[dylan]

Hi all,
There is alot of really good threads on here about prices, cost of living etc. But a question I have is how much will my take home pay be?(NZ$45,000 each, myself and OH) This to me seems to be the only way you can really judge what sort of life you can make for yourself.
Not sure this is posted in the right place but any advice would be gratly received. I have also read somewhere there is child tax credits in NZ, is this right and how much would that be for two children (7 & 14)?
Thanks in advance for any replies, a bit heavy i know, but once we know our monthly take home then we will be able to cross reference with the other threads to give us a good idea.:nice1

[Milliemoo]

tax on income calculator:

https://www.ird.govt.nz/cgi-bin/form.cgi?form=incrates

Milliemoo :nice1

[jubjub]

On my little spreadsheet I get it to just over $3400 per month on a $45k salary

For childrens tax credits equivalent..

http://www.ird.govt.nz/familyassistance/

[dylan]

Thanks guys. Yet again ENZ forum members come up with just the right information:nice1
Doesn't look like we can get any tax credits as the threshold is NZ$86,000 :wah:wah:wah
Will just be glad to finally get visas and start our great adventure!

[Philip10]

Thanks guys. Yet again ENZ forum members come up with just the right information:nice1
Doesn't look like we can get any tax credits as the threshold is NZ$86,000


Wow!! great salary, if you are earning $86,000 you won't need tax credits.:nice1

[All Aboard]

Wow!! great salary, if you are earning $86,000 you won't need tax credits.:nice1


Wont need tax credits?? With cost of living as high as it is here, every little helps, believe me!!!

[Philip10]

Wont need tax credits?? With cost of living as high as it is here, every little helps, believe me!!!

You are right All Aboard, it's just me being envious :uhoh

[dylan]

Wow!! great salary, if you are earning $86,000 you won't need tax credits.:nice1

No, some confusion here, the threshold for the tax credits is a family income of $86,000, not my income, and as both myself and OH will be erning $45,000 each we are well over the threshold.

[nippa&pippa]

No, some confusion here, the threshold for the tax credits is a family income of $86,000, not my income, and as both myself and OH will be erning $45,000 each we are well over the threshold.

To be honest the tax credit is rubbish anyway as we have low wage and we get very small tax credit for our three young children which we normally get alot more in UK plus child benefits which is lack in NZ. We got the tax credit anyway because every single cents help!

[Familyofmonkeys]

The threashold for tax credits depends on how many children you have. For 3 children it is $101k.

[Dom]

Wow!! great salary, if you are earning $86,000 you won't need tax credits.:nice1

I wouldn't get too excited. I get 90 and that's our sole income - my wife is currently looking for work and we have a 2 year old. After 500k rent per week we have no disposable income after groceried and fuel etc. The idea of NZ being cheaper to live is a myth - believe me.

[IanW99]

I wouldn't get too excited. I get 90 and that's our sole income - my wife is currently looking for work and we have a 2 year old. After 500k rent per week we have no disposable income after groceried and fuel etc. The idea of NZ being cheaper to live is a myth - believe me.

To be fair, two single incomes of NZ$45K will bring in more than a single income of NZ$90K

From a quick calculation it would give approx an extra NZ$6930.

BTW, I assume you mean NZ$500 and not 500K?

Ian

[Dom]

BTW, I assume you mean NZ$500 and not 500K?

Ian

yep ! :-)

[nippa&pippa]

I wouldn't get too excited. I get 90 and that's our sole income - my wife is currently looking for work and we have a 2 year old. After 500k rent per week we have no disposable income after groceried and fuel etc. The idea of NZ being cheaper to live is a myth - believe me.

Unless you can control your budget careful and cut back in some areas.
We live on low wages (somewhere $45-55K per year before tax) as sole income while I stayed at home with three preschoolers children. Yep we have mortgage and yes we love it here.

[shakyle2906]

We have been awarded the wonderful sum of $9 per week based on last tax year!

WOW!!!........but every little helps........

What i did find useful, and i posted a thread on this a few days ago, was that i was able to claim $330 back on childcare for the year, which helps. Scary when i worked out we had spent over $2500 in a year, and he had been in school since July............

Sharon
x

[marybelle]

For what its worth I agree with Nippa&Pippa.

Its won't really matter how much you earn as long as you "cut your cloth accordingly".:yes

If you haven't got it don't spend it!!:no

Marybelle

[nippa&pippa]

Its won't really matter how much you earn as long as you "cut your cloth accordingly".:yes

If you haven't got it don't spend it!!:no


:yes

[AndyR]

Just a question as its loosely related, Do I get the same tax criteria on a working visa? not family tax related.

[Leanne]

I wouldn't get too excited. I get 90 and that's our sole income - my wife is currently looking for work and we have a 2 year old. After 500k rent per week we have no disposable income after groceried and fuel etc. The idea of NZ being cheaper to live is a myth - believe me.

I gotta say that this type of comment used to totally stress me out! I would be thrilled if someone offered me a job of $90k, I know I'd be living the high life on that. But people like Nipp&Pippa on their "low salaries" have totally inspired me and made me realize that anything is possible.

Everyone's financial income is so subjective. I currently work making about $65k and the doctors I work with have got to be well over the $300k mark. They would never survive on my income! But I live quite comfortably. It's all in the lifestyle you have chosen for yourself.

:)

Just out of curiosity, do people really move there thinking it would be cheaper?

[Pebbles]

Leanne Quote:

Just out of curiosity, do people really move there thinking it would be cheaper?

Anyone doing their research properly wouldn't.
These days there is no excuse for not knowing the facts :no

[Dom]

I gotta say that this type of comment used to totally stress me out! I would be thrilled if someone offered me a job of $90k, I know I'd be living the high life on that. But people like Nipp&Pippa on their "low salaries" have totally inspired me and made me realize that anything is possible.

Everyone's financial income is so subjective. I currently work making about $65k and the doctors I work with have got to be well over the $300k mark. They would never survive on my income! But I live quite comfortably. It's all in the lifestyle you have chosen for yourself.

:)

Just out of curiosity, do people really move there thinking it would be cheaper?

Yes but its a fact. As Ian pointed out - 2 people on lower wages could bring in more than 1 on 90 as they would be taxed less.

We don't spend what we don't have either. We aim to get out of our fixed-term contract in January and buy a house and therefore spend less on accomodation costs.

90 doesn't go very far as I say with a 500 per week rent and being the sole income. I guess our mistake was to rent somewhere for that amount - but when you're new to a place and until your first wage starts rolling in adn you start buying stuff each week etc you don't really know.\

All in all it still beats the UK and I won't move back - I'm going to make it work.

[dharder]

Its won't really matter how much you earn as long as you "cut your cloth accordingly".:yes

Up to a point, of course.

We fall somewhere in the middle between the 50 and 90 with a single income, and I can’t say I find that a lot at all. Especially costs for all things medical and all things school add up quite quickly if you have a few children.

We do not live extravagantly. We don’t go out, don’t drink alcohol, don’t smoke (just trying to think of things that cost money), try not to drive anywhere unnecessarily, don’t really buy a lot of clothing, no books/cds, we all have packed lunches, we go food shopping once a week, we have no childcare costs, no Sky, and don’t pay much rent, I might go and get a coffee a week at work.

Because our kids are a little bit older, there’s entertainment for them, i.e. sports and swimming lessons. Just as an example, we paid over $500 for four kids swimming lessons for one term, and I count swimming as an essential skill here.

We’re not starving, we have running water, broadband (or what they call broadband here), we will have central heating at some point, and we manage. But there really isn’t a whole lot left at the end of my pay period, and extra unexpected expenses have us dip into our savings. If we had to pay market price rent, we couldn’t make it, nor if we had a mortgage.

We’ve never had a lot of money, with four kids, I never expect to be rich, and that is fine. But it feels that in the UK, we were cutting out the non-essentials to save, and here, we worry about the essentials, like ‘are you sure you need to see a doctor about this, it will be $30’, that kind of thing, and a trip to the dentist just sends me into a state of blind panic due to the finances involved.

I don't really know how we would manage on a lot less then we have, and I don't say that flippantly, but seriously, I couldn't currently tell you what bit of the cloth to cut.

Daniela

[Dom]

I totally agree with you Daniella.

[Tia Maria]

For what its worth I agree with Nippa&Pippa.

Its won't really matter how much you earn as long as you "cut your cloth accordingly".:yes

If you haven't got it don't spend it!!:no

Marybelle

Its great that Nippa&Pippa can live on such a wage, I personally couldn't do it and really have no idea how they manage it. But please don't make the assumption that those who can't are somehow extravagant, its simply not true.

Talking of perception and wages, I might go and start a thread on this subject.....

Cheers

Tia

[kowhai]

I enjoyed your post Daniela. A couple of friends and I this morning discussed exactly what you have written. Things are becoming increasingly tough for many people.