Country Comparison · Updated June 2026
US Salary, European Expenses: The Strategy
The arbitrage formula is three numbers: income (keep it US-level), cost base (move it down 30–60%), and tax wedge (regime-shop it). The table below runs all three on a $90,000 remote salary across the 2026 destination set – net savings spreads of $25,000+/year separate the best executions from the default ones.
The execution stack that makes it real: a remote income that legally travels (employer policy or contractor structure), a visa that fits (nomad visas from €1,400–€3,680/month thresholds), tax planning done before the 183rd day, and the overhead honestly budgeted (flights, FX drag, dual-country admin: 15–40% of the raw gap). The pages linked throughout this site each handle one layer.
Country comparison tool · 2026
Take-home on your salary
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| Metric | A | B |
|---|
2026 estimates. Net pay combines income tax + employee social charges (US column modeled in a no-income-tax state); special expat regimes can improve the destination figure.
Key insights
Key insights
- Formula: US income − destination costs − regime taxes − overhead.
- Best executions net $25,000+/year over default ones.
- Croatia 0% · Georgia 1% · Malta 10% · PT 20% · ES 24% – the regime menu.
- Overhead eats 15–40%: flights, FX, permits, dual-life costs.
- A decade of captured arbitrage ≈ a retirement decade moved up.
| Country | Single budget /mo | Tax regime highlight | Est. annual savings on $90k |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | $1,700 | 0% on nomad-permit income | $56,100 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | $2,300 | IFICI 20% flat (qualifying) | $39,000 |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | $2,400 | Beckham 24% flat | $36,000 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | $1,600 | 15% flat (standard) | $51,000 |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | $1,300 | 1% IE regime (to ~$155k) | $68,100 |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | $2,100 | ~15% effective (flat+caps) | $45,900 |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | $1,000 | Standard rates; low base costs | $52,800 |
| 🇺🇸 US benchmark (TX metro) | $3,900 | No state tax | $20,700 |
Picking the destination like an allocator
Screen destinations on net-savings-per-year (the table), then weight the soft factors the table can't hold: language friction, time-zone overlap with your clients/employer, flight connectivity home, and the expat-community depth that determines whether year two feels like living or exile.
The savings math compounds into life-changing numbers fast: $25,000/year of improved savings, invested at 7%, is $345,411 in a decade – the difference between retiring at 65 and 52 for a mid-career professional. Geographic arbitrage is the highest-leverage personal-finance move that requires no raise.
The honest overhead ledger
What the raw gap pays before you keep it: flights home (2–4 round trips: $1,500–$4,000/year), visa/permit cycle costs ($500–$1,500/year amortised), international health cover where applicable, FX conversion drag (1–3% unmanaged – use multi-currency accounts), US tax-filing complexity ($400–$1,500/year for citizens), and the dual-life tax of maintaining US ties (storage, addresses, the occasional emergency flight).
Net it all and the realistic capture rate is 60–85% of the headline gap – still transformative, and the variance between 60% and 85% is mostly planning quality: regime elections filed on time, FX automated, flights booked like a commuter instead of a tourist.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does geographic arbitrage actually save?
On a $90k remote salary: $20,000–$40,000/year of improved savings across the strong destinations (table above), after honest overhead. The spread between destinations is itself $25,000+ – destination choice is the decision.
Do I need a special visa?
Most destinations now run nomad visas with €1,400–€3,680/month thresholds – the comparison table on the visa pages ranks all of them.
What happens to my US taxes?
US citizens file regardless: the $132,900 FEIE and foreign tax credits do the reconciliation. In low-tax destinations (Croatia, Georgia), some US liability typically survives; in standard-tax Europe, credits zero it. Either way the arbitrage survives – it's a costs play first, taxes second.
Will my employer allow it?
The 2026 reality: most US employers maintain approved-country lists (EoR-supported), some apply location bands, many tolerate contractor conversion. The conversation order: policy check → band check → contractor/EoR fallback. Never relocate on assumed permission.
Is this just for singles?
Families often capture more: childcare, healthcare, and education gaps between the US and strong-service destinations exceed the single-person budget gaps. The family rows in each country page carry the math.
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Plan the whole move, not just one number.
Every MovingCal tool shares the same 2026 dataset – carry your cities, salary, and countries from one calculator to the next.