United States vs United Kingdom: net pay side by side
This page comes with the largest caveat on the site. The American figures below cover federal tax alone, so depending which of the fifty states you would really be working in, your actual position could match the number shown or sit ten points or more beneath it.
The figures compared
Every number here is produced by the site's own tax engine for that country. Open the full calculator if you want to tune the assumptions to your own case.
| Gross salary | 🇺🇸 United States net/mo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom net/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 60,000 / 50,000 | $4,194/mo (16.1%) | £3,293/mo (21.0%) |
| 80,000 / 65,000 | $5,402/mo (19.0%) | £4,021/mo (25.8%) |
| 120,000 / 95,000 | $7,745/mo (22.5%) | £5,471/mo (30.9%) |
| 180,000 / 140,000 | $11,183/mo (25.4%) | £7,375/mo (36.8%) |
Gross salary appears in each country's own currency at matching nominal values rather than converted, which is what you want when weighing up two offers quoted locally. The effective rate is in brackets.
The caveat that governs this whole page: state income tax
The American column above covers federal tax alone, meaning Social Security and Medicare plus federal income tax. State income tax is absent from it, because state rates run from 0% (Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada and five more) to north of 13% at the top end in California. Someone earning $120,000 in Austin lands near the $7,745/month figure shown. The same earner in San Francisco hands over noticeably more in state tax and can watch take-home fall by $500-800/month or beyond, depending on filing status and any local levies.
So the American "lead" over the UK in that table is genuine in states with no income tax, but it narrows sharply or vanishes altogether in high-tax states such as California, New York or New Jersey.
Why the effective rates diverge even before a state gets involved
American federal bands really are broad, and the top rate of 37% only starts above $626,350 for a single filer, which is a very high entry point. The British system reaches 40% at just £50,270 and 45% past £125,140, with a brutal 60% effective rate sitting in between as the personal allowance is clawed back. Even once FICA is counted (Social Security plus Medicare, around 7.65% together, with a cap on the Social Security portion), federal-only American tax is structurally lighter than British tax across most professional salaries. The question that always decides it is which American state you are actually in.
Questions readers ask
On federal figures alone the US is clearly ahead at every level shown, for instance $7,745/month against £5,471/month at the $120k versus £95k point. That leaves out American state income tax, which runs from 0% to over 13% depending on where you live. Somewhere like Texas or Florida the American lead holds up. In California or New York it narrows a great deal.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming currently levy no state income tax on wages. The same federal salary leaves noticeably more in hand in those states than in high-tax ones such as California or New York.
Britain withdraws the personal allowance of £12,570 at a rate of £1 for every £2 earned between £100,000 and £125,140. Set alongside the 40% higher rate, that produces an effective marginal rate of 60% inside that one band, even though the headline top rate of 45% sits above the American federal top rate of 37% before state tax is added in most cases.
It does not. These are nominal take-home figures with no purchasing-power adjustment. American healthcare costs, frequently subsidised by an employer but still carrying real out-of-pocket exposure, and British access to the NHS are absent from both columns, and both matter a great deal to the real financial comparison.