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More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

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Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#41

Post by lotsofpulp »

neogodless wrote: post #27
lotsofpulp wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Benefits are just an appealing name given to anything an employer chooses to spend money on instead of paying you that money (and the trade typically works in their favor). Nominally, this works out for both employer and employee, since those benefits can be paid for with pre tax money. Really, it gives big businesses an advantage over small businesses that cannot afford the costs to administer these benefits or the…

> those benefits can be paid for with pre tax money The standard deduction largely gobbled up this scenario - paying towards health insurance premiums is tax deductible, but unless you can itemize beyond that standard deduction, it no longer matters. So in that case, yes there's somewhat of an advantage. Overall it can lead to complicated math trying to determine which scenario (W2 or 1099) will leave you with the mo…

> The standard deduction largely gobbled up this scenario - paying towards health insurance premiums is tax deductible

It is not deductible, unless you are self employed. For example, a W-2 person working for a business with less than 50 employees which does not offer employer subsidized health insurance is not allowed to deduct health insurance premiums. You also cannot deduct if you are even eligible under a spouse’s employer subsidized health plan (although I do not know how they could audit you and find this out).

> And yes - with things like pooling resources, big business can often get better negotiated healthcare premiums than small business, let alone individuals.

Not really, healthcare.gov premiums and employer premiums are pretty close for the most part. The difference is in being able to pay with pre tax versus post tax income.

> For couples, it just varies by situation. Sometimes the W-2 member of the couple can get family health insurance, if that's a better deal than what the 1099 can get. If that's not an option, then yes, the 1099 member has to fend for themselves and buy an individual health insurance plan.

I was referring to the complications arising from determining limits for retirement contributions when one spouse is W-2 and the other is non W-2. For most people this will introduce the need for an accountant. For the amount of money that the vast, vast majority of Americans earn, I think they would easily come out ahead being W-2 employees with subsidized benefits via large employers.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#42

Post by wonderwonder »

nickjj wrote: post #40
neogodless wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Benefits are just an appealing name given to anything an employer chooses to spend money on instead of paying you that money (and the trade typically works in their favor). Certainly, there are cases where contract employment is offered with pay that does not compete well against full-time employment/salary plus benefits, but that is not always the case. Anecdotally, I've seen contracts done as W2 with benefits, even…

> but also using the U.S. tax system to great advantage, putting a very large portion of my gross pay into tax-advantaged accounts[0] Yep, I'm not an accountant but a 401k for 2021 says you can contribute up to $19,500. But a SEP account for 2021 maxes out at $58,000. A SEP account is something a contractor or any self employed person can contribute to. It's a tax deferred account meaning the amount you put in is tak…

100%! I recently opened a SEP account; its amazing. I throw as much into it as I can and it reduces both my personal taxable income and that of my companies. It's great.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#43

Post by Mikeb85 »

41209 wrote: post #14

Has anyone seen if there's a clear path to working from an overseas location. I have an LLC if that works, I figure I could do a Corp to Corp as long as LLC exists within the US.

Contractor with your own company is the way. Otherwise the hiring company will need to have a presence in your place of residence, deal with a bunch of tax nonsense, etc...

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#44

Post by the_only_law »

wonderwonder wrote: post #39
the_only_law wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they offering rates that offset the cost of that stuff? Most contracts I see absolutely suck because they just offer what an equivalent full time roles would with an additional tax burden.

I think it depends on the role. I got a 75% raise when I switched to contracting. I have a year to year contract but everyone else here on the same contract has been here multiple years. I work for a contracting company and they contract me out to a unicorn company. Pay is good, hours are good and when they aren't I get paid OT.

> I work for a contracting company and they contract me out to a unicorn company

How do you find good contracting firms? All I’ve ever seen are body shops.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#45

Post by neogodless »

slumdev wrote: post #35
neogodless wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that you are unable to purchase health insurance in your hell world? I live in the United States, and when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. It was actually a very nice plan.

> when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. How long has it been since then? What most people would consider "good" insurance costs $1500-2000 per month for a family. I've never seen an employer chip in less than 50% of that cost.

It's been about 2.5 years. Was paying under $700 for the two of us.

The difference in pay between W2 and 1099 was $30,000 / year. This more than covered all taxes and health insurance costs. (And even the W2 rate was much higher than typical full-time salaries.)

The main difference in taxes is the 15.3% you pay towards FICA, where an employer has to cover most of it for W-2 (you still pay 6.2%.) I don't remember all the exact numbers any more, but if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own, especially if you take advantage of the solo 401(k) to reduce your tax load.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#46

Post by wonderwonder »

the_only_law wrote: post #44
wonderwonder wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends on the role. I got a 75% raise when I switched to contracting. I have a year to year contract but everyone else here on the same contract has been here multiple years. I work for a contracting company and they contract me out to a unicorn company. Pay is good, hours are good and when they aren't I get paid OT.

> I work for a contracting company and they contract me out to a unicorn company How do you find good contracting firms? All I’ve ever seen are body shops.

This is my first one so don't take my advice as gospel, I may have just gotten lucky. What I have always done is updated my resume on Monster and linked In and set whatever settings are needed to allow recruiters to contact me. The calls and emails just start coming in then. Sometimes those calls are from people that don't speak the best of English or have a thick accent, those are the ones I have gotten my current job and another really good W2 job with. Helps if you are not desperate to switch jobs. I was able to negotiate a higher wage as I was willing to walk after giving 2 great interviews. Negotiated an extra 30k onto my salary and I get paid hourly OT if I work over 40 hours a week or for any weekend work.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#47

Post by slumdev »

neogodless wrote: post #45
slumdev wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. How long has it been since then? What most people would consider "good" insurance costs $1500-2000 per month for a family. I've never seen an employer chip in less than 50% of that cost.

It's been about 2.5 years. Was paying under $700 for the two of us. The difference in pay between W2 and 1099 was $30,000 / year. This more than covered all taxes and health insurance costs. (And even the W2 rate was much higher than typical full-time salaries.) The main difference in taxes is the 15.3% you pay towards FICA, where an employer has to cover most of it for W-2 (you still pay 6.2%.) I don't remember all…

> Was paying under $700 for the two of us.

What did this buy, though? That premium sounds like either a "health sharing ministry" or some kind of barebones catastrophic plan. Both are smart options if a person has good income and a financial cushion, but they're a much lesser coverage than what most big employers would provide.

> if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own

I've used a wider margin as a rule of thumb when considering it in the past. I'll have to rerun numbers based on my current income and benefits.

> especially if you take advantage of the solo 401(k) to reduce your tax load.

That secret $54k deduction... probably the biggest benefit for anyone who is moderately high-income and retirement-minded.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#48

Post by lotsofpulp »

nickjj wrote: post #40
neogodless wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Benefits are just an appealing name given to anything an employer chooses to spend money on instead of paying you that money (and the trade typically works in their favor). Certainly, there are cases where contract employment is offered with pay that does not compete well against full-time employment/salary plus benefits, but that is not always the case. Anecdotally, I've seen contracts done as W2 with benefits, even…

> but also using the U.S. tax system to great advantage, putting a very large portion of my gross pay into tax-advantaged accounts[0] Yep, I'm not an accountant but a 401k for 2021 says you can contribute up to $19,500. But a SEP account for 2021 maxes out at $58,000. A SEP account is something a contractor or any self employed person can contribute to. It's a tax deferred account meaning the amount you put in is tak…

I think a a mega backdoor Roth gets you to similar limits.

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#49

Post by lotsofpulp »

slumdev wrote: post #47
neogodless wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's been about 2.5 years. Was paying under $700 for the two of us. The difference in pay between W2 and 1099 was $30,000 / year. This more than covered all taxes and health insurance costs. (And even the W2 rate was much higher than typical full-time salaries.) The main difference in taxes is the 15.3% you pay towards FICA, where an employer has to cover most of it for W-2 (you still pay 6.2%.) I don't remember all…

> Was paying under $700 for the two of us. What did this buy, though? That premium sounds like either a "health sharing ministry" or some kind of barebones catastrophic plan. Both are smart options if a person has good income and a financial cushion, but they're a much lesser coverage than what most big employers would provide. > if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own I've u…

They are probably young without kids.

A silver level high deductible health plan in a high cost of living state is about $400 per person for early 30 year olds. You can assume health insurance costs $350 per person, plus or minus 10%, in healthy years. Then you have to multiply by age rating factors. So a family of 4 with parents around 40 will be ~$1,500 per month for a silver HDHP.

This pdf is a good rubric:

https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/ihcseh/ihcrates20...

Re: More than 75% of Job Posts are Remote

#50

Post by officialchicken »

41209 wrote: post #14

Has anyone seen if there's a clear path to working from an overseas location. I have an LLC if that works, I figure I could do a Corp to Corp as long as LLC exists within the US.

LLC isn't required as long as you have an offer letter stating that you are responsible for taxes in your country, that you are a contractor and not an employee (critical in the EU) and have the company file a W8-BEN [0] with the IRS.

[0] https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf

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