Mallory

I'm never going to get a penny of my NI contributions that I paid in the UK. So you take mine, and I'll take yours, then we'll be even!

Jerseygirl

Never say never.

kins

We've gone from paying £1000 a year in council tax in the UK to paying $6000 a year in the US (nearly 10% of our family salary). The house here is slightly larger but its value is lower.

My husband is on a similar salary here to the salary he was on in the UK. Once his taxes and health insurance are taken out of his payslip he brings home slightly less than he did in the UK.

But hey it's all okay because we pay less sales tax now we're here so let's shop shop shop! Only we don't have anything to shop with.

BUT having said all that, I love it here - it rains less.

Elvira

7.8% vs 12.3%!!!

And remember: healthcare not included...

Ray

You can get an old age pension surely ......

Bluegrass Lass

Do you also know that the Americans have the highest amount of debt as well? Do you know that we have some of the worst savings habits in the world? And I would beg to differ with you on the income taxes - we make a decent salary (just over 6 figures) but we lose almost 40% -45% of our income in taxes (granted most of this is because of marriage penalty). And believe me, that sucks big time. That may change now that we have a house, but until we have children, I can expect to lose that much of my income - the % we lose includes all state & federal taxes, as well as medicare, Social security, health insurance and my 401(k). A 401k is a privatized retirement plan because there is no pension forthcoming from the US gov't. Be under no illusion that you would end up paying less taxes here. The last city I lived in we also had to pay local city taxes, which docked another 2% off our income.

As Elvira mentioned, you will have to pay the SS and medicare taxes, even though you may never even be eligible to use it (unless you become a citizen I believe). Also, don't know if this has been mentioned already, but if you are self-employed, you are responsible for paying all of your social security taxes. Normally, your employer pays half of the SS tax, and you pay the other. When your self-employed, you have to pay all of it. That may put a larger dent in your income than you think.

Kaffy Mintcake

You're lucky then - I can't imagine that Chicago doesn't have it - that's wild. I pay 2% city income tax, as well as state and federal.

Kaffy Mintcake

If you have your heart set on trying the US for a while - I say go for it. We only live once, right? It will also be easier now then later if you get married, have children, etc.

I think everyone else just wants to make sure you're keeping your eyes open on the not so great parts of moving to this country (or to any other country for that matter) in mind - so you don't make a decision that you may later regret.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Sally

Stop buying the Daily Mail and just enjoy life and have some nice vacations in the US

Ozzidoc

What's marriage penalty please?

sarflondongirl

Funny enough i only read the Metro...

sarflondongirl

Thanks KJ2007.

My heart isn't set on it, but I'll at least try.

I appreciate that others are sharing their own views and experiences - whether direct or indirect - with me. That's why I posted on the board.

I've always been aware of these issues with tax and state variations, so I'm not unfamiliar with what everyone has said regarding healthcare, state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes and the variations by state and city. I'm just not versed on the specifics. And other issues such as debt, lifestyle, politics, religion etc etc - I'm not versed in the specifics - maybe I should.

All the best too.

sarflondongirl

I'm aware of the debt load of US citizens, it's reported constantly here in the UK, however bear in mind the UK isn't so far behind apparently. 60m people are apparently $1tn in debt according to a news report I heard this week.

UK debt: http://www.creditaction.org.uk/debtstats.htm

US debt: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

I know that the taxes are higher in the US for employed and self-employed people and thanks for sharing your experience - it's really helpful.

If you own a C-Corp, aren't you taxed in a different way in your state?

But like I said, "a better tax regime" isn't very high on my list of criteria although it's there: I'm looking for a different lifestyle. If there's anything else I should consider about the US, please let me know.

Tracym

I have never heard of city income tax it in Chicago. And couldn't find anything on google. Of course, I've never heard of city income tax at all. So what do I know.

But I can't seem to find anything that indicates Chicago has one.

Bluegrass Lass

Yep, when my hubby and I moved up to Ohio 2 years ago, I was surprised at finding out about a city income tax as well. Instead of all the little suburbs being part of Cincinnati, they are all considered little cities (I think they may be incorporated), and you have to pay for the privilege of working or living in them. We ended up paying an extra 2% on top of federal and state. When you get your W-2s, one of the reasons you get 4 of them is so that you can use one for filing city taxes.

Ozzidoc, here is a link that define's the marriage penalty tax: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_penalty. Because both of us are professionals making pretty good salaries (combined just over 6 figures), and we have no deductions (like children or a house) we are subject to paying higher taxes than singles would just because we are married. How's that for an insult.