I need some help with Netherlands' tax system and cost of living.?

Question

Me and wife are planning to relocate to Eindhoven as I may be offered employment there. The salary is 38,000 euros per year and supposedly 43,000 euros including benefits. Can someone give me an idea about how much take-home salary I will have per month under the Knowledge migrant scheme (30% off taxes). Also, what is the cost of living, given that I rent a 2-bed decent apartment + car + misc. (health insurance is covered).

Answer 1

Try http://www.ubs.com/1/e/ubs_ch/wealth_mgm...

and select the prices and earnings report 2006 - this will give you an excellent overview of cost of living, earnings, rents and taxes for most countries in the world.

I have always used this source for my relocation and found it very accurate.

But just my personal oppinion - no, 38'000 is not a good salary - try to negotiate something like 38'000 net of taxes plus an expat package where you get an appartment, car and additional monthly allowance - then it will be ok

Answer 2

here's the other link who have asked the same question before. hope this helps as you have same salary with woman who posted this.....

http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 3

I believe it's a good salary. After the tax deduction (30%) you will getting around Euro 2400 (approx) per month.

If you do not stay in the heart of city then you can find a house for around Euro1000/month. Usually employers help you in finding such houses. These are well furnished houses.

Average spending on hone/internet/power/water bill would come around Euro 100/month and Grocery would come around Euro 400/month. Transportation is cheap if you use public vehicles on daily basis and your own car on occasional basis but on an average you would spent Euros 300/month. Around Euro100-200/month on Entertainment. Since your insurance is covered so with this calculation you will be able to save Euro 200-300 per month only. You need to mind that its you alone who is working and your wife is depandant and that is generally not the case. So if your wife also take up some ob then your saving would rise dramatically.

I know people who are single and with benefit package around 35000/year they are able to save close to Euro 8000-10000/annum with descent lifestyle.

Answer 4

To be honest €38K is good but not an excellent salary for someone who is a 'highly skilled migrant' with specialised skills in IT - however this is based on the normal Dutch tax system.  Personally I am not familar with this "Knowledge migrant scheme", but have seen questions about it before, and a good answer was posted here (salary very similar to yours) but without the mentioned benefits http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

I am not familiar with the area or prices in Eindhoven so maybe someone with more local knowledge can help, but looking at funda.nl as an indication, you can rent an apartment (unfurnished) for approx €1100 per month http://www.funda.nl/WoningAanbod/Huur/Re...

Running a car is quite expensive these days with the monthly tax and also fuel is getting really expensive.  If you are living close to work, and bearing in mind this is in Eindhoven, then I would advise you to consider using public transport, and buying a bike each for you and your wife (this is normal for a lot of Dutch people).  Also as you are non-EU you would have to do an exam first to exchange your driving licence for a Dutch one (which is mandatory if you live here more than 185 days).  If you fail this test then you will have to learn from the beginning with lessons and a test (and this is incedibly expensive!)

If health insurance is covered then this is the good news as this would set you back about €2000 per year for the two of you.  Other insurances (home insurance, liability insurance etc, but not including car insurance) will cost about 250-300 depending on your apartment, size, location etc (this is a guesstimate as I don't know Eindhoven well as I said)

For the phone/tv/internet - this depends on speed, what channels etc you want and ranges from €20-40 per month on average

For a mobile - again depends on what kind of subscription you want (and if you want a phone, or just a sim card), but you can check this out on e.g. http://www.belcompany.com/NL/Ik_Wil/abon... (in Dutch)

Living costs for food - again it depends on what kind of food you and your wife want to eat, and what standard you want to live.  You can estimate €75 per week, but if you want to buy a lot of foreign products (spices, imported goods etc), branded goods, or treats then this will increase of course.  One of the supermarkets (although it is one of the more expensive supermarkets) have an online shop http://webwinkel.ah.nl/ but a couple of examples are

- 2 x chickenfillets = €2.85

- A loaf of bread = €1.20

- 5kg potatoes = €2.99

- 2kg oranges = €2.99

- 1.5l bottle Coca Cola = €1.38

Anyway, hopefully this gives you a taste of the costs here

Best of luck

Answer 5

You will not need to sit for a Dutch driving exam if you come under the Knowledge Migrant visa.

38 000 is not a lot. My partner earns that much and he's not even 25. As an expat, you will not be able to get the cheaper apartments (very very long waiting list) so your options are limited to those ranging from a minimum of 700 euro to well over 1000 euro. The apartments are usually completely empty (not even floors or paint) so you'd have to factor that extra cost . There are furnished apartments but these usually cost more or are only available for short periods.

Tax should be around 41-42%. As a Knowledge Migrant, the first 30% of your income will not be taxed (as that amount will be considered as 'expenses' ). Besides the normal tax, you also have to contribute towards some Ziektewet thing (health insurance BUT separate from the normal health insurance. It's something like 5% of your gross income), your pension and if you get a lease car from your company, tax for that. The good news is that if you have kids or plan on studying or when you're old, you get lots of help (education is practically free and childcare is ridiculously cheap). All in all, your take home pay should be 2000+ euro per month. Don't worry, you won't starve on that but it won't be luxurious either.

Just check with your company if they really are paying for your health insurance. Most companies have special plans but you still have to pay 80+ euro per person per month (normal is probably 100euro).