Contents
Working remotely from Puerto Rico, a budget Nomad’s Hawaii.
If you’re looking for a Caribbean island that you can stay in long term without the need for work permits or visas. No need for residency permits, no state income tax, where English along with Spanish, are the official languages, then working remotely from Puerto Rico is for you.Although Puerto Rico is not a state of the United States, it is considered part of the US Commonwealth and is a US territory. Meaning Puerto Rican citizens are also US citizens and carry US passports.
The infrastructure of Puerto Rico is similar to that in the US. Though the cost of living can be much cheaper in Puerto Rico, especially for those working remotely, than they are in the continental United States.
I’ve just written a post on working remotely from Hawaii, but Puerto Rico is your next best bet.
In fact, it’s actually closer to many points in the continental United States than Hawaii. Did I also mention that it’s also much cheaper than Hawaii as well.
So if you want to try your hand at working remotely from abroad, why not try Puerto Rico? You can literally work from the beach, sitting in a hammock with your laptop open up, tapping away.
Working remotely in Puerto Rico and taxes.
Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, as such they used the US dollar.
But more importantly if you are able to establish residency in Puerto Rico, you will not only be exempt from state income taxes, but you can also be exempt from federal income taxes as well. Though you will need to set up a corporation based in Puerto Rico.
However, I believe there is a corporation tax of currently 4%. To take advantage of this federal tax type holiday you would, again, have to incorporate.
In order to do this of course, you will need to see a proper tax accountant in Puerto Rico in order to register and incorporate in Puerto Rico. The only downside to the whole tax situation in Puerto Rico seems to be the high sales taxes, which can run as high as 11%, Wow!
Other than that,, if you do not establish tax residency in Puerto Rico you will still be liable for US Federal Taxes since Puerto Rico is still a part of the United States and you will not be able to enjoy the FEIE tax exemption as you would abroad.
Here’s more information regarding, “Bona Fide Residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico – Tax Credits” from the IRS at their website.
The advantages of being a remote employee in Puerto Rico.
The advantages of working remotely from Puerto Rico and/or being a remote employee, especially for the US citizens, but could also apply to others, are:
- It’s part of the United States.
- It uses the US dollar as its currency.
- It’s tropical and in the Caribbean, yet still part of the United States.
- Beautiful beaches, a sunny and typical tropical Paradise.
- Puerto Rico also has excellent surf and colonial type architecture in its capital of San Juan.
- Tax benefits, if you qualify, including no federal income tax.
- A lower cost of living than most places in the United States.
- No need to use your passport in order to travel to Puerto Rico. If you’re a US citizen. You can simply use your driver’s license. It’s like flying to another state.
- Spanish as well as English are widely spoken.
- Did I mention the great surf and beaches? Oh, and the food!
The Digital Nomad community in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has a small Digital Nomad community. Unlike Hawaii, there are actual coworking spaces where digital nomads can congregate. Also, there are a few threads on Reddit that you can check out as well as Facebook groups for Digital Nomads in Puerto Rico
Digital Nomad based in San Juan, the benefits.
San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico. Therefore, as a capital city you should enjoy the best connectivity on the island.
There are also plenty of great restaurants, nightclubs, cafes, etc that you can enjoy. In addition, many places in San Juan are quite walkable to the beach.
So if you want to be in a capital city, enjoy the infrastructure of one along with decent internet connectivity and a vibrant social life which costs less than many similar cosmopolitan areas in the United States, San Juan is the place for you. Especially, if you’re a digital nomad or remote worker.
Working remotely from Puerto Rico, summary.
If you’re interested in working remotely from Puerto Rico, you do have quite a few options.
Puerto Rico is a great island getaway just like Hawaii, except much less expensive. Puerto Rico is also closer to the mainland unlike Hawaii as well. You can get to New York City for example within 3 hours.
Puerto Rico is also a good base to have if you wish to explore other destinations within the Caribbean. There are some places in Puerto Rico that I would not recommend for digital nomads though. These are mainly smaller towns in the interior of the island.
These smaller towns tend to have a much less developed infrastructure and very spotty internet connections as well as electricity outages.
Although power issues are becoming less and less of a factor for many residents since solar panels and solar powering of homes, even businesses are becoming quite popular, especially after the last hurricane which devastated the island.
If you want to enjoy the best that Puerto Rico offers as far as beach and surf, along with great food and even good internet connectivity, head to the Western most tip of the island to a place called Rincon.
Rincon is not only legendary among surfers, but also more and more digital nomads as well.
So if you’re looking to dip your toes into the digital nomad, remote working lifestyle, but aren’t quite ready to go abroad and want to stay closer to home, there’s no better place than Puerto Rico to test out the digital nomad remote working lifestyle.