What do I need to pay for? (Insurance, UN Passport, Taxes...?)

[54arde]

Am I required to purchase insurance and pay a fee for my UN passport and applicable taxes upon hire and /or on deployment?

[Sebastian]

Am I required to purchase insurance and pay a fee for my UN passport and applicable taxes upon hire and /or on deployment?

Hi,

I moved your post to a new topic - I think these are relevant questions. In principle, on a UN staff contract you will not need to pay for any UN-related item. I.e. your UN income is typically tax exempt, there is no cost for a UN passport etc. If you are ever contacted to advance/pay some money to somebody and it is claimed this is on behalf of the UN, it typically is a scam!

Now on insurances, this is an interesting topic: on non-staff contracts often you will be required to obtain your own insurances. Happy to discuss this topic in a separate thread further.

Were you asked to pay for something by somebody?

[zfx]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can shed some light on what gets deducted out of a UN paycheck. This is for a UN consultant position (non-staff, 11 month)

1. There appears to be a staff assessment at roughly 20% more or less (http://www.un.org/Depts/oppba/accounts/ ... /faq02.htm). Also, you can Not claim this as a tax credit (or deduction) on your home country's tax return.
2. Are UN consultants exempt from the UN location country's income taxes, social security taxes, and local/regional taxes? Are UN consultants exempt from income tax in Italy? Researched on the internet and wasn't able to find any definite answer. Some even say consultants are taxed on your worldwide income in addition to Italian income. It appears in Switzerland, consultants would have to pay income taxes (https://lenews.ch/2017/04/05/some-un-co ... ere-wrong/).
This would be a huge pay cut if taxes are not exempt. If anyone can shed some light on this, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

[Sebastian]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can shed some light on what gets deducted out of a UN paycheck. This is for a UN consultant position (non-staff, 11 month)

1. There appears to be a staff assessment at roughly 20% more or less (http://www.un.org/Depts/oppba/accounts/ ... /faq02.htm). Also, you can Not claim this as a tax credit (or deduction) on your home country's tax return.

Consultants don't need to pay Staff Assessment (that's for staff only).

2. Are UN consultants exempt from the UN location country's income taxes, social security taxes, and local/regional taxes? Are UN consultants exempt from income tax in Italy? Researched on the internet and wasn't able to find any definite answer. Some even say consultants are taxed on your worldwide income in addition to Italian income. It appears in Switzerland, consultants would have to pay income taxes (https://lenews.ch/2017/04/05/some-un-co ... ere-wrong/).
This would be a huge pay cut if taxes are not exempt. If anyone can shed some light on this, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

That really depends on your contract, the organisation, the duty station and their agreements with the host country. It is a really messy situation and I would ask the organisation with specific reference to the job you are taking on. I would advise getting the answer in writing just in case there are questions at a later stage...

Good luck!

[zfx]

Thank you very much for the response! That helps a lot!

[supaflynw10]

I don't agree with Sebastian here: I would rather assume that you DO need to pay taxes, unless you can find positive evidence to the contrary. If you ask the organization about taxes, they will send you a canned answer along the lines of "it is your responsibility to know if you need to pay taxes etc.", which is very evasive and unhelpful. Rather, in negotiations with the organization I would say something like "the fee is actually very low if I have to pay Swiss/Italian/my home state taxes, and I don't think I could afford to take on the assignment. Can you provide me with positive evidence that I don't need to pay taxes, or otherwise increase the fee to cover this liability?"

[Sebastian]

I don't agree with Sebastian here: I would rather assume that you DO need to pay taxes, unless you can find positive evidence to the contrary. If you ask the organization about taxes, they will send you a canned answer along the lines of "it is your responsibility to know if you need to pay taxes etc.", which is very evasive and unhelpful. Rather, in negotiations with the organization I would say something like "the fee is actually very low if I have to pay Swiss/Italian/my home state taxes, and I don't think I could afford to take on the assignment. Can you provide me with positive evidence that I don't need to pay taxes, or otherwise increase the fee to cover this liability?"

Thanks - I do think that's a good way to put it. Fully agree.