Home Country
What is Home Country?
The country where an employee is normally based and from which they are deployed on an international assignment. Often used as the baseline for compensation, tax, and benefits benchmarking.
In global mobility, the home country serves as the reference point for many assignment-related decisions. Compensation is typically benchmarked against home country norms using the balance sheet approach. Tax equalization policies use the home country tax rate as the baseline. Benefits programs are often maintained in the home country during the assignment.
The home country designation also affects immigration planning, as the employee's passport and nationality determine visa requirements and processing timelines. Social security coverage and totalization agreements are linked to the home country.
In some cases, the concept of home country becomes ambiguous, particularly for employees who have been on multiple consecutive assignments or who have changed their personal residence. Organizations should have clear policies for determining and, if necessary, reassigning home country status.
Related Terms
Host Country
The country where an employee is sent to work during an international assignment, as opposed to their home (or origin) country.
Balance Sheet Approach
A compensation methodology for international assignees that aims to keep employees financially 'whole' relative to their home country, by separately tracking income, taxes, housing, and goods and services costs.
Tax Equalization
A compensation policy designed to ensure that an employee on international assignment pays no more or less tax than they would have in their home country, with the employer absorbing any difference.