Winston_the_Great_Dane

robin1234

talkto_menow

This is a rough estimate on your 135k salary
You should get biweekly 5.1k gross. With average tax rate of 24%, this would give you 3.9k. Most of the months you get two paychecks, which makes monthly income of 7.8k (after payroll taxes). Rent of 4k represents 50% of your net income. In my opinion rent is too high.

Monthly car payments 10% should be around $780 per month. For two cars payments could go up to 1k - 1.2k.I think $780 is too low for two cars. I do not have a car right now, so I do not know how much it would cost to have one.

LouisB

Don’t forget to factor in car insurance and medical costs you might be liable for, usually there is a cap on your max contribution per year but just keep it in mind, you might hit it if you get sick, or one of the family does.

its hard to compare salaries as it depends where in U.K. vs where in the US, big city would compare likewise, I.e. London salary might compare with NY with some multiplication factor but you won’t get NYC salary in smaller towns and rural areas, like you don’t get London salary outside London. Try to keep some savings in hand, relocating can be expensive, even if the company pays the move there are so many hidden little expenses that add up in the start, it is worthwhile in my opinion having at least 6m rent saved in case of ‘disaster’ with the job, give you some buffer, just my opinion, others may disagree. Good luck!

Antihero

Where abouts are you looking to move to ? like mentioned above the rent price seems quite high unless its in California and possible LA or San fransico area .
Does he get medical with his company ? does his medical not cover the family ? he would be able to add you on for a cost which i expect is 800-1000 a month,but if your planning on working soon then you should be able to find a job which pays your medical and can reduce the cost.
I don't think you will be able to lease cars when you get here due to no credit , The US is very credit heavy with lending . In my experience I don't think you will get credit for 2 cars , if you do they % will be extreme .

If you can open Bank accounts straight away , he can apply for social security and you can apply for your social security when you apply for your EAD form to work , (there is a cost to apply for this so be prepared to pay )
Find a local school you want your kids to attend , ask if they have space and then try find something in that area to rent. You can either rent a place and use the nearby schools which might not be the best or find the best school and rent as close as possible to be in the catchment area.

we are reaching our 4th month here in the US and its been pretty good , If you need any help with getting settled let me know as I have just done most of it
Ryan

TexanScot

It's probably worth clarifying that they will be able to apply for Social Security NUMBERS.

They won't be able to apply for Social Security itself, since they won't be eligible to receive any government benefits.

That's not true - there are specialist leasing companies that deal with new arrivals.

I was able to sort my lease and sign most of the paperwork whilst I was still in the UK.

Antihero

Yes your correct , I ment social security number.

Depending where you are moving to and if they have a specialist to help with lease cars but you will expect to pay higher lease fee , most people I know had to put down 75% deposit just get get the security on credit.

Nutmegger

petitefrancaise

rubbish. I work with people new to the USA all the time. There are companies that will sort out a lease car for you even before you arrive (IAS) and also international business programs that give very favorable rates to L1 visa holders on good salaries. You can get the cars before you have your social security card as well.

tom169

All leases are rubbish

Steerpike

No one else seems to have answered the taxation question. This page lays out the tax rates and brackets.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/taxe...-tax-brackets/

You would likely be using 'married filing jointly' column. You can work out from this roughly what your net federal tax will be based on your income. You mentioned $135k I believe. So that would put you at 22%; but that is the MARGINAL tax on the dollars earned OVER $78,951. so you would pay 10% on the first $19,400; then 12% on the portion up to $78,950, and then 22% on the portion over $78,950. Same idea goes for state tax, if any - look up your state's tax tables. Then you will pay Social Security (FICA) tax and Medicare tax. SS is 6.2% of wages, but it only applies to the first $132,900 of income. Medicare is 1.45% and applies to all income.

There are various allowances that you deduct from your gross income before these taxes get applied, but as a new arrival you aren't likely to be getting many of them.

Bob

Some things to consider. If you're working in MA but living in NH, you still have to file MA taxes. It makes things more complicated.

No income tax in NH, but they make up for it in high property tax. It's reflected in the rent. The $3-4K would be for a house. Can get the same for less if you're outside the I-495 ring in MA, but also, if you don't have kids and only need an apartment, you'd pay less.

In MA, you will have a annual excise/property tax on each car, it's also the case on leases, so factor that cost in and high insurance rates. NH, have tolls everywhere and they like to hit people with speeding tickets...They might be the "Live Free and Die" state, but they don't really live up to the free bit. Don't know about NH, but you have 30 days to get a MA license, which can be difficult getting a time spot depending on location, but using a driving school will help as they tend to get block times. Don't under estimate the cost of car insurance. In MA, you can get a discount for short commutes, under 3K and 5K a year, you also get discounts for having off street parking at home/work and another for covered parking, also if you are further away from NH because NH does not require car insurance though they do need it to drive out of state and they in fact have a higher rate of insured drivers compared to NH but there you go.

If you are driving into Boston daily, having a lease might not be great. It will be inevitable that the car will get dinged or a bumper scraped and many leases have clauses for such damage. Higher rate leases gives you some exceptions to certain dings. They tend to like having new tyres by certain brand/makes on return etc, which adds to the cost of ownership. Plus buying new is a good way to building up credit history.

Commute times can be horrendous in MA, so definitely consider where you will be working and what kind of time you fancy for a commute.

Medical insurance. If you live in NH, you need to see what the in-network cover is for the policy. If the network is limited there, then it might be useless. Blue Cross, have many different policies with different levels of what they consider in-work so you need to understand that.

Due to no credit history, be prepared to put down a down payment on all your utilities, can range from $50-600 and be happy if you aren't asked. If in MA and are looking for a house to rent, be prepared to offer more for a down payment as first/last plus 1-3 months worth of rent is standard to sign the lease and it's quite competitive in many towns. Don't neglect the cost of heating/cooling a house, as oil is expensive and natural gas quite decent for heat, but a newer house will save a lot of money compared to a old one, so heating can be $100-600 a month depending on all the variables and similar for cooling in the summer. Technically in MA, a landlord is supposed to be responsible for the cost of clearing snow from the driveway and pathways to a house. It is nearly never actually covered by the landlord in practice, unless there's a shared driveway, so be prepared to do that yourself or pay someone to do it and that can be $50-300 a go, really depends on local market and size of your lot.

It is not cheap to live in MA.

carcajou

No. Renters do not pay property tax. Owners do.

Bob

Well you kind of do, but it's rolled into the rent. It's not like the landlord is giving you a freebie.

TexanScot

Can the landlord still deduct the property taxes, even though it's not their primary residence?