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Would you keep more abroad?

What an American pays in 73 countries, next to what you pay now at home, with or without your US passport.

If you move, you'd
The IRS still taxes your worldwide income, minus what you pay abroad.

For this household it makes no difference. Wages up to $132,900 are excluded from US tax abroad, and taxes paid abroad cancel the rest, so the IRS takes nothing either way. It matters once you have investment income or earn more.

How much more (or less) you keep each year than you do now, after every tax.

For this household, 17 of 73 countries leave more take-home than California, even keeping citizenship. At this income the foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credits cancel your US tax in every one of them.

Ranked by take-home vs. California, Qatar comes first: +$37,182 a year vs. California.

Select a country on the map or in the list to see the full comparison.

How much more you'd keep than in California

About this tool

Who it's for
For Americans thinking about living abroad, and anyone comparing countries' taxes and prices.
What you can enter
Filing status, wages, long-term capital gains, children, home value and taxable spending, and whether you'd keep US citizenship.
What it runs on
2026 income tax, social contributions and VAT for each country, US citizenship-based tax with the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credit, and World Bank price levels. Sources and simplifications are under How this is calculated.
Who made it
Sam Wen, co-founder of Square. Free, no sign-up; it runs in your browser. Last updated .

Spot a mistake, or a rule that changed? Tell me.

Frequently asked questions

My man in finance moved to Dubai. Can I follow him and pay no tax?

The UAE has no personal income tax and a 5% VAT, so the Dubai chocolate is cheap. But if either of you is American, the IRS comes along: the US taxes citizens wherever they live, and the foreign earned income exclusion only shelters the first $132,900 of wages in 2026. Anything above that is still taxed at US rates. For the rest, check US tax still owed.

Emily moved from Paris to Rome. Should I?

Maybe. Italy's impatriate regime exempts half of a newcomer's salary (60% with kids) for five years, which makes its 45% top rate far gentler. The famous €300K flat tax on foreign income is for billionaires, not marketing executives, so Emily should stick with the first one.

KPop Demon Hunters changed my life. Can I move to Seoul?

Korea lets foreign employees elect a flat 19% income tax (20.9% with local tax) on wages for up to 20 years, which beats the progressive brackets once you're earning well. Your US taxes still apply on top, but a foreign tax credit usually absorbs most of them. Golden.

I watched The White Lotus and want to retire to Thailand.

Thailand only taxes foreign income you actually bring into the country, and long-term residence visa holders don't pay on it even then. So keep the villa money offshore and try not to get involved in anything at the resort.

I keep saying I'll move to Canada. What's the cheapest way to actually leave?

Canada has no special tax break for newcomers, but it resets your investments' cost basis on arrival, so gains you made before moving aren't taxed there. To stop paying US tax for good, renouncing citizenship dropped from $2,350 to $450 in April 2026, though the exit tax still applies above $2M of net worth. See Saved by giving up citizenship for what it's worth to you.

Mostly jokes. Still not tax advice, and definitely not dating advice.

How this is calculated

What's included

  • Income tax abroad for a new tax resident working for a local employer: national brackets plus a representative local tax where one exists (Ontario, Zurich, Madrid and so on), personal allowances and credits, and each country's rule for gains on investments held in a US brokerage account. Territorial and remittance systems leave those gains untaxed.
  • Social contributions: the employee's share of pension, health and unemployment contributions, up to each country's ceiling.
  • VAT at the standard rate on twice the share of spending that US sales tax reaches, since VAT also covers most services.
  • Staying a US citizen: federal income tax on worldwide income, using whichever is cheaper, the $132,900 foreign earned income exclusion or the foreign tax credit (with wages and investment gains in separate baskets). The 3.8% net investment income tax still applies and can't be offset. Wages from a foreign employer owe no US Social Security or Medicare, and no state tax is assumed once you've moved.
  • Leaving the US system: only the new country taxes you. The one-time costs, a $450 fee and a possible exit tax, aren't spread over the years.
  • Cost of living: take-home divided by the World Bank price level, on the same US = 100 scale the US map uses, so a country and a state compare directly.

Simplifications

  • Special regimes for newcomers (Spain's Beckham law, Italy's impatriate rules, Portugal's IFICI, the Netherlands' 30% ruling) aren't applied; each country's panel names its regime.
  • Property tax isn't compared on either side, so the US baseline is a renter too.
  • Amounts are converted at annual average exchange rates. Currency moves can swing the comparison more than tax changes do.
  • Some states, including California and Virginia, keep taxing former residents who leave ties behind. The model assumes a clean break.
  • Visas, healthcare costs and wage differences are out of scope. This isn't tax advice.

Sources

Data compiled 2026-09-29.