# Working for a British company remotely from Munich



## pr83 (Nov 2, 2015)

Hello.

Could someone please recommend me some German advisors/lawyers/counsellors (don't have to be cheap) who would give me an advice regarding working for a British company remotely from Germany?

(I have tried to contact Steuerberater to arrange a phone call, but they didn't get back to me. Maybe it's because I was asking about paperwork which is not limited to taxes only.)

Thanks very much in advance for any help.


*My current situation*

Currently I'm working in London for a British software company. I'm moving to Munich in early January 2015 (my girlfriend works for an international company and she has been relocated to Munich). My current employer is happy to let me continue working for them remotely from Munich. There is, however, a chance that at some point I will stop working for them and start looking for a job in Germany.

I plan to live for 1-2 years in Germany and then move to the Czech Republic (where I come from).

My knowledge of the German language is very limited.

Unless I start searching for a job in Germany, my economic activity will have nothing to do with Germany, except for the fact that I will be physically present there most of the time.

*Topics to discuss*


Is it an option to continue paying taxes in the United Kingdom, at least for some interim period?
If I have to pay taxes in Germany, what will be my legal form (freelancer, self-employed, ...)?
Is there some paperwork I will have to do in addition to getting a German tax number, sending a yearly tax return and arranging for a health insurance?
Is there some additional paperwork I will have to take into account, assuming I will have been working in different countries during the same tax year?
Is it an option to have a Czech trade licence (known as "Gewerbeschein" in Germany) and work for a British company as a contractor from Germany?

​What additional paperwork will I have to arrange for in Germany in that case?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

pr83 said:


> *Topics to discuss*
> 
> 
> Is it an option to continue paying taxes in the United Kingdom, at least for some interim period?
> ...


I don't know enough to get into specific details on the tax paperwork and so on, but in general, once you move to Germany you'd be required to pay German taxes, which may mean setting up as a contractor. Also you will need German health insurance.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Nononymous said:


> I don't know enough to get into specific details on the tax paperwork and so on, but in general, once you move to Germany you'd be required to pay German taxes, which may mean setting up as a contractor. Also you will need German health insurance.


A few additional thoughts. 

In principle this is no problem at all - as an EU citizen you have the right to live in Germany as long as you are able to support yourself. Whether you remain a salaried employee of the UK company (while paying German taxes of course) or become a freelancer/contractor, is a question best answered by a Steuerberater. 

There are also some specifics as to what type of self-employed status you'll have: if you have a degree you can be considered a "professional" and are exempt from the Gewerbesteuer. Have the tax advisor look into this.

As self-employed you'd be paying both halves of your health insurance (unlike a salaried employee of a German company) so plan on that being more expensive.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The general principle in international stuff like this is that you are considered to be working in the country where you are physically located while doing the work. So, in your case, in Germany. That means that you should be paying taxes (and social charges) in Germany rather than in the UK.

The simplest way to do that would be to establish yourself as "self employed" (basically as a contractor) though I'm not sure exactly how that is done in Germany. Depending on how much you're being paid, that may involve charging VAT to your "employer" on the amounts you bill for your services. You may want to ask at the Rathaus to find out the appropriate office you should be contacting.
Cheers,
Bev


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