I am L6 Solutions Architect at AWS (TC: 300k) and currently deciding between staying in the US vs moving to Canada.
Primary reason for moving: I am on H1B and thought Canada PR can provide me some stability.
What I want to access are the financial implications of moving to Canada(Toronto), and was wondering if I can get an approximate idea around what the salaries are Iike in Canada.
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Just because it took 11 years for someone who applied in 2009 doesn't mean that it will take the same amount of time for someone applying in 2020. 100 years is more like it unless the immigration policies change
1. Amount of money lost due to tax purposes
2. Money lost due to difference in currency evaluation
3. Money lost due to package reconciliation due to the move from US to Canada
4. Money lost due to (very) costly drivers insurance in Canada ($600 in Canada vs $100 per month in USA)
5. Money saved in rent
6. Money saved on general cost of living
Considering all the factors, in 15 years, I would save 60% less in Canada.
So, based on this I have decided to stay in US on H1B for as long as possible and then move back to India.
1) Depending on where you are living in Canada and where you are in the US, you could pay substantially less in property taxes in Canada. In Ontario people tend to pay 3000-4500 annually in property taxes. If you are renting it's moot though.
2) Your taxes in Canada cover health care. No spending on HSA, premiums, deductibles, etc.
3) The Tax-free savings account (TFSA) in Canada is much more powerful than anything you have available in the US. This can make a big difference in the long term. Basically you can invest some amount of money each year that grows tax free and can be withdrawn at any time. Roth would be a similar type account in US but it has an early withdrawal penalty.
4) RRSP (similar to 401k) contributions tend to be more generous in Canada. E.g. In the US it is quite common that the company matches 50% of what you contribute. In Canada it tends to be 100%. As usual, that won't be the case with all companies, but it's what I've observed.
The first 2 can be worth significant amount of money. The third can be worth a huge amount depending on how you invest savings.
5) There's a lot of misinformation w.r.t Canadian income taxes on Blind. You have to do the math of where you live in US and where you want to be in Canada, and pull up Federal and State/Provincial tax tables. Keep in mind, Canada doesn't tax being married differently than single. You will find that often times, you will not have a significant difference in income taxes, especially compared to California.
You would still save a lot more in the US but likely less than 60%.
Probably not as bad for the big companies like Shopify and Amazon but I know a friend who worked in MS vancouver and it was still a big drop off from the US comp.
To make it worse, the whole GTA area has become expensive af in the last five years or so but the wages have stagnated. And taxes are higher, at least compared to WA. That's why so many of the top CS grads end up moving to the US.