Anyone I know have deep experience with how #remote / distributed companies handle all the legal/tax/benefits/etc variations across cities/states/countries for their employees? Folks with legal background here would be super helpful. Thanks!
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PEO makes it super easy, plus you get big corp benefits you can offer your employees. I’ve gone the PEO route a few times, just make sure they reduce your rate for employees that exceed Social Security withholding limits once that’s hit.
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Thank you! Beyond big corp benefits are there any real differences/tradeoffs between PEO vs a combo of legal+accounting+Gusto-like service? I'm just curious if there's a company size/stage argument there, e.g. small startup vs growth vs more established?
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Best to get tax+legal advice from your trusted advisors. Some q's: do you want to setup payroll reporting in numerous states? Will direct employees establish nexus for income taxes? Do you want your own HR and the liability of following many state laws, or outsource it?
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Replying to @bilcorry @courtneynash @skamille
Personally, the big advantage was shifting legal liability and being able to onboard anyone in all 50 states quickly, versus wanting to hire an employee in a new state that required onboarding the state first, then could hire the employee.

Jan 21, 2020 · 4:05 AM UTC

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Replying to @bilcorry @skamille
Yeah I can see the logic in that. This is for research for a guide, so trying to include as much possible detail vs just “talk to a lawyer.” But I am talking to lawyers and accounting folks as well!
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Totally get that. The mix of how many employees you have, how many different states you want to support, and how many benefits you want to offer will change which model will work best. Cost, liability, nexus, speed, ease, interest on escrowed taxes, etc all factor in as well.
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