US salary
 

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Used to be you kept the number and changed the currency, now maybe be add 20%?

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Try this site https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

Re: US salary
 

Your starting point is to ensure that the right rate is being paid for that job in the USA, using a website like this (there are many others): https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/p...RCH_KO0,15.htm
What can seem like a good salary in UK terms (are you in the UK?) can be a poor salary here. When you are settled on the proposed salary you then need to understand if you can live on that salary and achieve the life style you want.

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You may not wish to share the info, but if you can give people a rough idea of the salary and your situation (i.e. how many in the family, what healthcare his employer will provide, what you want to do in spare time etc), then hopefully those in the area can tell you if it's a realistic salary or not.

FWIW, I'd avoid Numbeo like the plague, it's notoriously inaccurate. Hopefully as more people contribute it will get better but for now it's pretty dire IMO.

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Unlike with Council Tax, it's only owners that pay Property Taxes in the US - not renters.

Obviously your landlord will be factoring in the cost of the taxes into your rent, but it's not like it's a separate bill that you're going to be getting on top of that.

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Re: US salary
 

If your husband visa allows it, do you plan on working?

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When we rented, the owner paid the Property Tax.

Rule of thumb - multiply the GBP salary you both earn today by two and that should be enough in most locations to retain your standard of living, at least. Then you get more detailed and understand the variation in location vs. the UK equiv. As an example I left Swindon for just South of Atlanta, so my housing options improved a lot. If I'd moved to NYC, I'd have had to increase my salary just to stay still. That Healthcare sounds about right, don't forget you are offsetting that against the fact you pay for it via Tax in the UK. So salary is the first bit, then you need to work out your Take Home and compare that - some States have Income Tax, some don't (New Hampshire does not appear to, Mass does) at a smidge over 5%).

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A quick google and on the NH DOJ website there is this line:

"A landlord can also include a clause to force a mid-lease rent increase if property taxes are increased."

That would suggest the Property Tax is included in the rent as standard.

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Maybe you could post a link to said information. Unlike the UK...I always uunderstood that in the US it is the property owner who is responsible for property taxes. I suppose it may be different from state to state.

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Agree .... never heard of a renter paying any separate Property tax. That is paid by the property owner. However, the rent will undoubtedly cover some portion of the property taxes as well as maintenance/upkeep.

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Re: US salary
 

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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.

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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!

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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

Re: US salary
 

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.

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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.

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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.

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All leases are rubbish :zzz:

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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.

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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.

Re: US salary
 

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

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

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

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Hi Ryan,

We are in the last year hopefully of waiting on our F3 visa becoming current the 2nd chart is currently sitting at 8 months, so fingers crossed lol
Anyways, l have just joined this page as we have been trying to research things like schools, houses, pets etc...

I would love to ask you some questions if you have the time to answer, l could private message you if thats possible on here or i could email you..?

Thanks
Brendan

Re: US salary
 

Morning , yeah no problem. Send me a dm
ryan

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Why don't you start your own thread with your specific questions in open forum -- there are a lot of knowledgeable people here who will be happy to help you -- and if the wrong advice is given, it can then be corrected before you are led astray.

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Thanks, l did email you but someone else has suggested starting a new thread, maybe thats best rather than specifically bothering you lol
I would really appreciate any input you have as you have just went through the process.
Thanks
Brendan

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I thinks thats good advice, l will start a thread shortly

Thanks
Brendan

Re: US salary
 

High? Sounds potentially too low to me, it really depends where but for example here in NYC (not even central manhattan, but just humble brooklyn) you might not even find a 1 bed for that in some areas, I assume at least a 2 bed is needed, in our building they are at least 50% higher than that, and that’s not CA or the priciest of areas.

I think the real difference (as it is most places around the world) is, are you living in the rural areas or suburbs or right in the city, this impacts rent and house prices a lot, as well as the overall desirability of the area. $4K could be high but it might also fall very short in the city, I give a concrete example above to set the scene.

the OP really needs to look online at the locations they are interested in and go from there. Luckily most things like this can be done online in advance, not much need to guess. USA is big and prices vary a lot, as always, location matters!

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It's not cheap in MA either. Unless we're talking western MA but a quick reference, anything within I-95 =Stupid expensive. Between I-495 and I-95 = Really expensive especially for anything bigger than 1 bet loft. West of I-495 out to Worcester = Expensive but more options with horrid commutes into Boston. Anything further west of that, there be unicorns and fairies or the impression you'll get.

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I rent in PA. i don't pay property tax. OP mentioned tax for schools, etc. I think they are referring to the township/local government tax that is deducted from your paycheck. In PA I pay federal, state and township tax. I live in a really good school district so the local tax is high... i don't have kids here so really should look at moving! :D

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If you are reasonably comfortable in the UK I would not recommend trying to live on $135K in New England, I am not sure if I would recommend it for two adults alone, but for a family of 4, definitely not.

You said that the offer is a "pay increase", but how did you determine that? You have already been given some good advice on checking the market rate for the job in the US, not just exchanging the currency, but even looking at the salary level in isolation you should bear in mind that Sterling is currently depressed, so using the current USD/GBP exchange rate of $1.30 is not going to give you a realistic figure, any more than using $2/£1 back in 2007 would have done. The long term average over the past 35 years or so is around $1.60, so using that rate would give you a more meaningful comparison.

The matter of health insurance is a huge topic worthy of a separate thread as there are likely some choices you will have to make that will dramatically affect the cost of health insurance, as well as your tax bill (some costs can be tax deductible if you make the logical choices). Suffice to say that IMO many Americans are massively over-insured and would be significantly better off, like several $'000's/year better off, paying for basic doctor's visits and basic medications out of pocket, and then having medical insurance as a safety net for significant illnesses and catastrophic injuries - this is called "high deductible insurance", and saved us about 80% on the premium cost, and the savings we have been mostly able to salt away tax free, on a similar basis as contributions to a UK private pension.