WhereTo.Work

Tax Regime Analysis:

• Krakow uses Polish employee tax, mandatory social security and health contributions.
• Budapest applies Hungarian employee tax with flat 15% PIT and 18.5% social security.

Tax Parameters:

• Poland: 12% up to 120k PLN, 32% above; 30k PLN allowance; ZUS 13.71% capped at 177,660 PLN; health insurance ~4.47% of gross.
• Hungary: 15% flat PIT; 77,300 HUF allowance; employee social security 18.5% of gross.

Cost-of-Living Data:

• Krakow rent ~550 USD, meal ~17.5 USD, iPhone ~2,375 USD, cappuccino ~3 USD.
• Budapest rent ~428 USD, meal ~14.3 USD, iPhone ~1,343 USD, cappuccino ~2.3 USD.

Net Salary Calculations:

• Poland: Gross 222,960 PLN (~56,240 USD). Deductions: ZUS 21,459 PLN, health 9,967 PLN, PIT 23,582 PLN → Net 167,952 PLN (~41,988 USD).
• Hungary: Gross 21,000,000 HUF (~60,000 USD). Deductions: PIT 3,138,405 HUF, SS 3,885,000 HUF → Net 13,976,595 HUF (~39,933 USD).

Purchasing-Power Comparison:

• Monthly net after rent: Poland ~2,949 USD, Budapest ~2,900 USD.
• PPP multiplier (Budapest/Poland) ≈ 0.98.

Comparison Conclusion:

• Poland scores 85/100 vs Budapest 82/100; net pay advantage ~2,000 USD annually.
• Both cities have affordable living, but Poland edges out slightly.

Confidence and Caveats:

• Polish figures are verified by tax API (high confidence).
• Hungarian calculations rely on standard rates (medium confidence).
• Currency conversion rates are rounded; local price fluctuations may affect PPP.