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Getting started in the United States
Thread poster: H. Tammen
H. Tammen
H. Tammen
Local time: 11:20
English to German
Jan 9, 2002

Hi there,



I\'m new to the U.S., after having worked as a freelance transator in Germany, I\'d like to get started here.

My questions are:

- Do I charge VAT to American customers?

- What are the rules for starting to work as a freelance, do I need some sort of tax number, do I need to inform the authorities about my work (other than my tax declaration)?

Thanks a lot in advance!
 
BelkisDV
BelkisDV  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:20
Spanish to English
+ ...
The rules Jan 10, 2002

In response to your enquiry, I lived in the United States for 20 years, during the last 10 I worked as a translator both in-house and freelance.



Unfortunately, in the United States Translation is not a regulated field like it is in Europe or Latin America. There are organizations like the American Translators Association which offer accreditation exams, but in general, anyone can say they are a translator and no one will bother to check their credentials. The federal and st... See more
In response to your enquiry, I lived in the United States for 20 years, during the last 10 I worked as a translator both in-house and freelance.



Unfortunately, in the United States Translation is not a regulated field like it is in Europe or Latin America. There are organizations like the American Translators Association which offer accreditation exams, but in general, anyone can say they are a translator and no one will bother to check their credentials. The federal and state government also offer acreditation exams, but these are mainly for interpreters and they use the interpreters for translation.



You only need an EIN (Employer Identification Number) if you are incorporated, other than that you use your Social Security Number to report your earnings to the Internal Revenue Service from January 1st to April 15 every year.



Good luck to you. ▲ Collapse
 


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Getting started in the United States







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