Paying £6,500pcm for a small rented gaff in HK
  • Would you do this. 

Typical guideline for expats was 50% of gross income for rent.

It meant the cost of housing plus tax was similar to the U.K.  But you had some choice on how much rent to pay.  Pay 60% and you had to live like a pauper in other regards.  Pay 40%, and other than housing, you could afford the best of everything

"But it’s not supposed to be a wash is it? If my tax plus accomoodation costs were the same onshore and offshore why would I go offshore?"

Hong Kong is not "offshore"

  • As an expert in this area and one the founders of Personal Finance Theory, I offer the following observations. 
  • Assume you pay 25% of your netnet in rent. 
  • Getting that back would boost your netnet by a third. 
  • Now assume your non-rent overheads absorb, say, 'just' half your netnet. 
  • Are you winning?
  • Well it sounds good but consider further. 
  • Adding back all that rent would effectively double your rate of saving. 
  • And if (which is not unlikely) your non-rent overheads absorb more than half your netnet, the savings rate would be magnified even more aggressively. 
  • I am available for consultation. 

HK is still sold as a win though due to the tax whilst brushing over the gaff costs. Then there's the school fees which you can't opt out of. Tbf if youre a couple earning good money with cheap child care then it looks a lot better, but then why bother having kids etc. 

I'm at late stages of a possible move now and fully expect it to fall apart on money. I think I need a third more on my already quite high UK base salary to make it worth it and I still won't be getting rich.

  • Assume you pay 25% of your netnet in rent. 
  • Getting that back would boost your netnet by a third. 

this is horrible. getting 25% of ur net net back would not boost ur net net, as the 25% is already part of it

it’s relevant because the maths of the next few bullet points r determined by whether u think net net is pre- or post-rent. i.e. i think u mean non-rent o/hs r 50% of 75% of net net, but that’s unclear

HK is probably only a marginal win if you’re single because tax savings and living costs mostly offset. However I have never seen it sold as such to young single expats. Never.

the reason to work in HK is not financial bribery of the type that has to be offered to get people to work on dorchester dull caribbean islands or in sandblown hellholes

its that it’s a cool place to live and work and the career progression is much faster. the former perception may (unjustifiably, probably) be under clhallenge and the latter may come to depend more on whether you speak chinese, but that’s the pitch

where you do gain financially is if you’re a two career couple with kids as you can get cheap enough help that you can basically both keep working full bells

Laz is right - it’s awesome financially if you’re a couple with kids under 5.  A helper allows you pretty high quality of life outside working hours - time with the kids rather than time doing ironing and cleaning.  You have babysitting on tap so you can get the gym or out for a meal with your other half.  Rent’s expensive but you have a much shorter commute.  The 15% taxes really come to the fore if you work in an industry that pays decent bonuses.  The bonus goes straight to savings.

No tax on dividends, no capital gains tax. Oh and there is tax relief on mortgage interest. It was for only ten years, but just as I was getting to the end they extended it for another five years

" A helper allows you pretty high quality of life outside working hours - time with the kids rather than time doing ironing and cleaning."

children under 5 are asleep outside big firm working hours