Moving to Malta - general money qs

[tonyyeboah]

I have a job offer in Malta as a designer where the salary is 45k euros. Will be moving over with wife and two young children... 5 and 2.

With a tax rate of 35% it seems a little higher than the UK but is this relative due to the lower cost of living and not having to pay council tax etc....?

What is 45k likely to give as take home net pay?

What kind of rough living expenses for a family of 4 with one car in a three bedroom house/apartment per month?

Most questions I have I searched out but these ones I find a little harder to get some figures.

Thanks very much in advance! The whole job seems very tempting!

[gozomark]

Hi Tony, and welcome to the forum

45K is a very high salary for Malta - the 35% tax rate is the marginal one, not your average - see 7.1, and also 7.2 in the following thread


EU citizen moving to Malta Q&A
http://www.britishexpat.com/expatforum/ ... hp?t=21114

this covers the following

1. An EU citizens legal rights - residency, working, students
2. what sort of residency is available ?
3. what do I need to apply for if I want to reside in Malta ?
4. do I need to apply for residency before coming to live in Malta ?
5. do I need an accountant to apply for residency ?
6. do I need health insurance ?
6.1 Do I qualify for public health cover, and if I do, what cover do I have ? Are prescriptions free ?
7. can I work in Malta ?
7.1 How much is income tax ?
7.2 How much are social security contributions ?
8. where do I apply for my residency permit ?
9. where can I get the OR application form ?
10. where do I apply for my ID card ?
11. what documents do I need to apply for OR ?
12. can I vote in Malta ?
13. buying a property FAQ
14. renting a property FAQ
15. Importing a vehicle FAQ
16. What's the procedure for importing/exporting a pet ?
17. Can I use my driving licence in Malta ?
18. Long term residency permit

[tonyyeboah]

Mark, thanks for that I am working my way through those threads, theres an awful lot to take in... apparantly the company i will be working for arrange accomodation and moving and bank accounts etc... for me or at least assist so hopefully that would lessen the blow.

What do you mean by "the 35% tax rate is the marginal one, not your average"?

I have very basic knowledge of income tax, so does that mean it could be more than 35%?

Thanks again for your warm welcome!

[gozomark]

no, it means your av tax rate is below 35%, but your marginal tax rate is 35% - ie for every extra euro you earn, you will pay 35c - there is also social security contributions to pay

[pumabob]

relative due to the lower cost of living and not having to pay council tax etc....?

With the euro/pound rates at the minute, you should basically treat them as being 1-1 to work out a monthly budget. Our food shopping for family of 4 works out roughly the same as the UK. If you want to stick to major UK brands, it will be quite a bit higher!

There's no council tax but electricity and water bills can be higher here, depending on usage. Overall with a wage of 45k you would have a very good standard of living, provided you are sensible.

[tonyyeboah]

Would utilities overall be about the same due to using air conditioning which would outweigh the savings in heating bills?

I am still trying to get my head around SS contributions and what kind of tax ill be paying, never ever had to think much about this stuff before.

My wife will be working too and I also plan to be doing a second job for a UK firm so hopefully that should cover a decent way of life.

We plan to cook, buy cheap from Lidl our major expenses will be:

Rent and Utils - we want to rent somewhere with a private pool ideally
Car
Mobile/Internet/TV
Possible Private School (not decided on that yet)

Also whats the total commute time from middle of Gozo to Valletta? It seems that some of the nicer houses with pools are on Gozo. Would the commute be troublesome? Total time about 1-2 hours? or more?

How much is pool maintenance per year?

Sorry for all the questions, it is appreciated i promise!

[gozomark]

Also whats the total commute time from middle of Gozo to Valletta? It seems that some of the nicer houses with pools are on Gozo. Would the commute be troublesome? Total time about 1-2 hours? or more?

10 mins to harbour
20 mins waiting
30 mins on ferry
30-60 mins to Valletta

so 1 /2 -2 hours - however, the wait can be 2 hour plus when its bad eg Fri pm coming back to Gozo

[gozomark]

45K will put you in the top 5% of income earners in Malta -

[pumabob]

To be honest a daily commute from Gozo to Valletta wouldn't be worth the hassle. After a month or two you would be regretting it!

There's plenty of houses on the main island with pools. Also plenty of the apartment blocks/complexes have access to good communal pools. Not sure what the maintenance fees are though.

[tonyyeboah]

Looking like a pool is going to cost an extra 100-200 euros a month in maintenance and cleaning?... interesting.

Problem is I will have to pay out my iphone contract for me and the wife for almost a year on each which is annoying...

Top 5%? crazy! I will know next friday of my fate and if the move will happen.

I am tempted to drive my car through europe too for a road trip experience!

[gozomark]

pool also adds a min 100 to the rent as well, and maybe 50 to the electricity/water bill per mnoth

[tonyyeboah]

is it deemed okay to haggle on rental prices etc....? Or is it kind of a No No through an agent?

[pumabob]

Get the agent to do the haggling, that's ultimately what you pay them for!

[tonyyeboah]

i will certainly make my agent work! heh! just looking online to gauge an idea of properties, I could find hardly any lettings with a private pool on Malta but bucketloads on Gozo.

Is it safe to say that agents in Malta would be able to find a decent place with a small private pool for the 750-1000 euros a month bracket?

From what i can tell thats not a problem in Gozo...

[Red]

If or when you know you will definitely be moving to Malta, it would be in you very best interests to become a premium member. You will, as a member, be able to find out the name of the recommended accountant, who will, after ascertaining your personal circumstances advise you of your exact tax liabilities during your first meeting. It is unwise to base your assumptions in respect of tax, on laymen knowledge of the Maltese tax system. I could tell you a story, but just trust me, I know.

Red