Polish employee
May 26, 2012 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Wirtschaftsprüfer André Hintz
Hello,
we need to employ a Polish employee for approximately 2-3 months. He is coming to Germany specifically for this job and will be staying in a hotel rented by us. He does not have a residence in Germany, does not work in Poland, and is financially supported by his wife.
Do we need to employ him in Germany as a regular social security contributor without any special characteristics (1-1-1-1)? Or can we choose to hire him as a "short-term employment" without social security contributions? Do we need to pay income tax?
Thank you for your response.
Kind regards
Dear inquirer,
I would like to answer your question within the scope of an initial consultation and your fee commitment, in accordance with the rules of the online portal. My response is based on the situation you have presented.
The question at hand is the tax liability of your Polish employee.
For your employee, it is important to note that as soon as they earn income in Germany, they must also pay taxes in Germany. The hotel where your employee resides during their stay serves as their place of residence.
The tax will be withheld directly from the employee's salary by you as the employer and remitted to the tax office. For the employee, this has a final effect, meaning they usually do not have to file a tax return. As a limited tax resident, they are not entitled to the basic tax allowance, which means their income is taxable from the first euro.
As far as I am aware, a short-term employment requires a contractually agreed working time of less than 50 working days. Whether your case qualifies as a short-term employment depends on the contract you have with your employee. A lawyer specializing in labor law or your local labor agency can provide you with legally sound answers.
This response is solely related to your tax question.
I hope my explanations have been helpful and remain
Yours sincerely,
André Hintz
Tax Advisor
