I am sde 2 at Amazon in India. YOE 9 and TC $61000. I am confused, which of the following two options will result in more savings after tax. Assuming life style remains roughly the same. #1. I accept a job offer that will pay me $120,000. It is a a remote job, I will live in a tier 2 city in India where I have my own home, car etc and international schools are cheap $2500 per year, I have a 3 year old kid. I worked remotely before and really enjoyed it. 50% of my salary will be non-taxable due to income tax rules for consultants in India. #2. I move to Seattle on L1 visa, the TC will be around $250k, not sure though as they lowball those on L1. I will be moving with my wife (not working) and a 3 year old kid. I think there will be no income tax in Seattle. Will travel to India twice an year with my family. Other major expenses will be kid's schooling and apartment rent. Once again I want to optimise for savings after cost of living, forex and applicable income taxes.
With these numbers, India seems way better but you also need to think about the fact that in the US your salary has a lot of room to grow. I'm not sure how this works for remote jobs, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any remote jobs that pay 300k+.
Thanks for the response. I know there may not be more room to grow but I will anyway have to stick to India in long term to look after my parents. Can you please elaborate how is India a better choice, may be talk about cost of living and kids education in Seattle. Thanks.
250k in Seattle wouldn't place you anywhere close to the top of the spectrum for total family income (assuming yours is the only income). With 250k you aren't going to have a very glamorous lifestyle if you also want to save. Think shopping at Walmart for groceries and clothes from Target/GAP. Maybe one family trip a year. You'll pretty much have to rely on public schools so you'll have to pay up for a house in a good school district. Assuming you want a nice 2 bedroom place, you'll pay anywhere between 1.5-3k a month.
That's a huge salary for remote job in India. Which company is giving you that?
Pick the remote job in India
Thanks for the response. Can you please elaborate how is India a better choice, may be talk about cost of living and kids education in Seattle? Thanks.
US will tax you at a much higher rate. Plus, the Visa situation will mean you'll likely not be able to work remotely. It is also easy for your employer to exploit you as you cannot switch to another company as easily as you can in India. Kids' education may come free in public schools but you'll have to pay big on a home purchase in good school districts. In general, everything costs higher in the US compared to India. Checkout numbeo.com for a rough reference.
You will pay US federal income tax in Seattle. The rate is progressive but figure close to 30% of that 250k will go to taxes. After rent and school and living expenses you’d most certainly be able to save more working remotely
Thanks for the response. Can you please estimate how much will I be able to save? Sure it depends upon lifestyle. However I am not much into night life, travel etc.
If you’re an SDE2 it’s highly unlikely that your TC in Seattle after transfer will be 250K. Practically it’d be around 200k maximum as internal transfer team low balls for sure. Savings will be almost equal compared to India given your family situation assuming your TC will be 250K. Now if your TC comes out to 200K which is more likely to happen then I’d say it’s not worth moving.
With 9 yoe, current salary in Amazon looks on lower side ? Does it include stocks ?
India, no brainer !
How much would be the equivalent settle salary?
See, if you want to save you can save a lot in Seattle, I would say you can save up to 80-100k but you will have to live conservatively. Like eating out twice a month, shopping within limits. One family trip per year and public school. You would also loose too much in terms of social life. As a thumb rule, use a conversion rate of INR 17/USD, if you want to compare life style. Of course, you will end up saving more if you decide to move that money to India.
Which tax rule are you talking about which gives 50% exemption on taxable salary for 120K $ salary in India? There is one that exists but that has a limit around 70K USD (50 LPA) income for professionals
India, find a nice city with low cost of living but proper internet connection.
Yes fortunately, 200 Mbps optical fiber connection is very common and cheap
What is the company which is offering remote job ?