Moving to the USA from the UK (Student Loan?)

annetheman

Hi all,

I have been offered a job at the USA branch of my company. They will cover all the relocation costs like shipping furniture/belongings, flying my cat over and any costs associated with application for a work visa.
I wondered mainly about paying my student loan (repayment plan 1) - does anyone know if the UK government will be able to still deduct student loan from my paycheck or do I have to proactively do this? I think I owe about £27,000 still (jealous of anyone who went to uni when there were no tuition fees :eek:).
My gross pay will be $115,000 but I have no idea whatsoever how tax works there so I guess if I owe money here, I should proactively do something, or is it possible to "freeze" it until I come back (assuming I will)?

I worked out with an online calculator that if I am taxed in the same way as a USA citizen - I assume so, is that wrong? - this will be net $83,864 annual/$6,989 monthly.

Bearing in mind I am moving to the most expensive part of the USA, San Francisco, I'm not sure how much I'll have left over after rent etc!

Any advice on what I might not be thinking about would be great, as it's a big scary move!

Thanks for your help :j

unforeseen

All the details are on the SLC website about how to pay when working overseas.

Voyager2002

I suggest that you ask your employer if they can assist with housing, and obviously insist upon full medical insurance...

You will almost certainly be taxed like a US citizen with the same income. Your student loan payments will be assessed on amount of your salary converted into sterling at current exchange rates, and this calculation will not take any account of differences in the cost of living. So if you find that you need to pay a lot to rent somewhere, and a lot more for medical insurance, that will not alter the amount of your loan repayments meaning that you could find life there rather difficult...

annetheman

Ah, I was having trouble understanding the SLC info but found it on another website "savethestudent" - my next question is has anyone had experience of what happens when you e.g. accidentally don't pay the correct amount?

I found this info:

It's a common myth that you can just jet off to another country and leave all your loan troubles behind.

However, the British government are taking stricter measures to catch up with graduates who aren't paying back their student debt - whatever country they're in.

Better data sharing between countries is making this easier and more effective, and the consequences can be pretty serious. The government are starting to refer defaulting students to credit agencies, implement sanctions and in some cases even prosecute.

While this might seem like a distant threat when you're in another corner of the world, it will catch up with you eventually - especially if you ever return to the UK.

Basically, it's not worth the risk.

----

So if anyone has miscalculated how much you have paid, how likely are you to suffer the consequences listed above assuming you never return to the UK?

annetheman

Thank you, Voyager - they will pay for accomodation for the first 3 months, they have a team that will help me set up a bank account, send potential accomodation to rent privately, so they will help me find a place but only for 3 months then I have to make a decision I guess.

You are right, even though $6,900+ net monthly sounds like a lot, in San Fran it is just above median :eek:

According to the latest report from rental website Zumper, the median rent for a one bedroom in San Francisco has reached $3,690, up from $3,580 in January and breaking the previous record of $3,650 set last September.

So that's good I will not be taxed extra as an "alien" but I will struggle even on that salary I think.
One thing I am grateful for is that the company does provide full medical, not deducted from salary - however I will need to work out student loan amount before the rent.... so my payments will be much bigger than now on my £35,000.

So I think just because San Fran is so much more expensive, I will need to live in a box to really be better off than I am now.

Crikey...

jackieblack

annetheman wrote: »

You are right, even though $6,900+ net monthly sounds like a lot, in San Fran it is just above median :eek:

annetheman wrote: »

So I think just because San Fran is so much more expensive, I will need to live in a box to really be better off than I am now.

Crikey...

https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/interactives/costofliving/compare/london-vs-san-francisco/

Personally, I would happy live in a box if I had the opportunity to live/work in San Francisco, but I appreciate not everyone would feel the same

Voyager2002

annetheman wrote: »

Thank you, Voyager - they will pay for accomodation for the first 3 months, they have a team that will help me set up a bank account, send potential accomodation to rent privately, so they will help me find a place but only for 3 months then I have to make a decision I guess.

You are right, even though $6,900+ net monthly sounds like a lot, in San Fran it is just above median :eek:

That first three months should enable you to save about US$10,000 that would otherwise have gone on rent. That will take a hefty chunk out of the year's student loan payments. By the following year you will know your way around San Francisco and should be able to reduce day-to-day spending a fair amount.

sazaccount

After my most resent experiences, don't ignore SLC as they are very quick to get the debt collection agency on you for any arrears. Not that they can do much but its still a stress and hassle.

The SLC have made it really easy now to update your employment status when residing overseas, they will normally send a letter out about 3 months after your employer has updated HMRC that you are no longer paying tax in the UK. but you can do the update before this its all online just scan in your contract to show how much your getting paid this is in Gross not net they won't consider any tax etc you are paying.

Its then the same as here at 9% over the threshold amount of 18, 935 or about $25,000 OR you can say that you are living in the US and for them to have the defult amount of 246 GBP monthly, it is a lot easier if you keep a UK account and have a direct debt set up for the SLC to take the money monthly instead of trying to transfer it to them each month. Keep an eye on your online account for any "communication" letters as they also update the online account with any paper letters they send out

z1a

Dunno the answer to your question, but I am jealous.

Voyager2002

z1a wrote: »

Dunno the answer to your question, but I am jealous.

I am not. Imagine the frustration of being in a fantastic and expensive fun place, and having to work all the time to meet constant deadlines.

z1a

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I am not. Imagine the frustration of being in a fantastic and expensive fun place, and having to work all the time to meet constant deadlines.

Jealous as in, I would like MY job to be transferred there. No OPs job.