5.0 KiB
just-talking/relocation-budget
- Tax Parameters Used (2026)
- Take-Home Results, $200K Single Filer (2026)
- No-Credit / New-to-US Adjustments (methodology, applied to all auto insurance figures below)
- City Comparison Results (monthly leftover after full budget, max 401k unless noted)
- San Ramon / Dougherty Valley Specifics
Detailed budget-simulation numbers for Aner's US relocation, $200K single-earner household (see just-talking/relocation for criteria/context, just-talking/user-profile for who he is). All figures as of 2026-09-28/29, 2026 tax law. Rerun/update this node rather than re-deriving from scratch each session.
Tax Parameters Used (2026)
- Federal: standard deduction $16,100 (single); brackets 10%/$12,400, 12%/$50,400, 22%/$105,700, 24%/$201,775, 32%/$256,225, 35%/$640,600, 37% above. OBBBA (2025) made TCJA rates permanent.
- FICA: SS 6.2% up to wage base $184,500 (max $11,439); Medicare 1.45% uncapped; +0.9% additional Medicare only above $200K single.
- 401k 2026 employee limit: $24,500. 401k reduces federal+state taxable income but NOT FICA or state-payroll-program wages (SDI/PFML/FAMLI all computed on gross).
- CA: brackets 1%-9.3% up to $349,137 (higher brackets above that, irrelevant at $200K), ~9.3% marginal from $68,350. Std deduction ~$5,600 (est). SDI 1.3%, uncapped (wage ceiling removed in 2024).
- AZ: flat 2.5%, conforms to federal standard deduction. No state payroll program.
- CO: flat 4.4%, taxable base ~= federal taxable income. FAMLI employee share 0.44% up to SS wage base.
- WA: no income tax. PFML total 1.13%, employee pays 71.43% share (~0.807% effective) up to SS wage base. WA Cares 0.58% uncapped. Combined ~$2,650/yr on $200K.
Take-Home Results, $200K Single Filer (2026)
| 401k rate | CA take-home/mo | AZ take-home/mo | CO take-home/mo | WA take-home/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max ($24,500) | $9,604 | $10,527 | $10,207 | $10,638 |
| 10% ($20,000) | $9,855 | (not rerun) | (not rerun) | (not rerun) |
Israeli pension comparison (for deciding 401k %): mandatory pension = employee 6% + employer 6.5% (tagmulim) + employer 8.33% (severance/pitzuim) = 20.83% total. Keren hishtalmut (near-universal in Israeli tech, NOT confirmed whether Aner had one) = employee 2.5% + employer 7.5%, capped at ~₪15,712/mo (~$50K/yr) so doesn't scale as a flat % at $200K. To match Aner's own out-of-pocket share: 6% (pension only) or 8.5% (pension + study fund) — both well under the 401k cap. US employer 401k match policy at his new startup is UNKNOWN — worth him asking directly, since that's the real gap vs. Israel's automatic 14.83% employer contribution.
No-Credit / New-to-US Adjustments (methodology, applied to all auto insurance figures below)
- Auto insurance surcharge: ~25-35% above established-resident baseline in states using credit-based insurance scoring (AZ, CO, WA). CA/HI/MA/MI ban this practice, so CA avoids the credit-specific penalty (but CA's baseline is already high, roughly cancelling the advantage).
- Separately, ALL states apply some premium for lacking verifiable US driving/claims history, regardless of credit-scoring laws.
- 2-car combined "auto" line (payments + insurance w/ surcharge + gas) used: Phoenix $1,330/mo, Denver $1,320/mo, Seattle Eastside $1,350/mo, CA (SD/WC/SR) $1,410/mo.
- Rent: no-credit impact is mainly a bigger UPFRONT cash need (2-3 months deposit, or ~1 month's rent as one-time guarantor-service fee), not higher recurring monthly rent. Budget extra ~$6,400-9,600 upfront in Phoenix scaling up to ~$10,400-15,600 in pricier CA suburbs.
City Comparison Results (monthly leftover after full budget, max 401k unless noted)
- Phoenix/Chandler/Gilbert, AZ: rent $3,200 (4BR) → leftover **$2,989/mo**
- Denver Centennial/Cherry Creek, CO: rent $3,500 (4BR) → leftover **$2,379/mo**
- Seattle Eastside (Redmond/Kirkland/Bellevue), WA: rent $4,600 (4BR) → leftover **$1,580/mo**
- San Diego/Poway, CA: rent $4,200 (4BR) → leftover **$896/mo**
- Walnut Creek/San Ramon, CA (big 4BR, ~$5,200 rent): leftover **-$194/mo (deficit)**
- San Ramon, 3BR ~1,500sqft, Dougherty Valley area, rent $3,400, **10% 401k**: leftover **+$1,857/mo**
- San Ramon, 4BR, rent $4,200 (realistic range $4,200-4,800 per actual listings), 10% 401k: leftover +$1,057/mo
Budget line items used consistently across cities (family of 4, public school, employer-covered health insurance so no premium line): groceries ~$1,100-1,350, utilities ~$260-400, kids' activities $250 flat, annualized Israel trip $708/mo flat across all cities (~$8,500/yr family of 4, peak-season assumption — NOT researched per-departure-city, flagged as the least rigorous line), misc/discretionary ~$550-600.
San Ramon / Dougherty Valley Specifics
- Best school pocket in San Ramon: Dougherty Valley, feeds Dougherty Valley High School (ranked #25 in CA, top in San Ramon Valley Unified). District-wide SRVUSD is 94th percentile statewide; California High, Monte Vista High, San Ramon Valley High also all top-6%-in-state.
- Actual 4BR listings found (2026-09-28): 3107 Browntail Way (Dougherty Valley) $4,500/mo 4bd/3ba; 4685 Malayan St $4,800/mo 4bd/4ba; 117 Dahlia Ct $6,995/mo (outlier/premium). San Ramon-wide 4BR average $4,771/mo.
- Actual 3BR ~1,500sqft comps: Crow Canyon $3,327/mo, Highlands Point $3,200/mo.