Add and pay contractors outside the US (international contractors)

You can pay contractors around the world right from Gusto—add your non-US contractors for free, and view exchange rates when you pay them.

Non-US contractor payments are supported on all of Gusto's plans, but before you can pay a contractor based outside the US:

Check the cost of paying a non-US contractor

If you have not paid a non-US contractor using Gusto yet, you can sign in to your admin profile and check the cost of paying a contractor in a specific country. If you’ve already added and paid a non-US contractor in Gusto, you can check the cost by starting the payment process as if you were going to submit it (but do not submit). 

Here's how it works

  1. You add a non-US contractor, and we'll invite them to set up their Gusto profile and enter some personal information.
  2. Customize onboarding checklists for your non-US (international) contractors.
  3. Your contractor sets up their Gusto profile.
    • They'll enter their bank details and fill out US tax forms—to stay compliant, contractors are required to fill out Form W-8 BEN or W-8 BEN(E).
  4. Choose if you'd like to add them to a recurring payment schedule.
  5. You send payments—they'll be paid within 5-10 business days.
    • Exchange rates are shown in Gusto as you enter payments—a variety of factors go into the rate:
      • The amount of the payment
      • The rate(s) our partner banks offer
      • Additional fees
      • Any applicable markup.
    • Our total exchange rate(s) will differ from non-Gusto midmarket rates.

Use the dropdowns below to learn more, or use CMD + F (or CTRL + F) to search for keywords throughout the article.

Cancel an upcoming non-US contractor payment

You can only cancel an international contractor payment before 4 pm PT on the debit date (the day the money is taken from the account).

  • The payment cannot be canceled after 4 pm PT on the debit date, and the payment cannot be stopped once it has been processed.
  • These rules exist because of how international payments are processed and handled.

How to cancel an international contractor payment (before it has been processed)

  1. Sign in to Gusto.
  2. Click the Pay section and select Pay history.
  3. Toggle to the Non-US contractors tab.
  4. Under the “Actions” column, click Cancel payment.
  5. Make sure you understand that this will cancel the payment and remove the record of it entirely.
  6. To confirm the cancellation, click Cancel Payment.
If the payment has already been processed, and the contractor did not get their pay, message us from the Question mark section of your account.
We may, or may not, be able to attempt to recall funds—it is not guaranteed.
Change a non-US contractor's country of work

To change a contractor's country of work, you'll need to onboard them again in the new country. Each country has its own tax rules. So, contractors must sign any relevant, country-specific forms.

Change a non-US contractor's country of work

  1. Dismiss the profile (with the old country), and;
  2. Add them as a new non-US contractor in the new country. They'll need to onboard again and sign new documents that apply to the new country.
    • If you try to use the email from the old profile to set up the new profile, you'll get an error message. To move past this, set up the new profile with a unique email variant (or change the old email to a variant, and set up the new profile with the original):

The contractor will get the welcome email to their usual inbox. Before you can pay them, they need to finish setting up their additional profile in Gusto.

Change worker type—individual to business, or vice versa

To change a contractor's worker type (individual, or business), you'll need to onboard them again with the new worker type. Contractors must sign any relevant, country-specific forms as their new worker type (business or individual).

Change a non-US contractor's worker type—individual or business

  1. Dismiss the profile (with the old worker type), and;
  2. Add them as a new non-US contractor with the new worker type. They'll need to onboard again and sign new documents.
    • If you try to use the email from the old profile to set up the new profile, you'll get an error message. To move past this, set up the new profile with a unique email variant (or change the old email to a variant, and set up the new profile with the original):

The contractor will get the welcome email to their usual inbox. Before you can pay them, they need to finish setting up their additional profile in Gusto.