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Do digital nomads pay tax?

June 30, 2019 by David James

Digital nomads are supposed to pay tax in the country where they are registered as a tax resident.

Typically, tax residents need to be based in a country for 180 days to be registered to pay tax.

If you plan to travel as a digital nomad, you will need to check with the tax laws in your country to see how this affects you.

Digital nomad tax loophole.

Currently, digital nomads are getting caught in a tax loophole where they aren’t a resident in a country long enough to pay tax. However, many governments are closing the loophole and the last thing digital nomads want is to be hit with a tax bill that is backdated for missed payments.

You can always register a company or trust in a country and have the operations processed through the company or trust, so that you pay the correct tax to the right government.

You can also pay yourself through the company or trust based. You can then minimize your tax in accordance with the law of the country.

For example, in Australia, the first $18,000 in employed or business income isn’t taxed. If you paid yourself this income from a company as employment income, you would fulfill the legal requirements under Australian law. The income getting paid to the company would still need to be paid by the company, which in Australia is 30%.

Filed Under: Digital Nomad Life

Top digital nomad destinations

June 30, 2019 by David James Leave a Comment

The best destination to base yourself as a digital nomad depends on the type of lifestyle that you want to enjoy. And thankfully, there are quite a few options that you can consider if you want to base yourself.

Cost is one factor, but it isn’t the only factor that you should consider. In the end, you want to have a great experience in the place where you will base yourself as a digital nomad. So we’ve considered the following factors for choosing the top digital nomad destinations.

Skip to section

  • Cost of living
  • Infrastructure.
  • Quality of life
  • Activities and lifestyle
  • Cultural immersion
  • Top destinations for digital nomads.
    • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    • Lisbon
    • Brisbane, Australia
    • Chiang Mai
    • Vietnam

Cost of living

The cost of living is important as you want to be able to afford to have a good experience in the place in which you are based.

The lower the cost of living, the easier it will be to live as a digital nomad. You won’t need to worry about “making ends meet.

Instead, you will have the opportunity to be more creative and take more risks with your digital nomad ventures.

A sweet spot is if you are able to minimize your cost of living to less than $1000USD a month.

Infrastructure.

From the travels that we have personally done, we have found that it isn’t worth trading off good infrastructure for cost. It’s important to have good infrastructure such as transport, safety, internet, and communications.

This will allow you to improve your productivity and mobility.

Quality of life

This is a huge factor that gets overlooked by alot of digital nomads. Ultimately, you need to be happy with the quality of life that the digital nomad lifestyle offers you.

You can live cheap and frugally in a hostel in Cambodia renting a bed with a mosquito net for $1-2 a night. Or you can rent an apartment or a villa for $1,000USD a month and share it with friends, family, or partners.

The same thing goes for being able to socialize, explore, and participate in activities.

It depends what kind of lifestyle you want.

Activities and lifestyle

Are there any activities that you would like to participate in while you are travelling to the destinations? For example, would you like to get involved with local sports teams? Or would you like to participate in cultural experiences such as visiting landmarks or cultural events.

Cultural immersion

Do you want to be completely immersed in the culture of the destination that you are visiting?

Do you want to live with the locals and participate in the local activities? And if so, can you afford to do so?

Top destinations for digital nomads.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I personally felt like this was the best place to be based as a digital nomad in South East Asia. The reason being was that it was easy to be productive in the city with excellent internet connection.

The city also has excellent transportation networks internally and globally.

I’d originally found travel deals to Singapore and the Maldives for as little as $50 per person.

The lifestyle in Kuala Lumpur was also enjoyable. And the food was amazing.

Click here to see more about being a digital nomad in Kuala Lumpur.

Lisbon

Lisbon is one of the most incredible cities to visit in Europe. Very cosmopolitan and inexpensive when compared to other areas in Europe. It is possible to live in Lisbon for less than 1000 Euros a month, but you will still get access to the 24/7 lifestyle that the city has to offer.

If you like music, entertainment, art, sunshine, scenic views, and the ability to explore other areas in Europe, Lisbon may just be the place where you should be based as a digital nomad.

Click here to see more about being a digital nomad in Lisbon.

Brisbane, Australia

Brisbane, Australia offers a really good lifestyle that will give you the opportunity to explore different regions of the country. Although it is more expensive per month to be based in Australia, the cost of living can be minimized and it is traded off by the amount of free activities and events that the city offers.

It will never be as cheap as South East Asia, but for a little bit more, you will get a cleaner and safer environment, a healthier and nice place to live, and easy access to beaches and outdoor activities.

On top of that, locals area generally polite and friendly.

There are also budget airlines that can take you to other digital nomad destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Bali.

Click here to see more about being a digital nomad in Brisbane.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai has been at the top of the list for a very long time with digital nomads. It has great infrastructure and is relatively inexpensive. There’s a mix of the “old with the new”. It also has easy transportation networks to other countries such as Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, and more.

Click here to see more about being a digital nomad in Chiang Mai.

Vietnam

Vietnam is another interesting place to be based and you can choose to be based either in Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi, or one of the smaller cities inbetween.

You can get a great home setup for a relatively low price (sometimes as little as $400USD per month).

You can easily get inexpensive transportation networks to take you within the country or to other areas.

It will also give you a great opportunity to grow your business remotely.

Click here to see more about being a digital nomad in Vietnam.

Are there any places that you would also like to see on this list? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Filed Under: Digital Nomad Life

How much do digital nomads earn?

June 30, 2019 by David James Leave a Comment

Digital nomads tend to earn as little as $1000-2000USD per month to sustain their travel lifestyle.

This equates to $12,000-24,000USD per year.

The more a digital nomad can earn, the more comfort they will have with their travels.

Is it possible to earn a high income as a digital nomad?

Yes it is, as long as they diversify their income sources beyond remote employment.

In a remote employment position, it is possible for a digital nomad to earn between $1000-4000 per month.

Should the digital nomad start an online/digital business, the income could soar to $10,000-$100,000 per month or more.

Is there any proof of earnings for digital nomads?

Yes. There’s plenty. You can check these income reports from digital nomads below.

How I made $50,000 in 1 year

$1600/month while travelling.

$6000/month while travelling as a digital nomad.

$14K+ in one month while travelling

As you can see, the possibilities are endless!

Have you started earning an income as a digital nomad? Tell us where you are at with your journey in the comments below.

Filed Under: Digital Nomad Life

Is being a digital nomad legal?

June 30, 2019 by David James Leave a Comment

Strictly speaking, being a digital nomad is legal only if you have the right visa that grants you the permissions to work in the country that you are travelling to.

Additionally, you need to confirm exactly what the entrance visa states and how it relates to the travel visa rights in the country.

Many visas relate to not taking away jobs from locals and that any business that is done within the territory will provide income tax to the local government if the business is operating as a resident in that country.

If this isn’t the case, then there shouldn’t be an issue.

Typically, if you reside in a country for longer than 180 days, you are obliged to register as a resident in that country for tax purposes. And you will need to inform your previous country of residence of the change in your residency and how that will affect your taxable income.

The second thing is if you are selling products or services, it cannot be done in the country/region that you are residing if you are on a travel visa. If you have the correct working or business visa, then it is fine to do so.

If you plan to get employment or income locally in a country, you must have the correct working visa to do so.

Before you plan to visit a country as a digital nomad, please check to see what the legalities are around the following.

  • The types of visas that you can enter into the country with, and what permissions are granted with those visas.
  • How your funds or external income may affect your travels.
  • Any specific legalities that you should be aware of when entering the country.

Do not plead ignorance!

There are many people that go to another country as a digital nomad and ignore the visa requirements and do things such as work remotely and takeaway jobs from the local talent.

There are cases where this has been clamped down on in Thailand and those nomads have been expelled from the Kingdom of Thailand and blacklisted from re-entering.

Filed Under: Digital Nomad Life

Should digital nomads make money as affiliate marketers?

August 27, 2018 by David Leave a Comment

*Note – This post contains affiliate links, however the opinions are my own. 

Affiliate marketing is something that I’ve been familiar with for a number of years. In fact, when I first got into online marketing, one of my responsibilities was to manage affiliates who would promote our company’s products in order to make as much money as possible.

I did try it several times (half-heartedly I’ll admit) and failed. But over the years, I’ve seen many travel bloggers and influencers use affiliate marketing to their advantage. They actually generated referral sales and an income without trading their time.

I’ve been fortunate to work as a digital nomad since 2015, however the model that I adopted which was a combination of freelance work, which evolved into me developing an agency saw me trade my time for money. Even though I was travelling to exotic places like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, I wouldn’t get much time to really explore the different countries that I was visiting due to my business’s commitments.

I think one of the things digital nomads need to consider is how they can grow their income without having to invest so much time into their venture in a way where it takes them away from their intentions to travel.

So in 2018, I decided to jump back into affiliate marketing and to get serious about making it work. It is still early days, but it is one solution that will allow me to free up my time in exchange for building a marketing/promotion model that will generate referral based income.

Skip to section

  • Affiliate marketing benefits for digital nomads.
    • What type of affiliate marketing models are available?
    • How much money can you make with affiliate marketing?
    • Which affiliate networks/partners are good to start with?
      • Amazon Associates Program
      • There are a couple of drawbacks to the program that you should keep in mind. 
        • The affiliate cookie only lasts for 24h.
        • You rely on the seller to deliver.
        • Deductions on refunds and returns.
      • There are good benefits to the Amazon associates program. 
        • You earn a commission on sales via your referral link, not just the product referral.
        • Amazon pays consistently.
        • There is more credibility with Amazon.
      • Share A Sale
      • MaxBounty
      • Helpful resources
        • Affiliate Buzz Podcast with James Martell.
        • Income School.
        • Deadbeat Super Affiliate

Affiliate marketing benefits for digital nomads.

The main thing is being in a position where you can earn an income passively. This is because you’ve developed a marketing system that converts in exchange for an income. Building out the campaign will take time. However, once you have developed that campaign, it should work for you on autopilot.

What type of affiliate marketing models are available?

The main model is getting paid a fee for every referral that you make through your affiliate link. The great thing about this model is that you don’t have to do any of the fulfillment. So as long as the affiliate partner that you are working with has a good conversion and delivery model with their business, all you will need to do is send them qualified traffic and leads to convert.

There are also other models such as pay per call, cost per action (CPA, also known as pay per lead), and there is a cost per install. Some of the CPA models command $50-100+ or more per lead. So this can turn out to be a very lucrative model that can work passively or with little time invested.

How much money can you make with affiliate marketing?

It depends on a few factors. You might make a few dollars a month or you might make tens of thousands of dollars a month. Super affiliates make over $50,000 a month promoting products and services for businesses. If you focus on specific niches, you can build up your passive income to $100-1000 a month.

Which affiliate networks/partners are good to start with?

Amazon Associates Program

If you are a beginner, I would recommend that you start with the Amazon Associates Program. The reason being is that Amazon has millions of products listed on their platform. So you will be able to test several different niches and see how affiliate marketing can work for you.

It is free to join Amazon’s affiliate program. Click here to learn more.

There are a couple of drawbacks to the program that you should keep in mind. 

The affiliate cookie only lasts for 24h.

Most affiliate programs will give you a 30-day cookie for any referrals that you make. However, this isn’t the case with Amazon. If the person decides to purchase an item after the 24h period, you won’t get any commission for the sale. This makes it more challenging as the person that you refer needs to be ready to buy whatever is being offered as soon as you refer them.

You rely on the seller to deliver.

The Amazon platform is good, but it is comprised of several market sellers. Some are good and some aren’t so good. You will get paid on the delivery of the product. If you have made the sale and seller fails to deliver, you won’t get any commission for your referral.

Additionally, if the customer cancels the order, you won’t receive any commission.

Deductions on refunds and returns.

If the customer returns the product in exchange for a refund, the commission that you have earned will be reversed.

There are good benefits to the Amazon associates program. 

You earn a commission on sales via your referral link, not just the product referral.

This is really beneficial since you can earn commission from other products that you aren’t promoting. However, since you referred the person, you will receive the commission.

Amazon pays consistently.

You can set your payment threshold and opt to receive a check or Amazon vouchers.

There is more credibility with Amazon.

Unlike promoting other offers on other platforms like Clickbank, you get to work with products that have credibility through product reviews and seller verifications. This makes it easier to generate sales. Especially if the product that is being sold isn’t a well-known brand.

Share A Sale

Find a sponsor for your web site.

I’m still trying to get things working well with this platform. Many other successful affiliates vouch for this platform due to their deals, the partner offers available and the cookie window.
Click here to join the affiliate program from Share A Sale.

MaxBounty

These guys specialise more in CPA and offer higher payouts than most other affiliate networks, however the types of funnels needed to convert can be more tricky than some of the others platforms like Amazon’s affiliate program. That being said, it is possible to earn 10x more per referral.

Click here to join MaxBounty’s affiliate program.

As you become better, you will seek out and find other affiliate marketing opportunities.

Helpful resources

There are quite a few helpful resources that can get you started in the world of affiliate marketing. This will help you with earning your passive income through affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Buzz Podcast with James Martell.

He has been an affiliate since 2003 and has expert guests on his show. It’s transparent and shares tips, ideas and methodologies that can help you improve your affiliate marketing performance.

Income School.

These are two very bubbly affiliate marketing guys on YouTube. Very smart and they are transparent with showing you exactly how they earn affiliate income from Amazon through content marketing. Their goal is to get people to earning their first $1000 a month through Amazon’s affiliate program.

Deadbeat Super Affiliate

I actually took his course and there are quite a few things that I liked. He provides several videos on his YouTube channel which can help you get started in the world of affiliate marketing.

Are you a digital nomad that is also an affiliate marketer? Share your thoughts and experience with us.

Filed Under: Making money online

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