United States vs United Kingdom: take-home pay compared
This is the comparison with the biggest asterisk on this site. The US figures below are federal tax only — and depending on which of the 50 states you'd actually work in, your real take-home could be identical to the number shown, or 10+ percentage points lower.
Net salary side by side
Figures are calculated using this site's own tax engine for each country — click through to the full calculator to adjust for your exact situation.
| 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" is shown in each country's own currency at matching nominal amounts, not currency-converted — useful for comparing two job offers quoted in local currency. Effective rate shown in brackets.
The single most important caveat on this page: state income tax
The US column above shows federal tax only — Social Security and Medicare plus federal income tax. It does not include state income tax, because state rates range from 0% (Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, and five others) to over 13% at the top (California). A $120,000 earner in Austin pays close to the $7,745/month shown. The identical earner in San Francisco pays meaningfully more in state tax and could see take-home drop by $500-800/month or more depending on filing status and local taxes.
This means the US "advantage" over the UK shown in the table is real for no-income-tax states, but can shrink dramatically or disappear in high-tax states like California, New York, or New Jersey.
Why the effective rates look so different even before state tax
US federal brackets are genuinely wide and the top rate (37%) only applies above $626,350 for singles — a very high bar. The UK's system reaches 40% at just £50,270 and 45% above £125,140, with a punishing 60% effective rate in between due to personal allowance withdrawal. Even accounting for FICA (Social Security + Medicare, roughly 7.65% combined, capped for Social Security), federal-only US tax is structurally lighter than UK tax for most professional salaries — the real question is always which US state enters the picture.
Frequently asked questions
Federal-only, the US wins clearly at every level shown — e.g. $7,745/month vs £5,471/month at the $120k/£95k comparison point. But this excludes US state income tax, which ranges from 0% to over 13% depending on the state. In a no-tax state like Texas or Florida, the US advantage is real. In California or New York, it shrinks significantly.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming currently have no state income tax on wages. An identical federal salary nets meaningfully more take-home in these states than in high-tax states like California or New York.
The UK's personal allowance (£12,570) is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 earned between £100,000 and £125,140 — combined with the 40% higher rate, this creates an effective 60% marginal rate in that specific band, even though the headline top rate (45%) is below the US federal top rate (37% plus state tax in most cases).
No — these are nominal take-home figures, not adjusted for purchasing power. US healthcare costs (often employer-subsidized but with real out-of-pocket exposure) and UK NHS access are also not reflected in either figure and are a meaningful part of the real financial comparison.