The attitude to remote work differs.
Recently Elon Musk ordered all the employees working from home to go back to the office or “pretend to work somewhere else.”
And while the top business leaders hesitate on whether or not to allow their employees to work from home, the number of remote positions rises. For example, in Germany, the number of companies enabling 20-50% of employees to work remotely grew from 8% in 2019 to 21% in 2022.
Countries like Israel, Australia, Canada, and others are popular destinations that remote workers choose as a place of residence.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to move to Israel while working for a US employer.
What makes people move?
Whether to discover the unseen part of the world or unite with their family, US workers may have hundreds of reasons to move to Israel.
Sometimes the very development of business requires that. The employees get relocated better to serve clients’ needs in that time zone. This is typical for a top software development firm.
Whatever the reason, any worker should be prepared well for remote work in different time zones and cultures.
The main things to consider when moving to Israel
Anyone wishing to work for a US company in Israel may face challenges, like losing money due to costly transactions or finding yourself in a situation where your credit card is not accepted. Therefore the main things to consider when moving to Israel are money, taxes, and connection.
Money and banking
At first, a US employee wishing to move to Israel should be well-literate with the Israeli banking system. Here are the things to focus our attention on:
1. Exchange rate. As a US employee, you’ll still be getting a salary in dollars, and you may lose or win based on the rate fluctuations. Therefore, discussing this with your manager and agreeing on the rate covering fluctuation loss will be wise.
2. Bank account. You’ll have to decide beforehand whether to use a US or Israeli bank account. The US-based account may be tied with additional fees for money transfers. Therefore, choose your bank wisely. For example, Charles Schwab has an option of no-fee ATMs with a limit of 1000$ a day.
3. Cards. You’ll have to ensure your US credit card is supported in Israel, for many are not. As an option, you can get an Israeli card (and a bank account, correspondingly) or use US credit cards with no fees for overseas transactions. Or, you may keep both.
Taxes
A US employee working in Israel pays taxes in both countries. Therefore, it is vital to find a great accountant who specializes in US-Israel tax legislation or find two accountants for both countries.
You should know that a US-Israel tax treaty ensures you don’t pay a double tax on your income. But still, it is essential to be attentive to your earnings when you continue working while traveling back to the US or another country.
Things might be easier if you start working as a contractor, not a company employee. Then, you’ll simply pay taxes to the country you dwell in.
Before moving to Israel, you should study the taxation question thoroughly since taxation issues may have legal consequences.
Connection
Using phones and the internet in Israel has specifications too.
Keeping a US phone number may be costly, so you’ll have to get a local SIM card. Some Israeli companies, including TCS Telecom and Annatel, offer profitable plans to let your US colleagues and friends call your Israeli number.
If you still keep your US address, you may get essential letters and packages you’ve never expected regarding mail handling. In this case, you may ask your friend to take care of your mail.
Time zone
Be prepared to work different work hours. Israel is seven hours ahead of East Coast, meaning you’ll work in the evenings or get to work much earlier than your colleagues.
That might require proper planning.
Summing up
Relocating employees and managing work from different parts of the world is a widespread practice for many contemporary companies, especially technical ones. With proper knowledge of legal issues and country specifics, every relocation experience may prove a real success.
Author’s bio: Anastasiia Lastovetska is a technology writer at MLSDev, a software development company that builds web & mobile app solutions from scratch. She researches the area of technology to create great content about app development, UX/UI design, tech & business consulting.
