A citizenship-based jurisdiction operating a flat 0% special regime for qualifying incoming professionals, layered over the country's social-security charge.
ISO 3166-1
US · USA
Capital
New York
Currency
USD
Region
Americas
Tax year
01 Jan – 31 Dec
Tax basis
Citizenship
§ 01 · At a glance
The figures that matter.
Top marginal rate
37.0%
on income > $640,600
United States personal income tax code · 2026
Effective · $120k
7.6%
foreign earned income exclusion
Comparely engine v0.1 · 2026 brackets
Social security · employee
23.0%
capped contribution base
United States contribution code · 2026
Tax residency threshold
183 d
Citizenship (worldwide) OR Green Card O…
United States tax residency rule
§ 02 · The verdict
¶
United States's Foreign Earned Income Exclusion applies a flat 0% to qualifying income, layered over the country's social-security charge. The effective burden on $120,000 settles at 7.6%, leaving $110,820 in hand.
Drafted · Comparely Research · Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:47 GMT
§ 03 · The tax system
Instruments, in four parts.
A walk through the four statutory channels by which United States claims part of a resident's gross compensation — followed by any special regime that overrides them.
Statute · United States income tax code
I.
Personal income tax
7-bracket progressive system running from 10% to 37% on taxable income.
Resident brackets · single filer · USD
Taxable income
Rate
up to 12,400
10.00%
12,400 – 50,400
12.00%
50,400 – 107,475
22.00%
107,475 – 205,000
24.00%
205,000 – 257,475
32.00%
257,475 – 640,600
35.00%
over 640,600
37.00%
Statute · United States social-insurance code
II.
Social security
§ 04 · Net take-home
Three income points, one regime.
USD · FY 2026 indicative
Instrument
$75k gross
$120k gross
$200k gross
I. Statutory deductions
Personal income tax
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
—
—
−$9,474
Social security · employee
22.9% employee · capped
−$5,738
−$9,180
−$14,114
Gross income
$75,000
$120,000
$200,000
Total deductions
−$5,738
−$9,180
−$23,588
Effective rate
7.6%
7.6%
§ 05 · Residency & qualification
Becoming a United States taxpayer.
Tax residency in United States is established by the jurisdiction's headline test[1]: physical presence of more than 183 days in a rolling twelve-month period, supplemented by citizenship (worldwide) or green card or substantial presence test (~183 days weighted). Spouses and unemancipated minors are typically presumed to share the residency of the principal earner unless rebutted.
Once resident, any special regime is not automatic. Most jurisdictions require a formal registration with the tax authority within a defined window following arrival, together with proof of qualifying activity and a lookback period of prior non-residency. Late registration forfeits the regime for the year in question and, in some cases, for the entire benefit window.[2]
The common pitfalls are predictable. Treaty interaction with the home state can override the local regime where the home jurisdiction asserts primary taxing rights — most relevantly, United States citizens remain subject to US federal tax on worldwide income, with foreign-tax-credit relief but no escape from the higher of the two bills. Activities undertaken before registration is approved may also fall outside the regime entirely.[3]
Footnotes
[1]United States tax residency rule — see the country's income tax code.
[2]Special regime registration timing varies by jurisdiction; confirm with the tax authority.
[3]Applicable bilateral tax treaty (where one exists with your home state).
§ 06 · Cost-of-living context · secondary
United States against a benchmark.
The same secondary treatment as the comparison page: the price model is survey-grade and should be read with wider error bars than the tax model.
PPP basis · NYC = 100
United States
New York · NY
Δ
Cost-of-living index
Indicative · placeholder until COL table ships
100.0
100.0
0.0 pts
Nominal net (annual · $120k)
From the engine — exact
$110,820
$77,900
+$32,920
Real net · NYC basket
$110,820
$77,900
+$32,920
Real purchasing power · annual
Nominal net take-home in United States, re-expressed in NYC-equivalent dollars.
United States
$110,820
nominal $110,820
New York · NY
$77,900
nominal $77,900
Real delta · annual
§ 07 · Comparison
Compare United States with another jurisdiction.
The full pair view layers both ledgers, computes deltas, and switches between Pay local and Pay home residency models.
Or open the full pair explorer · 35 jurisdictions × 2 modelsOpen pair explorer ↗
§ 08 · Sources & methodology
How this chapter was built.
Every figure in this country reference traces to a primary instrument. We publish the model and welcome correction.
01.Single filer, no dependents, no church-tax equivalent.
02.Income treated as employment, not self-employed unless explicitly set.
03.Special regime eligibility assumed where headline criteria fit; otherwise the standard schedule applies.
04.FX held constant at the displayed static rate across the period.
05.Solidarity surtax and other income-band additions modelled where seeded.
06.No equity, RSU, capital gains, or carried interest modelled.
07.Foreign-source passive income treated under treaty primary-rights tests where applicable.
08.US Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion and foreign-tax-credit positions not modelled here — see the HOME residency model on the comparison page.
Last refreshed · Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:47 GMT
Engine v0.1.0
On social security, employees pay 7.6%; self-employed pay 15.3%. Contributions cap at 184,500 USD ($184,500) of annual base.
Contribution rates · employment
Party
Rate
Cap
Employee
7.65%
$184,500
Self-employed
15.30%
$184,500
Statute · United States healthcare framework
III.
Healthcare
Healthcare financing on the resident side is normally embedded inside the social-security charge rather than carried as a separate payroll line. The Comparely engine models healthcare as part of the social contribution unless a country exposes a distinct line item — track additions in the schema for future surfacing.
Payroll incidence · health
Instrument
Rate
Dedicated health levy
—
Long-term care levy
—
Embedded in social charge
included
For modelling purposes Comparely sets the explicit health line to zero and treats healthcare cost as already counted within social security.
Statute · United States special regimes
IV.
Special regimes
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Caps qualifying income at a flat 0%, replacing the default progressive schedule.
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion · parameters
PIT rate · qualifying income
0.00%
Applies to employment
yes
Applies to self-employment
yes
Maximum eligible (local)
132,900
11.8%
Net take-home
$69,263
$110,820
$176,412
Net · monthly equiv.
$5,772
$9,235
$14,701
Table 1 · Net take-home under the auto-picked regime, three income points, FY 2026 indicative. Highlighted column is the $120k worked example used elsewhere on the site.
Arrival (day 0)
Establish address; obtain tax ID
Day 0 – 90
Visa application (if required) and bank account
Day 183
Default residency threshold crossed
Year-end
Tax year closes
Year + 1 · Q1
Special-regime registration window (if any)
Year + 1 · Q2–Q3
First annual return
Documents to keep
·Tax identification number (local equivalent)
·Social-security registration number
·Local lease or proof of address
·Proof of special-regime registration (if applicable)
·Apostilled foreign tax-residency certificate
+$32,920
a 42.3% advantage to United States once basket prices are normalised against NYC.
Caveat — basket prices vary materially by city; treat with wider bars.
Disclaimer — Comparely publishes modelled estimates for informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or immigration advice. Statutory rates, social-charge ceilings, FX, and elective regimes change. Eligibility for any special regime is subject to qualifying conditions beyond income alone. Consult a qualified adviser before acting on any figure displayed.