Crazy California Taxes

[pitz]

Just wondering -- anyone here work in California?

I threw a $100k salary into this calculator, and found that the after-tax income would be $63,445.

Making $100k in Alberta would leave over $70k in your pocket, $68k in Ontario. And you wouldn't have any issues with health insurance, ie: deductibles on hospital visits, etc.

Is this really correct? Seems to me that just to move from Alberta to the Silicon Valley would require one heck of a pay raise just to cover the differences in taxes alone, let alone all the other costs that are higher concerning living in the Bay Area compared to Canada.

Any Silicon Valley geeks care to comment? I never realized the tax discrepancy was this large. And of course, that's before AMT (alternative minimum tax) kicks in.

If a person makes $75k in Alberta, would it make much sense to move to San Jose for much less than $110-$120k? (better career opportunities aside, at least in technology)?

[geronimo]

Maybe it is approximately correct. It just goes to show that the US isn't the magical "land of opportunities" that people always think it is. Many great opportunities are available here in Canada, and according to some measures, Canada is a better country to live in than the United States. Yes, Americans do earn higher incomes, but that is because they have to put up with a higher cost of living. In the end is there really much of a difference in the quality/standard of living? Who knows? That is hard to measure and depends on your level of affluence, lifestyle, etc. If anything, I'd give Canada the benefit of the doubt.

[B0000rt]

My wife doesn't work here in Jersey so when we file Married Jointly taxes are like that I make half my pay x 2... I worked for less than half a year in 2007 and when filing jointly w/ my wife, I'm getting back almost $6000 tax refund

Social Security
Medicare

These are probably not the proper values, as you only pay the full amount if you own your own company (S corp or C corp) Otherwise your employer will pay half of these.

There's alot of things to get around taxes in the states, you don't need a HELOC to beable to claim interest as a deduction

[jda]

Sounds about right (although I don't work in Nor Cal nor do I get paid 100k)

There are a few things you can get away with the tax:
1. 15k worth of 401k
2. 5K worth of IRA
3. If you own a house your mortgage interest can be write off.
4. You can put in 5k/year in your flex plan where you can spend everything from laser eye surgery to condoms.

I guess besides the better career opportunities aside one thing for sure is that there are a lot more things to do in California than Alberta. The only thing I missed about Alberta is lack of good mountain bike trails in So Cal. Also, the weather is a lot better here too.

Everyone thinks the cost of living is a lot more in California but it really isn't true. Housing is definitely more in the bay area but it't not exactly cheap in Calgary any more and besides housing almost everything else is cheaper in the US. This ranges from gas ($3.93/gallon in so cal today) to car (BMW 328i starts at 33k) to electronics to hockey tickets.

[nalababe]

while not always the case, my colleagues in California always had a premium in their salary. What was 65 Canadian in Toronto was 75 in the US and 85-90 in California.....

[TheFuteballer]

well although I'm not sure about this (I'll ask as I'm heading there for work this summer) but I do know that there are a lot of things that make up for it.

i.e. someone close to me was making 65 k starting at AMD about 5 years ago, nVidia hired him for the same job, payed him 95 k + nearly 15-20 k CASH to move himself down there and set up + they pay for all of your food (they have a cafeteria on campus so he never cooks.. just gets his whole breakfast, lunch, dinner all paid for by the company). The benefits are amazing and there are a lot of other perks which help offset the cost of living. Including bonuses and the such he was making around 105 k with only 2 years of experience.. I'd say that's MUCH better than anything you'd find in Toronto / Canada

[dd97]

The increase in salary does offset the cost of living. Also, take in to account that you enjoy summer all yr around as opposed to this ****** freezing country 9 out of 12 mths a yr. Go for it..

[Tereno]

well although I'm not sure about this (I'll ask as I'm heading there for work this summer) but I do know that there are a lot of things that make up for it.

i.e. someone close to me was making 65 k starting at AMD about 5 years ago, nVidia hired him for the same job, payed him 95 k + nearly 15-20 k CASH to move himself down there and set up + they pay for all of your food (they have a cafeteria on campus so he never cooks.. just gets his whole breakfast, lunch, dinner all paid for by the company). The benefits are amazing and there are a lot of other perks which help offset the cost of living. Including bonuses and the such he was making around 105 k with only 2 years of experience.. I'd say that's MUCH better than anything you'd find in Toronto / Canada

Where are you headed for specifically? Just curious.

[TheFuteballer]

San Fran, working for a start-up RFID company

[B0000rt]

San Fran, working for a start-up RFID company

On TN or H1B?

[Tereno]

San Fran, working for a start-up RFID company

Cool. Are you on CDS by any chance?

[TheFuteballer]

Cool. Are you on CDS by any chance?

No, but one of my friends got a J1 through CDS to work at Cisco in San Jose for this summer.

For me, it's a long story but basically I'm just using a tourist visa as the terms of my payment are a little different and I didn't have time to get the Visa business sorted out

[tataynik]

I threw a $100k salary into this calculator, and found that the after-tax income would be $63,445.

Making $100k in Alberta would leave over $70k in your pocket, $68k in Ontario. And you wouldn't have any issues with health insurance, ie: deductibles on hospital visits, etc.

I would live in California for the $6 - $8 grand difference. No comparison, Calgary ....Kitchener .....San Fransisco , Hmmmmmmm!!
If a company is paying you $100G's, I don't think they'll go cheapy on your health coverage, as far as the deductibles, c'mon you're pulling 6 figures!!

[B0000rt]

I would live in California for the $6 - $8 grand difference. No comparison, Calgary ....Kitchener .....San Fransisco , Hmmmmmmm!!
If a company is paying you $100G's, I don't think they'll go cheapy on your health coverage, as far as the deductibles, c'mon you're pulling 6 figures!!

No doubt! $100 large is nothing, really. If you don't have health insurance you're probably going to be a consultant, making much more than that

[harry131]

Quebec taxes are crazy as well..... 100k here comes up to ~$64k.. Screw it, I am moving to Alberta... :p