Quote:
Originally Posted by nfotiu
I do agree to an extent that higher Canadian taxes is a bit overstated (especially in Alberta), and I did notice my taxes were higher when I first moved to US as a single guy.
However, now that we are a dual income family of 4 with a mortgage, I assume are taxes are much lower in the US.
Here's how my taxes break down for our family (income in mid-low 6 figures) from my last tax return in Virginia.
Fed Tax 16%
State tax 4.5%
payroll 6.9%
Health care 2%
Total - 29.4%
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Alberta has a flat tax, so it's unlikely you'd ever pay more than 35% of your income in tax--though that doesn't include CPP.
One thing I didn't include was state Unemployment Insurance, and I made what turns out to be a very modest assumption of 5% State Income tax. Some state payroll tax premiums can be as high as 6.5%, though most are quite a bit lower. State income tax can also be as high as 10%, though I think around 5 is more the norm.
The thing is that Health Insurance costs aren't indexed to income--their variation depends on other factors, such as where you live, your group benefits plan, etc. So as your income rises, health care costs as a percentage of income will drop.
I used 50,000 dollars for one simple reason: it's the median household income in the U.S. The median household income in Canada is higher--it was 66,000 dollars in 2006, so perhaps I should have assumed that for Canada--though I doubt it would make much difference, especially in Alberta.