Add and pay non-US (international) contractors

Here’s what happens when you pay a non-US contractor.

Step 1: Add your contractor

To add a non-US contractor:

• Add a non-US contractor to Gusto.
  • We do not support payments for US citizens working in other countries.
• Make custom onboarding checklists for them.
• Give them a manager and add them to your team directory (org chart).
• We invite them to set up their profile.

Step 2: Contractor sets up profile

Your contractor will:

• Fill out US tax forms (W-8 BEN or W-8 BEN-E).
• Add their bank account information.
  • Everything must match exactly for payments to be processed correctly.

Step 3: Pay manually or set up automated payments

Set up one-time payments or automated payments.

Step 4: Send payments

• Payments take 5 – 10 business days to arrive.
• You’ll see exchange rates when you enter payments.
  • Rates include the payment amount, rates from our partner banks, fees (some shown, some hidden), and any markups.
  Note: Our total exchange rates will differ from rates you see elsewhere, as they include fees and markups.
• Starting September 3, 2025, we charge a $5 flat fee for every USD payment to a US bank account for a non-US contractor payment.

Keep these rules and limits in mind when you pay non-US contractors.

Taxes and forms

• We do not take out taxes from payments.
• We do not create tax forms for payments. We only keep W-8 forms on file.
• Contractors must ask you (the employer) for any tax forms they need.

Payment rules

• Minimum payment: $25 USD per contractor (some countries have additional minimums — we’ll show you when these apply)
• Maximum total: $100,000 USD for all pending payments to non-US contractors
  • If you reach this limit, split payments over a few days.
• Payment source: Payments come from your “default” bank account only.
• Timeline: Contractors receive payment in 5 – 10 business days.
  • We use the fastest way to send each payment (like local bank transfers and wire transfers). Each payment takes a different amount of time to arrive.
• Paying in USD to a US bank account: Starting September 3, 2025, we charge a $5 flat fee for every USD payment to a US bank account for a non-US contractor payment.
• Status: Contractors see “In progress” once we take money from your account.

Exchange rates

You’ll see exchange rates when you enter payments. Rates change daily and include the payment amount, rates from our partner banks, fees (some shown, some hidden), and any markups.

Our total exchange rates differ from rates you see elsewhere because they include fees and markups.

Other limits

• No accounting sync: Payments to non-US contractors do not sync to accounting software.
• Contractor-only plans: You need to add a US contractor first.

We support contractors in many countries. If you do not see a country you need, you can request it.

• We do not support payments for US citizens working in other countries.

What non-US contractors usually need:

• Work address in their country of work
• Bank account in their country of work
• Completed W-8BEN form (individuals) or W-8BEN-E form (businesses)

Currency rules

You cannot choose the currency. The currency depends on the contractor’s bank account location.

• Local bank accounts: Contractors get paid in the local currency (like EUR or CAD).
  • If their local currency is USD, they get paid in USD.
• US bank accounts: Contractors get paid in USD.

Starting September 3, 2025, we charge a $5 flat fee for every USD payment to a U.S. bank account for a non-US contractor payment.

Countries and currencies we support

We recommend creating onboarding checklists before you add non-US contractors. If you turned on your org chart, you can assign them a manager and have them appear in your coworker directory (org chart).

Before you start

• A contractor’s name in Gusto must match their bank account name exactly. Confirm this with your contractor.
• We do not support US citizens working abroad.
• Contractors must have a tax ID from the country where they work.
• International payments can take 5 – 10 business days.
• Payments may include exchange rate or bank fees.

Add a non-US contractor

Be sure to read all the important reminders first.

To add a new non-US contractor:

1. Sign in to Gusto.
2. Go to People.
3. Click Add person.
4. Enter their full name and preferred first name. We use the preferred name in communications where a legal first name is not required, like offer letters, onboarding emails, and org charts. 
5. Select worker type:
   • Individual contractor: An independent worker under contract for a specific project or projects, usually on a short-term basis
   • Business contractor: A registered business under contract for a specific project or projects, usually on a short-term basis
6. Choose the country where they work.
7. Enter a personal email, not a company email.
   • If they already have a Gusto profile with your company or another, use the same email, and they can switch between their profiles.
8. Click Save and continue.
9. (Optional) Enter a job title. Contractors typically work as external consultants or project owners. Make sure the job title reflects the contractor’s scope of work.
10. Enter their department, manager (optional), and contract start date.
11. Click Save and continue. 
12. Select pay type (hourly or fixed amount).
13. Click Save and continue.
14. Review the contractor’s details and what happens next.
15. Click Save and continue to next task. 
    • If you do not continue to the next task, you’ll need to invite the contractor later from People > Onboarding. Learn how to view and complete their onboarding checklists here.
16. Click Continue to invite [name] to self-onboard: Confirm some basic information, and we’ll invite this team member to fill in the rest of their personal, tax, and bank account details themselves.
17. Before they self-onboard, set up their Gusto features first:
    • Contact details (e.g., personal email)
    • Documents
      • We may automatically create some forms. Add additional individual or team documents or agreements (Plus/Premium plans only).
18. Click Save and continue.
19. Review the timeline for what happens next.
    • Clicking Send Invitation will save these dates. You can always change their start date from their profile, and we’ll update the rest automatically.
20. When you’re ready to invite the contractor, click Send Invitation.

We’ll send the contractor an onboarding email. They need to finish the setup before you can pay them. We’ll take you to their onboarding checklist. The contractor will appear in the Onboarding tab of your People page until they finish onboarding.

• Learn how to view the contractor’s checklist later.
• Learn how to add custom tasks to onboarding checklists (Plus and Premium only).

When you process payments, we’ll give you an estimated payment date range. On payday, but not before, we’ll send an email to your contractor to let them know we paid them. We strongly recommend that you tell them the expected payment date in advance.

Create one or more automated payments for your contractors — save time and make sure you never miss a payment.

You can send one-time payments to non-US contractors. We usually pay contractors in their local currency (or USD if they have a US bank account).

Before you start

• Contractors typically receive payment within 5 – 10 business days after the debit date.
• Exchange rates may change if you schedule a future debit date.
• Always make sure your company bank account has enough funds on the debit date.

To send a one-time payment to a non-US contractor:

1. Make sure you’ve read the important reminders.
2. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
3. Go to Pay.
4. On the right, click Pay a Non-US contractor.
5. Select the contractors you want to pay, then click New payment.
   • If you only have one non-US contractor, you will not need to select them.
6. Choose a debit date.
   • Contractors will receive payment within 5 – 10 business days.
   • You may not see bank debits in your company account until the day after the debit date, but you should always have enough funds in the account on the actual debit date.
7. Enter the contractor’s wages:
   • Use a flat rate amount or enter hours worked. To change an hourly rate, update the contractor’s profile in People.
8. Review the wage amount: We default to USD.
   • If faster payroll is enabled (1-day or 2-day), click the circle icon to view the foreign currency. We always send payments in the contractor’s local bank account currency, no matter which currency you view here.
9. If prompted, select a Transfer purpose. Some banks require these codes for international payments.
   • We do not share the transfer purpose with contractors directly, but depending on the country, it may show up in the contractor’s bank account.
10. Review the Amount column. This shows the contractor’s foreign currency amount and the USD equivalent.
    • Exchange rates in Gusto already include fees (we show some fees, but not all).
11. Click Review payments.
12. Review the payment summary and fees, then click Submit payments.
13. Let your contractor know when to expect the payment (based on the date shown). We’ll email them on payday, but we recommend you let them know ahead of time.

After submission

• We process the payment and send it to the contractor’s bank.
• Contractors typically get funds within 5 – 10 business days of the debit date.
• If a bank error occurs (like not enough money in your account), we may move your company’s direct deposit speed to a slower rate.

Check your past payments or create a report to view your contractor payment history.

To view pending and past international contractor payments:

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to Pay.
3. In the top right, click View pay history.
4. Click Non-US contractors.

To run a report for international contractor payments:

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to Reports.
3. Find the International contractor payments report and select it.
4. Choose your date range, and click Generate report.

If you need to stop a payment to a non-US contractor, you have limited time due to international banking rules.

Important rules

• Cancel before 4pm PT on the debit date.
• After 4pm PT, the payment cannot be canceled or stopped.

These rules exist because of how banks process international payments.

How to cancel before processing

To cancel an upcoming payment to a non-US contractor:

1. Sign in to Gusto.
2. Go to Pay.
3. In the top right, click View pay history.
4. Click Non-US contractors.
5. Click the payday.
6. If cancellation is still available, click Cancel payment.
7. Confirm by clicking Cancel payment again. This will fully cancel the payment and remove its record.

If the payment has already been processed and the contractor did not receive it by the end of the business day on the check date, we can look into it. We may try to recall the funds, but it's not guaranteed.

To contact us, sign in to your Gusto account and click the help icon in the top-right corner of the page.

If a contractor entered incorrect information during onboarding, you can request that they update it.

You can send a request if:

• Your contractor wants to send payments to a different bank account.
• You know the bank details are incorrect and need to be corrected before making a payment.
• The contractor’s name from onboarding does not exactly match the name on their bank account.

Send a request to your contractor to update their personal information

Non-US contractors can also update some details from their Gusto account (without a request from you).

To send a request:

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to People.
3. Search their name or use the filter icon to filter by non-US contractors.
4. Click the name to view their profile.
5. On the Contractor details tab, click the Request an update to bank account information link.
   • We’ll email your contractor, asking them to update their bank account information and resubmit their W-8 BEN(E).
6. Click Send form.
   • Have your contractor check the email address we have on file. If they do not see the email at first, they should check their spam folders.

We’ll email you when they update their info so you can schedule or reschedule payments.

Bank account issues

If there was a bank issue, the most common problems are wrong bank account details or a name mismatch. The name on the bank account must match the name in their profile.

Change a non-US contractor’s hourly rate or currency

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Go to People.
3. Search their name or use the filter icon to filter by non-US contractors.
4. Click the name to view their profile.
5. On the Contractor details tab, click Edit next to their information.
6. Update the hourly rate and/or currency.
7. Click Save.

To change a contractor’s country of work, you need to onboard them again in the new country. Each country has its own tax rules, so they must sign new country-specific forms.

Change a non-US contractor’s country of work

To change the country of work:

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Dismiss the profile (with the old country).
3. 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 fix this, set up the new profile with a slightly different email (or change the old email first, then set up the new profile with the original):
     • • Just add a + symbol and your chosen text.
     • Original email: Firstname.Lastname@Example.com
     • Modified email: Firstname.Lastname+Gusto@Example.com

We’ll send the contractor a welcome email to their usual inbox. Before you can pay them, they need to finish setting up their additional profile in Gusto.

To change a contractor’s worker type from individual to business or vice versa, you need to onboard them again with the new worker type.

They must sign new country-specific forms as their new worker type (individual or business).

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

To change a non-US contractor’s worker type:

1. Sign in to your Gusto admin account.
2. Dismiss the profile (with the old worker type).
3. 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 fix this, set up the new profile with a slightly different email (or change the old email first, then set up the new profile with the original):
     • • Just add a + symbol and your chosen text.
     • Original email: Firstname.Lastname@Example.com
     • Modified email: Firstname.Lastname+Gusto@Example.com

We’ll send the contractor a welcome email to their usual inbox. Before you can pay them, they need to finish setting up their additional profile in Gusto.

Go to our article on how to dismiss contractors (of all types).

We only support employees who meet all of these requirements:

• Valid Social Security number (SSN)
  • Employees must have an SSN. If you enter an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or other invalid number, we may not be able to file their W-2s and other tax returns correctly.
• Work address in the US
• Home address in the US
• A US bank account if you pay them through direct deposit

We do not support employees living in US territories (like Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands) unless they meet these requirements.

Q: What fees will I be charged?

A: We do not charge monthly fees or flat rate costs per contractor, or fees to onboard contractors. Here are the potential fees you might see:

• If there’s a fee to send money to a specific country, we take the fee from what the contractor receives.
• If we convert USD to local currency, we include the fee in the exchange rate.
• If you send and receive USD, there will be a wire transfer fee of $5 per payment (starting September 3, 2025).
  • If you want to cover this fee, you can send the contractor a fixed local currency amount (rather than USD) — this way, we include the fee in the exchange rate.
  Note: This only applies to countries where the local bank account currency is not USD.
• The contractor’s bank may charge a fee to receive international wires or transfers. We have no control over the fees the contractor’s bank charges. Contact the contractor’s bank for details.

Q: Why do I see fees for some payments and not others?

A: Bank requirements differ. Currently, you may see slightly different information in Gusto, depending on the method we use to pay the non-US contractor.

Q: What happens if a payment fails?

A: When a payment fails, we notify admins and refund the company. The refund amount may be less than the original amount due to exchange rate fluctuations.

Contractors should update their bank information, and you need to process a new payment.

Q: Do non-US payments sync to accounting integrations?

A: Not at this time.

Q: What are the payment limits for China, and is there a workaround?

A: There is a 50,000 CNY limit per person per day. If you want to pay more than 50,000 CNY in a single payment, split it into multiple payments under 50,000 CNY each.

Q: Can I pay business contractors in China?

A: No. Only individual contractors.