WhereTo.Work

Tax Regime Analysis:

• Krakow uses standard Polish employee tax with progressive brackets and mandatory ZUS contributions.
• Budapest applies Hungarian employee tax: flat 15% PIT plus 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 ~4.39% of gross.
• Hungary: 15% flat rate on all taxable income; 77,300 HUF allowance; social security 18.5% of gross.

Cost-of-Living Data:

• Krakow: rent ~2,500 PLN/month, meal ~60 PLN, iPhone 16 ~3,400 PLN, cappuccino ~12 PLN.
• Budapest: rent ~180,000 HUF/month, meal ~3,500 HUF, iPhone 16 ~280,000 HUF, cappuccino ~600 HUF.
• Sources: local real‑estate listings, restaurant price surveys, Apple Hungary pricing, typical café menus.

Net Salary Calculations:

• Poland: Gross 227,268 PLN → ZUS 21,459.48 PLN, Health 9,966.96 PLN, Income Tax 24,099 PLN → Net 171,742.56 PLN (effective tax 24.4%).
• Hungary: Gross ~21,000,000 HUF → Income Tax 3,144,345 HUF, Social Security 3,885,000 HUF → Net ~13,970,655 HUF (effective tax ~33.5%).

Purchasing-Power Comparison:

• Annual major living costs: Krakow ~51,600 PLN; Budapest ~3,420,000 HUF.
• Net after costs: Krakow ~120,000 PLN; Budapest ~10,550,655 HUF (~126,600 PLN using 0.012 PLN/HUF).
• PPP multiplier (Budapest/Krakow) ≈ 1.06.

Comparison Conclusion:

• Budapest scores slightly higher due to lower effective cost burden despite higher tax rate.
• ScoreA 78/100 vs ScoreB 82/100; Budapest wins by ~4 points.

Confidence and Caveats:

• High confidence in Polish tax figures (verified API).
• Hungarian figures estimated using standard rates.
• Exchange‑rate conversions are approximate and may affect PPP.