Hi there,

Trying to work out, what tax they take from your wages and any other things like say NHS sort of thing.

What bills you get at your home like do they have council tax or another kind of tax I need to pay.

How much do bills normally come to, I know it depends on use and all that but I can imagine that the gas bill is high in the winter due to being -10

Is car insurance high compared to here.

Have I missed anything out bill wise.

Thanks everyone just trying to get an idea together

It depends, but assume roughly 25% of gross pay, this includes the state pension and unemployment insurance. There is no charge for the health service in Alberta.

No council tax. A property owner pays an annual tax - a bit like the rates used to be in the UK. Other than that there is heating and electricity, insurance (if you are the owner), water and sewage (in some municipalities) telephone and cable.

I don't live in AB so can't comment.

Yes.

Search the canada area for "Cost of Living", there is all sorts of info on bills and expenses

-10 is not cold

For an idea of income taxes / deductions etc use the calculators at
www.taxtips.ca, they are accurate and cover all the provinces. 30% as a ballpark starting point, but the final damage depends on all sorts of things (deductions)

Property tax, generally 1-2% of the assesed value of the property...$1500 to 5000 a year as a guide. If you rent its generally included in the monthly rent.

I pay about $150 monthly to cover my annual oil bill, but that covers water heating too. Hydro (electricity) bills less than $100 a month are rare (in Ontario), Cable TV starts at about $50, you cant get a phone line for less than about $30 a month, plus long distance charges on top.

Insurance aint cheap, car, home, life, you name it its a rip off, but a necessity anyway

Electricity, Natural Gas, Water & Sewer are going to be difficult to predict as they vary depending on the age and size of house, the number of people in the house, how warm you like to keep the place etc. etc.

For our house 1050 sq ft. built in 1972 developed basement we keep our daytime temp at 68°F night-time temp at 62°F the home is air-conditioned in summer (not used often) and we have and underground sprinkler system for the lawns and flower beds.

Edited to add there are just two of us.

Average monthly bills so far this year.

Electricity: $71.37
Natural Gas: $89.06
Water: $40.34
Sewer: $32.09

Cheers
Steve

Thanks for the heads up everyone. I am grateful

I plan to rent for a while I think while I get the lay of the land before buying a house. Someone mentioned that the property tax is normally included in the price of the rent. Is that the norm or would I have to ask them first as I see places cost about $1900 to rent for a desent looking place

What kind of places are you looking at renting at for $1900?
I mean a Condo at $1900 would be on the higher end, a basement suite in Forest Lawn would be a complete rip off, a 3000sqft in Roxboro would be considered a bargain

It is the norm. Property tax is the owner's responsibility. Assume it will be unless told otherwise. However, make sure you read any rental agreement before you sign it and clarify this if necessary.

One thing to mention with regard to payroll deductions....

EI and CPP (think NIcontribuions) are not taken at an equal amount per cheque.

The way it work if you earn a decent salary is that they take a set percentage at the start of the year until you meet the maximum threshold level, after which they no longer take that payment and your take home pay increases until January comes around again and they start on next years % contirbutions.

I works out over the year, but if you are not expecting it its confusing at the start as your take home is less than you are expecting based on splitting the maximum allowable contribution over 24 equal salary payments.

Also, when considering budgets etc remember that its almost a necessity here to budget something towards kids college funds (if applicable) and especially your own retirement planning over and above what the state will provide. Even more so when you are only starting to contribute later in your working life here... its hard to maximise your UK and Canadian pension entitlement, and of course as things stand any UK state pension will not be indexed linked either....all stuff to think about early on, even if you dont end up staying that long term...

Don't forget that although health care is free (as far as it goes) in Canada...unless you have a drugs plan per an insurance policy, you pay the cost of them at the Pharmacy + a dispensing fee. I would recommend that you take out such a plan. Include Dental too if you can afford it as that is very expensive if you are paying all of the cost of dental treatment out of your own pocket....

Coming as a cop I think... I expect there will be a benefits package.

Regardless, surely insurance policy to cover dental is more expensive than just saving whatever you would pay for the coverage every month and paying for the treatment? Virtually everyone with a dental policy claims against it for regular maintainence, so the policy premium will necessarily have to cover that at least, PLUS the insurnace companies overhead and profit margin. It would only really be worth the premiums if you happened to need some major treatment, and thats where most policies cop out anyway and only pay a fraction of the costs anyway...

... unless you live in BC where you pay an additional monthly fee.

Not exactly free. Nothing is free. It is paid for put of taxation.

[quote=iaink;8127338]Coming as a cop I think... I expect there will be a benefits package.

Missed the 'cop' ...benefits he will have....but may be useful info to anyone not so disposed when they come to Canada.

It would only really be worth the premiums if you happened to need some major (dental) treatment, and that's where most policies cop out anyway and only pay a fraction of the costs anyway.

Correct, a decision I made was not to get Dental Insurance for the reason you state. viz the Insurance cop out aspect for major treatment. But no fun when you get hit with a $2500 bill for root canal and a crown ....

[QUOTE=macadian;8127374] If you need a root canal and a crown take a holiday down here and hop over the border to Los Algodonis, Mexico. A root canal will cost you US$360 and a crown will cost you US$280 or less. The savings on the cost of the work will pay for your holiday. U S trained dentists and state of the art equipment. Both my OH and I have had these and other work done over the past seven years and the work is first class. Even my dentist in Nova Scotia had to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that the work was of the highest caliber. No problem with my insurance either, they paid the claims without question.

I havent really thought about what benefits Police get in CPS to be honest. I will check out insurance though, as I have insurance here because I never want to be caught out with a huge bill on that front. At least I have an idea now on cost of utility bills including Rogers which is cable I saw online something like $96 for the VIP package I do like my TV channels as I have Sky at the moment.

If I transfer to the CPS I would be on around $65k with the experience I will have not sure if thats a good starting wage over there or not?

If its not I will do my best as the wages go up it seems with each year and I am sure if you specialize it will go up even more. As my other half wont work for a while she we settle in and sort the kids out first into school and what not.

I forgot to mention I was looking at places that were $1900 as I want 3 beds min but 4 would be nice. I am not sure on a CPS wage yet what I would be able to afford and what is a good price for rent as I dont know the local prices yet