# Working For a US Organization Online



## Worldtrker (Jan 2, 2014)

Hey all, I'm just a regular US educator wanting to do something different and new. I was wondering if any of you have taught in cyber schooling or worked for a US/international company through the internet. Were you able to live in the Philippines and still do your job adequately online or is it more complicated than I think it would be? I kind of just want to teach at a cyber school getting paid a US salary and live in the Philippines for a while. One can dream.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Worldtrker said:


> Hey all, I'm just a regular US educator wanting to do something different and new. I was wondering if any of you have taught in cyber schooling or worked for a US/international company through the internet. Were you able to live in the Philippines and still do your job adequately online or is it more complicated than I think it would be? I kind of just want to teach at a cyber school getting paid a US salary and live in the Philippines for a while. One can dream.


Welcome to the forum,

Sounds like a great idea for sure. One person that I know personally teaches students (English) online that are in Taiwan. Mostly collage ages kids. He was able to do this as he first taught there in person and then when he moved here just changed over to one on one using Skype.

I think in your situation, the best way would be to acquire the teaching job before you leave the States. That way all you would need to do is get an internet connection once you make the move.

Quality and reliability of the internet with any company here is the problem. It works but is very slow when compared to there at home. Also often times the internet here will be out for hours or days due to weather and other times will be out for days and no one ever knows why:confused2:..
To help avoid these problems, my friend has three internet hookups with three different providers. Works well for him unless or until the next power outage.


Jet Lag...


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

Worldtrker said:


> getting paid a US salary and live in the Philippines for a while.


Sorry, you'll have to line up behind the 100s or 1000s of us ahead of you looking for this too! LOL

My dream was to return and get a job handing out ping pong paddles at the Clark AB rec center but Pinatubo ended that.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

cvgtpc1 said:


> Sorry, you'll have to line up behind the 100s or 1000s of us ahead of you looking for this too! LOL
> 
> My dream was to return and get a job handing out ping pong paddles at the Clark AB rec center but Pinatubo ended that.


There is actually online work to be had in the world but it is hard to find. For someone that is retired, finding work is not critical. But for someone that needs this income to survive here it would be most prudent to locate the work before making the move. This is basically a retirement destination or for those that like a tropical vacation.


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## Worldtrker (Jan 2, 2014)

Jet Lag said:


> Welcome to the forum,
> 
> Sounds like a great idea for sure. One person that I know personally teaches students (English) online that are in Taiwan. Mostly collage ages kids. He was able to do this as he first taught there in person and then when he moved here just changed over to one on one using Skype.
> 
> ...



Yeah the internet reliability would be very important to have. What do the major cities in the Philippines have in the ways of Internet cafes if on the chance the Internet flakes at one's house? 

And I would of course get the job lined up in the States first, I'm certified in many areas and getting a fairly well paying public school cyber school job isn't all that impossible. My question is if I changed my legal address to the Philippines would I still have to pay US Federal Income tax if I make under 100k?


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Worldtrker said:


> Yeah the internet reliability would be very important to have. What do the major cities in the Philippines have in the ways of Internet cafes if on the chance the Internet flakes at one's house?
> 
> And I would of course get the job lined up in the States first, I'm certified in many areas and getting a fairly well paying public school cyber school job isn't all that impossible. My question is if I changed my legal address to the Philippines would I still have to pay US Federal Income tax if I make under 100k?


In Manila or just about anywhere in the country, there are more internet cafes than there are mosquitoes so no problem there.

US tax laws require that any income and or bank balance over I think it's $10,000 is reportable for taxes etc. The banks here cooperate fully with US banking laws and will report any acct with $10,000us or over in it. For paying taxes from here, I think the best {complete} source of information will be American Citizens office at the US Embassy in Manila after you arrive. Often times any legal info you get there at home is lacking or not complete simply because they don't deal with it every day as in the embassy here...


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## Worldtrker (Jan 2, 2014)

Jet Lag said:


> In Manila or just about anywhere in the country, there are more internet cafes than there are mosquitoes so no problem there.
> 
> US tax laws require that any income and or bank balance over I think it's $10,000 is reportable for taxes etc. The banks here cooperate fully with US banking laws and will report any acct with $10,000us or over in it. For paying taxes from here, I think the best {complete} source of information will be American Citizens office at the US Embassy in Manila after you arrive. Often times any legal info you get there at home is lacking or not complete simply because they don't deal with it every day as in the embassy here...


Well good that's an added plus for back up plans when a home connection goes sour.

As far as reportable income goes I would not want to hide it from the US by any means. Thanks for the link I'll check it out. I don't want to make any moves though until I get all the information I need. Pretty much I want to know in the end if one works for a US based company via the Internet but you live elsewhere in the world do you have to pay federal income tax to the US. I know that if you work for a US company in a physical building in another country you do not owe Uncle Sam a dime in federal income tax with pay under 100k. I just wonder if working via the Internet would also count too.


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## jamckinnon (Jan 30, 2014)

I left a long-term employer a year ago under a severance/early retirement package, and since I didn't have anything else going on at the time, I considered teaching English. So I attended a TESOL certification course in Cebu last fall to prepare. I asked a lot of questions before signing up, including "have you had students as old as me?" (I'm 62). I was assured that students in their 70's had successfully completed the course. But I failed to ask "have any of your students as old as me found jobs?". After finishing the course, I eagerly looked through the various web sites for teaching positions in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries. What I found was some of the worse overt age and gender discrimination that I've ever encountered. A typical listing would say "females only, up to age 35". The overall lesson learned was that I should have done a heck of lot more research into actual job listings before taking the course. On a positive note, I loved my experience in Cebu, fairly quickly adjusted to the heat, and made a commitment to retire in the Philippines. I even experienced my first 7.0 earthquake in the process.


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## jon1 (Mar 18, 2012)

Worldtrker said:


> Well good that's an added plus for back up plans when a home connection goes sour.
> 
> As far as reportable income goes I would not want to hide it from the US by any means. Thanks for the link I'll check it out. I don't want to make any moves though until I get all the information I need. Pretty much I want to know in the end if one works for a US based company via the Internet but you live elsewhere in the world do you have to pay federal income tax to the US. I know that if you work for a US company in a physical building in another country you do not owe Uncle Sam a dime in federal income tax with pay under 100k. I just wonder if working via the Internet would also count too.


If you are physically overseas for 330 days and working for an American company you should qualify. Read through this Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - Physical Presence Test

You will still have to pay FICA (7.65%) on wages less than $115,500 this year. Above that you have to pay the Medicare only (1.45%).


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