Salary in Budapest

Hello Gorgo,

taxes are fairly low though: You'll pay a flat tax rate of just 16% on your income. For more information on personal income taxes in Hungary, check this:  europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/taxes/income-taxes-abroad/hungary/.

Good luck!

gorgobudapest wrote:

Can 1000 euro be enogh for one family in Budapest? I don´t think so... by looking around on internet the prices of the rent and other stuff is closer to European standard...
Companies enphasize about the "low" living standard of Hungary and they try to justify this "3th" world salary... In Africa companies pay more... With a Master degree is an insult .

Thank you in advance. 

No, it's not enough to have a good quality (Western) lifestyle. I think to live nicely, one needs at least EUR 3000 nett of all deductions (taxes). 

I wouldn't even consider what the locals get paid - it's a stupid comparison because market forces are what they are. It doesn't matter if cattle herders earn $1 a day in Ethiopia.  Everyone can leave wherever they are and go somewhere else. Many people do it. 

There's a serious brain drain in HU.  This has always been the case (including all over the world).  It's possible - for example - to be a medical doctor or dentist part time in the UK public health system and earn more two or three days per week over there than could be earned in a month in HU.  Same goes for most of the "regulated professions".  I've had several encounters with medical professionals who moonlight in HU while commuting to the UK to work in the NHS (National Health Service) as GPs, state dentists or even locums and get paid accordingly.  Wizzair and Easyjet make it very easy to do this sort of thing.  I've even heard vets are now doing it.

Your Europe wrote:

taxes are fairly low though: You'll pay a flat tax rate of just 16% on your income.

But starting on the very first Forint earned. Even neighboring Austria does not tax a 4 figure income. If you are poor, better to live abroad.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It doesn't matter if cattle herders earn $1 a day in Ethiopia.

Thanks for speaking out the truth.

gorgobudapest wrote:

Can 1000 euro be enogh for one family in Budapest?

No.

gorgobudapest wrote:

Companies enphasize about the "low" living standard of Hungary

Companies are interested in their bottom line, not you or your standard of living.

Your Europe wrote:

Hello Gorgo,

taxes are fairly low though: You'll pay a flat tax rate of just 16% on your income. ....

Good luck!

This neglects the cost to the employer which is huge.  My estimate is 50%-70% on top your GROSS salary even if you a local worker.  It seems like you pay less but your employer is really hit hard. For the purposes of calculating, I'd estimate at least 2 x gross income is required to keep an expat employee in HU.  In the EU, tax rates are about the same all over when you average it out, VAT, income tax and so on.  The rates vary across the different taxes but they all add up to about the same.  The highest taxes I believe are in Belgium.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

It doesn't matter if cattle herders earn $1 a day in Ethiopia.

Thanks for speaking out the truth.

I refer all readers to The Economist's Big Mac Index and to the concept of Purchasing Power Parity.  In the later case, $1 in Ethiopia is probably worth $30 in Hungary.  The Big Mac Index is well worth while too for more developed countries that have the misfortune to have McDonald's "restaurants".

fluffy2560 wrote:

Your Europe wrote:

Hello Gorgo,

taxes are fairly low though: You'll pay a flat tax rate of just 16% on your income. ....

Good luck!

This neglects the cost to the employer which is huge.  My estimate is 50%-70% on top your GROSS salary even if you a local worker.

Agree.

And why many small businesses in Hungary are "family businesses" and do not employ as many external individuals as they might if the system provided realistic incentives for them to hire people. Small business employment is an important part of the work force, contributing greatly to the overall economic health, in many countries that offer honest and realistic incentives to small businesses. I am not talking about hand outs, grants or give aways that seem to be all too common in Hungary. Rather, simple and honest tax and economic incentives that actually pay dividends both for society and the state coffers in the long term.

In Hungary the small businesses loose out by not being able to expand in ways they might, the government looses out by decreased various tax revenue from small business employment, and the population looses by having fewer employment options, leaving many to be simply "employed" by the government as menial laborers at below minimum wage.

klsallee wrote:

...In Hungary the small businesses loose out by not being able to expand in ways they might, the government looses out by decreased various tax revenue from small business employment, and the population looses by having fewer employment options, leaving many to be simply "employed" by the government as menial laborers at below minimum wage.

Yes, absolutely, causes distortions and aberrant behaviour and a total disincentive.  Not all of these distortions are caused by the Hungarian government but by the EU.  It's not worth expanding some businesses because the cost of doing so is too high.  Probably 25 years ago, a director of a company would spend  about 20% of their time dealing with overhead (i.e. government). Nowadays, I would think the proportion would be much higher at 30-40%.  So oppressive,  it would not be worth doing if one has to bring in specialists. Just drives up costs.

Thank you guys! You confirm again what I found around the network... Low salary rate is acceptable for a local Hungerian worker but when it comes to an expat this is not valid at all. Expats will move for a reasonable standard of living that looks like in Sweden, Italy or England. According to what I saw from the web souces house rent, cars, Ikea´s stuff, second hand online shops show a different scenario, especially in Budapest. In conclusion, low standard of living in Budapest is just illusion and easy excuse to trick qualified foreigns to accept "cattles" salaries in the middle of Europe instead of pay well in their onw countries. Budapest is not cheap as other claim! Some examples:
Rent a 3 rum flat:       http://ingatlan.com/xvi-ker/kiado+haz/s … 0083?sid=1   
A supermarket:          http://ajanlatok.spar.hu/akcios_ujsag/i … 0702/454/1
Second hand cars: http://deliapro.hu/kereses/?category_id … p;keyword=
Second hand forniture: http://www.jofogas.hu/budapest/IKEA_but … 513171.htm

+ fees for English daycare between 300-800 euro... Why should a child learn Hungerian? Think the future, move abroad. It is not like English, Italian, French, German, Spanish or Chinese... Out of Hungary, who speaks this language? In long term of couse it could be a plus knowing well the language... but what about a 3 or 5 years old child who might stay only 2 years or 4 years in Hungary?

Well, advise to all expats from all the world. Don´t go to Budapest if you will not earn more than NET 1500 euro ! (no kids), with kids you need 3000 euro net salary as suggested before...
Thank you

gorgobudapest wrote:

Low salary rate is acceptable for a local Hungerian worker

In my humble opinion the low salaries here are not acceptable for Hungarians either. Simply more like exploiting the willingness by many Hungarians to accept low salaries, often because they have few other alternatives.

gorgobudapest wrote:

Expats will move for a reasonable standard of living that looks like in Sweden, Italy or England.

Standard of living can have different definitions to different people and their needs. If one looks at it purely financially, we certainly downgraded to come here from Switzerland. But consider we upgraded in most other ways in areas we thought mattered. Certainly did not expect a Swedish or English living standard.

My husband is a born Hungarian , left at age 23 and now as a senior citizen, we have moved back to HU because we can live "OK" on just his monthly SS check. Much better then we could in the US without working at all.
We however would NEVER even think about working in Hungary.
In the US way back in the 1980's my husband was making over $40. an hour in the states as a skilled tradesman for the military machine. As a lark a few years back he called up a machine shop in Hungary to ask what the going rate was for his skills. It came down to something less then $4. and hour!!
Insane wages but if the wages go up here then most likely the rents and prices for all goods will go up even more in Hungary.
If we ever find we need an extra income, we are heading out of HU for good.
I am afraid people with talent are leaving HU . I know several of my own family from HU have gone to the UK, they are doctors.
My husband's sister teaches chemistry at one of the universities in Budapest. Last time we heard she took on a cleaning job on Saturdays to help with her bills! Crazy stuff over here for sure.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....I know several of my own family from HU have gone to the UK, they are doctors.
My husband's sister teaches chemistry at one of the universities in Budapest. Last time we heard she took on a cleaning job on Saturdays to help with her bills! Crazy stuff over here for sure.

It's not really crazy, it's just economics. People migrate to where the money is and for better opportunities.  Thinking of the HU side of my wider relations, from one family with 3 kids, 2 are working abroad - one in Switzerland and one in the UK.  The list goes on - others in Germany, Austria and Australia - all over. I think perhaps 30% are working abroad.  Even I work abroad and I commute to my job when I really have to. My employer allows me to telecommute which is a pretty good deal although there are plenty of downsides.  While I like living in HU, there's no way I could earn the same money.  I find it kind of depressing that HU, with so much talent is not able to organise itself properly. There are plenty of small countries (i.e. Switzerland, Luxembourg etc) that are capable of generating enormous wealth, have very high standards of living and serving their population but in HU......

fluffy2560 wrote:

HU, with so much talent is not able to organise itself properly

If organizational and management skills are absent or weak points in a talent set, it can become effectively irrelevant how much superior talent exists in other topics.

klsallee wrote:

If organizational and management skills are absent or weak points in a talent set, it can become effectively irrelevant how much superior talent exists in other topics.

Indeed..or perhaps......"...how much non-talent that thinks it's superior in other topics...."....I'm primarily thinking of the political class.