Figuring Out Your Finances Abroad
This article has been prepared in cooperation with Pexpats
Moving abroad alone to a new country is an exciting and rewarding life decision. When you’re in your new city, finding the right support system can be tricky but help you navigate your new home. Photo Credit: Freepik.
Pexpats is an agency who specializes in getting expats set up in Prague and the Czech Republic, offering services such as trade license and visa application assistance, car registration, relocation, and Czech apostille arrangements.
Since 2013 Pexpats has provided easy and friendly guidance for expats moving to and living in the Czech Republic. For a lot of clients, understanding their finances in the Czech Republic is one of the first questions that comes to mind when moving abroad. To help make the process easier for everyone – even expats who aren’t clients – Pexpats offers free, easy-to-use online calculators to get a better understanding of payments abroad.
Know what you can earn – and what you may owe
Most people would agree that being on top of your finances and practicing responsible fiscal behaviors is key for long term financial success. This applies to your life abroad, too. In fact, for some it may be even more important to take a good look at finances and financial planning when living as an expat to avoid running tight on money in a country where you don’t have as much of a support system to lean on in difficult times.
Graphics: Pexpats
After watching expats struggle through managing their taxes and the intricacies of Czech law, Pexpats created four free online calculators which provide a better idea of how to understand and manage finances abroad. Users need to only enter a few key amounts into the calculators to receive estimates for their net salary, maternity pay, mortgage, and freelance payments.
Below we’ve summarized how these calculators work so you can easily find the financial tool that best fits you and your financial planning needs.
Freelance payment calculator
Are you working on a freelance visa in the Czech Republic? If so, you’ll be required to obtain and make payments for health and social insurance and file taxes every year. Once you’ve registered and started the process it becomes a second nature part of your life in Prague.
The online freelance payment calculator does just as the name suggests – it takes your gross income and a few other factors into account to calculate your estimated social and health insurance payments, as well as what you will owe for taxes.
If you know and take into account these required expenses, you’ll have a better idea of what money you have to spend on other things.
Net salary calculator
One of the biggest factors you’ll consider no matter where you live is how much regular income you’ll earn. This can decide what flat you take, whether you agree to a certain position, or can afford to take a nice holiday each year.
Pexpat’s net salary calculator shows you how much money you’ll have for spending after factoring in your tax and insurance payments. On the calculator you will enter your gross income amount and enter other details including whether you have children or are a student under 26 years old. Based on this information the calculator tells you what your net salary is, which can be spent on other expenses like housing, food, and living.
Maternity pay calculator
For those who start a family while living in the Czech Republic, maternity pay can be a major deciding factor in how to plan ahead for a baby. According to Czech law, women who have been working in the country full time for at least a year could qualify for maternity pay.
For a quick overview of what your maternity pay could look like in the Czech Republic, the maternity pay calculator gives you an estimate of what you could qualify for when you need it. All you need to do is enter your monthly gross salary and the number of expected days on maternity leave and you’ll be given instant results. If you need further assistance with getting maternity pay or have more questions, it’s best to contact Pexpats and set up and appointment.
Mortgage calculator
Planning to buy property in the Czech Republic? Among other considerations, before you buy you’ll need to research how much a mortgage will cost you.
The mortgage calculator on Pexpats’ website gives you an estimate of your monthly payments on a mortgage using information such as your home value, down payment, and interest rate. Since buying a home is a major investment, it’s best to know how this will affect you financially before signing any papers.
At the end of the day, knowing where you stand financially is an important part of planning for your life abroad. If you are interested in getting some more information about what you need to get started in Prague, you can find out more by visiting Pexpats’ website or reaching out to arrange an appointment.
