the US Foreign Earned Income exclusion, you must do one of two things: either have official residency in another country, or be outside of the US and its territories for at least 330 days out of the calendar year.
If you do have residency here in the DR, but also spend time working in the US, you must pay taxes for the days spent in the US.
The 2008 amount for this foreign earned income exclusion will be US$87,600. The cost to get DR residency through a lawyer is about US$2,000 to $2,500. Do the math and see what makes sense.
If you come here to work but maintain a home, cars, licenses, etc, in the USA, the IRS may say that you are only here temporarily and have no intention of actually making the DR your home, and will not allow the income exclusion.
If you are here in the DR working and getting paid in the US without satisfying either condition above, you will still have to pay US taxes on your pay.
Perhaps the best investment you could make for this situation is to pay a US tax attorney WITH A LOT OF EXPERIENCE HELPING EXPATRIATE US CITIZENS WITH THEIR TAXES a few $$ for their advice, before it costs you a ton of money. This shouldn?t cost you more than probably $300 for initial guidance from them. If they know their stuff, it will be money well spent.
If you do have residency here in the DR, but also spend time working in the US, you must pay taxes for the days spent in the US.
The 2008 amount for this foreign earned income exclusion will be US$87,600. The cost to get DR residency through a lawyer is about US$2,000 to $2,500. Do the math and see what makes sense.
If you come here to work but maintain a home, cars, licenses, etc, in the USA, the IRS may say that you are only here temporarily and have no intention of actually making the DR your home, and will not allow the income exclusion.
If you are here in the DR working and getting paid in the US without satisfying either condition above, you will still have to pay US taxes on your pay.
Perhaps the best investment you could make for this situation is to pay a US tax attorney WITH A LOT OF EXPERIENCE HELPING EXPATRIATE US CITIZENS WITH THEIR TAXES a few $$ for their advice, before it costs you a ton of money. This shouldn?t cost you more than probably $300 for initial guidance from them. If they know their stuff, it will be money well spent.
Do you know what my employer needs to do on their end? They are concerned about me needing a certain Visa while living in DR. They also want to know if they have to set up a business in DR in order for me to telecommute from there. And what agency in DR governs these issues? Our HR manager is having a hard time figuring out who to talk to and they want to make sure the company is doing everything on the up and up.