FEDERAL EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE
When a company hires across borders, three federal agencies read the same file.
Nyar Tax advises employers on the federal obligations that sit between the IRS, the Department of Labor, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: payroll and employment tax, foreign-owned U.S. companies, intracompany transfers, and specialty-occupation hiring. These agencies may not coordinate with one another. Counsel has to.
Inquiries are reviewed by an attorney. Engagements are accepted selectively.
The situations that bring employers here.
Usually not a single filing. Usually a decision in one area that has consequences in another.
A foreign company opening its U.S. operation
The entity is formed and a key person needs to transfer. Foreign-ownership reporting is not yet in place. The decisions made in the first year shape both the company's tax position and the transfer petition that depends on it.
An executive or manager moving from a foreign affiliate
The transfer turns on the corporate relationship, the role, and the person's history with the company abroad. The move also sets the date the individual becomes a U.S. taxpayer and how the company must pay and report them.
A new-office extension approaching
After the first year, the government asks whether the U.S. operation can actually support an executive or managerial role. The answer is found in payroll, financial statements, and tax filings, and it is far easier to build than to reconstruct.
Specialty-occupation hires at changing worksites
Contractor and client-site models create wage and worksite obligations that move with the work. A placement outside the area covered by the original filing can require new paperwork before the employee starts there, not after.
A wage or worksite review by the Department of Labor
An investigation of the employer's wage obligations, public access files, or periods when a sponsored employee was not working. Back wages and penalties are possible, and the payroll record decides the outcome.
A Request for Evidence or a site visit
The government is asking about the company, the role, or the worksite. What is submitted has to agree with what the company has already told the IRS and the Department of Labor.
Employment tax exposure in a growing company
Deposits that fell behind during expansion, and an assessment moving toward the individuals the IRS identifies as responsible for paying it.
Scope of employer engagements.
Payroll and employment tax
Deposits, filings, classification, personal exposure
Employment tax filings and deposits, worker classification, and information reporting. Where a problem already exists: IRS notices, assessments, and the personal liability that can follow owners and officers.
Foreign-owned U.S. companies
Formation, reporting, intercompany arrangements
Entity structure, Form 5472 and related information reporting, intercompany arrangements with the foreign parent, foreign account reporting, and the U.S. tax position of executives who relocate. These issues cost far less to settle at formation than in an examination.
Intracompany transfers (L-1)
Executives, managers, specialized-knowledge employees
Petitions for employees transferring from a qualifying foreign affiliate, including new-office petitions and their extensions. These cases depend on ownership, corporate structure, and financial evidence, the same record the firm builds for tax purposes.
Specialty-occupation hiring (H-1B) and Labor Condition Applications
Filings, worksite changes, wage compliance
Labor Condition Applications, H-1B petitions, and amendments for changes in worksite or role, with periodic review of public access files and wage records. The Labor Condition Application is treated as an ongoing wage and worksite obligation, not a one-time form.
Federal audits and inquiries
IRS, Department of Labor, USCIS
IRS employment tax examinations, Department of Labor Wage and Hour investigations, USCIS site visits, and Requests for Evidence. When one agency starts asking questions, the response is prepared with the other two in view.
One record, read by three agencies.
The wage stated in a Labor Condition Application should match payroll. The corporate relationship described in a transfer petition should match the company's tax filings. An executive's arrival date can change both their tax residency and the company's reporting. When separate advisors handle each piece, these connections are missed, and agencies notice the inconsistencies before anyone else does.
The firm practices federal law exclusively. Employer matters are handled with the company's full federal record in view, alongside its existing CPA where one is involved.
Who the firm represents.
Employer engagements are with the company: the entity that sponsors, hires, and carries the compliance obligations. Where appropriate, the firm also represents executives and professionals individually, including in matters connected to their employer's filings.
Where a matter involves both a company and an individual, the firm explains in writing at the outset whom it represents, how information is shared, and what happens if their interests diverge. Joint representation is undertaken only where interests are aligned and both parties consent in writing. Where they are not, the firm will tell you which single client it can represent, before the engagement begins.
How employer engagements begin.
Each matter begins with a review of the company's structure, workforce plans, and federal filings. Scope and fee are then set out in writing and agreed before work begins, and flat fees are used wherever the work allows. Matters are handled by the attorney you speak with, and the number of engagements accepted at one time is limited.
NYAR TAX
Federal tax advisory and controversy counsel. Austin, Texas. Clients worldwide.
9600 Great Hills Trail, Suite 150W
Austin, Texas 78759
By appointment only
PRACTICE
IRS examination representation
Eggshell and sensitive examinations
Partnership and entity-level adjustments
Offshore reporting and voluntary disclosure
Employment and trust fund matters
IRS Appeals
United States Tax Court litigation
Attorney advertising. This website is for general information only and constitutes attorney advertising in jurisdictions where that designation applies. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or accounting advice, and none of it should be relied upon as a substitute for advice regarding your specific circumstances.
No attorney-client relationship. Contacting the firm, submitting the inquiry form, or sending email does not create an attorney-client relationship. That relationship is established only by a signed written engagement agreement. Information transmitted before an engagement exists may not be privileged. Please do not send confidential documents until requested.
No guarantee of results. Outcomes depend on the facts of each matter, the developed record, the applicable law, and the discretion of the taxing authority or tribunal involved. The firm does not guarantee any result, does not promise a reduction or elimination of any tax liability, and does not represent that any taxpayer will qualify for any particular resolution or disclosure program. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Scope of practice. The firm's practice is limited to federal law, including federal tax matters and federal employer compliance, which includes employment-based immigration filings. State and local tax matters are handled with co-counsel and accounting professionals admitted or licensed in the relevant jurisdiction. The firm's attorney is licensed in Illinois, admitted to the United States Tax Court, and authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states under Treasury Department Circular 230, and is not licensed in Texas. Federal matters are handled nationally and for clients abroad.
Not affiliated with any government agency. This firm is a private law practice. It is not the Internal Revenue Service, is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the IRS, the United States Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or any state taxing authority, and uses no government seal, logo, or insignia.
Responsible attorney: Daylan A. Nyarko. Principal office (by appointment only): 9600 Great Hills Trail, Suite 150W, Austin, Texas 78759.
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