Hi
Thanks for your previous reply. This question is also for Atlana Tax expert.
I have a question regarding runnning the payroll. In the H-1B documents and offer letter from employer says that he will offer me say 50K per annum and I work for 9 months and already got paid 60K and was on bench for a month. Is it not necessary to run payroll for the month in bench since I have already crossed the annual limit mentioned in the H-1B docs by the employer ( which is 50K ) ? Or is it really necessary that even though we cross that limit we should have paychecks every month ?

How does it work if we are on vacation and leave the country for couple of months ? Do we need the payroll run for sure since we might also have some vaction days and other days at loss of pay ? Is there any limitation in terms of time to stay out of the country while on H-1B on vacation ?

What is the time we can be Jobless in H-1B between the old Job and a new Job. I mean once we lost a Job and find a new one soon and the maximum time between this ?

And the 2004 income( income of oct 04) earned while on F-1 visa and on OPT in 1099 is received in 2005 while in the status of H-1b. Do I need to pay extra taxes of H-1B for this income ?

Thanks for your time

Kanikaram42:

Your first question is a question associated with your employer's payroll procedures rather than tax issues. I cannot comment on such payroll issues.

To my knowledge, there is no limitation as to how long you can stay out of country while on your H-1B visa.

I do not know about time limitations between jobs while on H-1B. I suspect there are no limitations at all. The H-1B visa authorizes you to work while in country. It does not require that you work.

If you were on both F-1 and H-1B status in 2005, you may be a "dual status" alien. It depends on when you switched your visa status. Check out the dual status chapter in IRS Pub 519 for further details. You will have to pay income taxes on the income you earned while on F-1 status, but not self-employment taxes.