Work while cruising

All,

This may have been discussed before but I cant seem to find it using the search feature. I am interested to hear how many of you maintain a career PT/FT while cruising. I have visions in my head that, upon retirement, I can use my IT skills to pickup odd jobs here and there as we travel up and down the ICW from town to town. Would love to hear how some of you pickup extra cash while you cruise.

Cheers!
Scott

Probably doesn't really count toward the sort of thing you're asking about but I have worked on the more recent books I've written while we've been out on the boat. Write on my iPad (with a proper keyboard) and then transfer it into my computer when I get home. Doing the same thing on my current project.

Marin said:

Probably doen't really count toward the sort of thing you're asking about but I have worked on the more recent books I've written while we've been out on the boat. Write on my iPad (with a proper keyboard) and then transfer it into my computer when I get home. Doing the same thing on my current project.

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If you are selling books...then that counts! Good feedback. Thanks

We lived aboard and cruised for about 12 years. During this time I taught as an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities. Some of the schools were the University of South Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Mississippi University for Women and Florida State College-Manatee-Sarasota. Wherever we and the boat were going to be for at least one semester.

In 2008 we bought a house in SW Florida and I continued to teach face to face courses at FGCU. Then I picked up an online teaching job at a 40,000 student State of Virginia community college. Now I don't burn the gas to drive to Ft. Myers and do all my stuff online. The pay is better and I can sit in my office and see my boat in the back yard.

So, there are many ways to make a few bucks when retired.

Scott--- Something that might help you if you have not already done this is to create a website for yourself. Set it up as a sort of on-line resume. Then before or during your cruise if you can determine some potential customers in the places you want to visit you can contact them, tell them you'll be in their area during such-and-such a period of time, and refer them to your website to learn something about your abilities and experience.

My wife is a CPA and works whenever she is onboard. Most of her clients she never sees anyway so they don't know where she is when talking to them on the phone. We have myfi with At&t that we use for internet access and so far on the ICW we always have access for her to access her server in the office.

IF you want to cruise and NOT be locked to an area for contract work,the best tasks seem to be ,

deathbed nurse, barber, knife sharpening or clock repair.

Ca$h is king , as is not hacking off the locals, so day trips with passengers is out.

Boat stuff like electronics installation are too rare to amount to much income.

None pay as well as a common white collar job , but if the income is high enough to take care of daily needs ,the cruising kitty can be easily extended.

I sell hardwood lumber and hardwood flooring . I sell from both the office and while on the boat ,even when on vacation on the boat . My best week of lumber sales was while helping a family member move a sailboat from Pensacola to Slidell .I told my boss it's all about attitude but he's not buying into the idea. I hope to continue to do this when I retire and maybe cruise a little .

Marin said:

Scott--- Something that might help you if you have not already done this is to create a website for yourself. Set it up as a sort of on-line resume. Then before or during your cruise if you can determine some potential customers in the places you want to visit you can contact them, tell them you'll be in their area during such-and-such a period of time, and refer them to your website to learn something about your abilities and experience.

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Great idea!

FF said:

Ca$h is king , as is not hacking off the locals, so day trips with passengers is out.

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Had thought about charters...but failed to take into account upsetting the locals. Good point!

n36511 said:

Had thought about charters...but failed to take into account upsetting the locals. Good point!

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Maybe try commercial fishing their waters? ?

We run our phone based business from the boat all the time. Works great.

Like yoou I am in IT as well, but on the networking side. There is contract work out there, just get your linkedin profile updated and you'll get enquiries.

"Had thought about charters...but failed to take into account upsetting the locals. Good point!"

In the US the boat must be inspected (for 6pax or less its a nothing exam ) and the boat operator must hold some papers too.

Outside the US working a deal with a hotel , for a season, is best , they advertise, they bill, they provide box lunches , or booze & snacks for a sunset cruise.

And usually you get a safe harbor or dock, and the use of all the hotel resources, pool, golf tennis , dumpster water supply..

Did custom software while cruising. Emailed it in using a SSB back then.

In the motorhome world, working on the road is called "work camping" so I guess this is "work cruising". The tax implications of doing this are potentially severe since legally, you are creating a tax liability in nearly every state you might do it in. Some states tax your entire income even tho' only a (tiny) portion was earned in their state. A slip (or campsite) is provided? That's taxable too, unless the employer can reasonably prove that you have to be there in order to meet the requirements of your position. Food provided? Same deal. I suggest you Google "work camping" or "workcamping" and read some of the legal advice that's offered on some of the sites and forums.


Gary

Gary brings up a very important point that, frankly, I probably would never have thought of until it might have been too late.

A few years after hiring into the company I work for today one of the longtime film producers retired and bought a fifth-wheel RV. He bought and installed a simple video editing system-- this was in the days of tape, long before the advent of computer editing apps--- and offered video editing of people's home movies in the RV parks he and his wife visited. He came by the office a few years later for a party and I asked him how his editing business was going. He told me it had become quite lucrative, relatively speaking, and was paying for this fuel, food, and other expenses.

My guess is this was a cash-only business and I would be very surprised if he reported the income to anyone. While this did not come up in our conversation (because I hadn't read Gary's post yet ) I'm sure what he was doing may well have been illegal in some ways and locations.

In this case it was just offering a service to fellow RVers. But if one is considering offering professional services to companies or businesses as one cruises, which is certainly a smart idea I think, it would be prudent to first follow up on the points Gary raises.

Living in the keys at our slip and had to find work just to stay busy. Plenty of jobs as the keys are a transit community and anything is possible. Work as a boat mechanic, and part-time, only when needed. Works for me.

VAtrawlerguy said:

In the motorhome world, working on the road is called "work camping" so I guess this is "work cruising". The tax implications of doing this are potentially severe since legally, you are creating a tax liability in nearly every state you might do it in. Some states tax your entire income even tho' only a (tiny) portion was earned in their state. A slip (or campsite) is provided? That's taxable too, unless the employer can reasonably prove that you have to be there in order to meet the requirements of your position. Food provided? Same deal. I suggest you Google "work camping" or "workcamping" and read some of the legal advice that's offered on some of the sites and forums.


Gary

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Our Tax CPA advised us to not attempt to write off any boat related expenses. She indicated it would in the end create more trouble than it was worth.

She did advise us that adding satellite communications and a business class network to the boat to support running our business from the boat was a legitimate business expense, as well as recurring service charges for those services.

As far as the potential tax liability we run our business from whatever hotel in whatever state we travel to. So far we have not moved the boat out of Alaska, but the same concept applies to hotels.

I truly do not care what an individual state might potentially claim since it is 100% impossible for a state to know what I was doing while visiting their state. My wife and I are paid employees of our company. Our tax status is Alaska and thats how it will stay. At a federal level we report every dime and are a legitimate business with all that comes with being a business.

VAtrawlerguy said:

In the motorhome world, working on the road is called "work camping" so I guess this is "work cruising". The tax implications of doing this are potentially severe since legally, you are creating a tax liability in nearly every state you might do it in. Some states tax your entire income even tho' only a (tiny) portion was earned in their state. A slip (or campsite) is provided? That's taxable too, unless the employer can reasonably prove that you have to be there in order to meet the requirements of your position. Food provided? Same deal. I suggest you Google "work camping" or "workcamping" and read some of the legal advice that's offered on some of the sites and forums.


Gary

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There is a huge difference between working on a boat, RV, car or whatever and actually performing Commerce (buying, selling, or setting up a retail/store front). I believe you are referring to someone working at a place of business like flipping burgers at Mickey D's while in port. This case will cause you to get a W-2 which in turn you would be subject to state and local taxes. Working at your own business while out of town in no way constitutes you having a liability to pay taxes in that state.

n36511 said:

All,

This may have been discussed before but I cant seem to find it using the search feature. I am interested to hear how many of you maintain a career PT/FT while cruising. I have visions in my head that, upon retirement, I can use my IT skills to pickup odd jobs here and there as we travel up and down the ICW from town to town. Would love to hear how some of you pickup extra cash while you cruise.

Cheers!
Scott

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We met several people while on our five-year cruise who were working from their boats. The most memorable, I think, was a lady veterinarian, who we met in Isla Mujeres. Seems that many, many cruisers have a dog or a cat aboard, and so she did a good business at each anchorage.

Another was a diesel mechanic (and a good one, too!) who always had more business than he could handle. Met him at Lake Izabal in Guatemala.

Then there was the fellow with the LST, who had a complete machine shop down in the hold . . .

VAtrawlerguy said:

In the motorhome world, working on the road is called "work camping" so I guess this is "work cruising". The tax implications of doing this are potentially severe since legally, you are creating a tax liability in nearly every state you might do it in. Some states tax your entire income even tho' only a (tiny) portion was earned in their state. A slip (or campsite) is provided? That's taxable too, unless the employer can reasonably prove that you have to be there in order to meet the requirements of your position. Food provided? Same deal. I suggest you Google "work camping" or "workcamping" and read some of the legal advice that's offered on some of the sites and forums.


Gary

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Not only that, Gary, but if you do contract work or self employment work you are subject to the self employment tax. This is about 15% as you are really paying both sides of the Social Security tax.

This is why the underground economy is so strong.

windmill29130 said:

There is a huge difference between working on a boat, RV, car or whatever and actually performing Commerce (buying, selling, or setting up a retail/store front). I believe you are referring to someone working at a place of business like flipping burgers at Mickey D's while in port. This case will cause you to get a W-2 which in turn you would be subject to state and local taxes. Working at your own business while out of town in no way constitutes you having a liability to pay taxes in that state.

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I see it this way as well. We will continue to be residents of GA and will only write off our internet expenses and office supplies. I don't see how that would cause any other tax implications in any state we travel to. Otherwise, I am doing illegal activities every time I end up working while on vacation ....Hmmmm may try and work that angle with my employer.

I really don't have a clue as to what I will do. Really just looking to see what others have done successfully. I appreciate all of the feedback!

To elaborate further.... if I chose to do some local work at whatever port I am in, I do understand that I will need to pay state income tax in that state if they collect it.

I don't know what your area of expertise in IT happens to be, but I'm an employee of a very large company in which IT is a major component. I would think that if you offer something a business or company needs an advantage you would have is your part-time or contractor status.

An employer does not have to pay benefits like medical, vacation, overtime, etc. to its contracted help, particularly to those working less than 4o hours a week. The organization I work in has set a 60/40 split as a target, 60 percent full time employees, 40 percent contractors.

Companies are shedding more and more full-time employees where it makes sense to do so. The work is still there, but the status of the people being hired to do the work is changing. For example all the guards on our plant gates used to be full time employees. Over the past couple of years this function has largely been contracted out to independent security firms.

This kind of thing could be a real advantage in your favor depending on the kind of work you do and the nature of the companies who need this kind of work. It's certainly an advantage you can play up when offering your services to them. Doesn't necessarily mean you'd get paid less for your work, but it would cost the businesses hiring you a lot less for the service.

My purpose in posting was to alert you to the potential ramifications and recommend you do some research before doing it.


I was a South Dakota resident and did some work in Virginia for a Virginia-based company. Received a 1099 at year end and included it on my federal taxes. Did not file a Virginia return. They came calling a few years later and because I did the work in Virginia (was physically in the state), I had to pay, plus interest and penalties.


The laws vary by state, sometimes significantly, and some states are far more aggressive than others. I don't mind paying taxes on what I earn there but I really dislike any claim on the rest of my income so there are some states I will not work in.


Gary

I had a battle with Michigan a few years ago. I work all over the Great Lakes, but my payroll office is in Michigan. I live in New York. After 5 years of just paying NY state tax, Michigan decided they wanted a piece of the pie. I'm 99% sure it's because I made the mistake of going H&R Block, and they screwed something up. Michigan hounded me for a year and a half, despite the fact that I was able to supply them with the actual law that said I only had to pay the state I lived in. They didn't care about 'anything I went and found on the Internet,' literally called me a deadbeat and sent it to collections.

I finally hired a real accountant. She was able to straighten it out. Turns out Michigan owed me 40 bucks. Suck on that, Michigan.

I work (online) for a school in Virginia. Every year I have to submit a form stating that I don't live or go to work there to avoid state income tax withholding...which I don't have to pay.

Wayfarer said:

I had a battle with Michigan a few years ago. I work all over the Great Lakes, but my payroll office is in Michigan. I live in New York. After 5 years of just paying NY state tax, Michigan decided they wanted a piece of the pie. I'm 99% sure it's because I made the mistake of going H&R Block, and they screwed something up. Michigan hounded me for a year and a half, despite the fact that I was able to supply them with the actual law that said I only had to pay the state I lived in. They didn't care about 'anything I went and found on the Internet,' literally called me a deadbeat and sent it to collections.

I finally hired a real accountant. She was able to straighten it out. Turns out Michigan owed me 40 bucks. Suck on that, Michigan.

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H&R Block

just as an example refererence to go by...

I have been contracting thru various shops and by 1099's for the past 15 years as a EE. I have been to a lot of places over the years, all temporarily.

when you work in plant for a company you have to pay that states income tax (including local county income taxes as applicable), as well as your own residency states tax. They all give credit for the other so you wont be paying double tax. But you will pay as the IRS notifies each state that you claim income for.

California says if you are working in their state for more than 9 months they have claim on ALL FUTURE income no matter where you earn it as they consider you a permanent resident at 9 months. And they will sue you for the taxes. It's designed to keep the hollywood types tax money coming in, but it snares everyone in the process. For most contractors it's not a big deal, but you do have to prove that your residency is physically in another state.

Moonstruck said:

Not only that, Gary, but if you do contract work or self employment work you are subject to the self employment tax. This is about 15% as you are really paying both sides of the Social Security tax.

This is why the underground economy is so strong.

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Took my attorney's and CPA's advice.

An LLC took care of that problem for me.

OD