Adventures in International Tax Law & New Job for Agi
For all of you accountants reading out there--you must be excited after seeing the title of this post... But there are some rather interesting tax-driven developments for those of you following what the Widmans are up to.
The Hungarian government passed a law this past July that basically ensures that if you live in Hungary more than 6 months a year, you've got to pay them some serious tax money. When I say serious--yes, it is quite serious: 60% of your income. (My dad didn't believe me--and Agi and I didn't think it was possible either--but after you add up all the social security and health care taxes on top of the 42% income tax, it all adds up to 60%). We met with a tax advisor last week who confirmed it all.
So, Agi and I have concluded (and it wasn't an easy process figuring this out) that we are going to do the following:
- start spending less than 6 months a year in Hungary
- sell our new condo here in Budapest and get a smaller one instead here
- buy a condo in Portland Oregon where we'll live most of the other months of the year
This is the plan as of now but we think it's going to work out well. Selling a place we like and just bought, however, is unpleasant for a number of reasons. The other thing--which is good if you're friends and family in the US--is that we're going to be in the US from Oct 9th-through the New Year because we'll have used up the days of our 6-month Hungary allotment.
Some undeniably great news, however, is that Agi has been offered a great, full-time web design job through her old employer (the credit union) that she can continue 100% remotely! The other fabulous thing is that her job provides health care for us when we're in the US, so this is a big help. I'm very proud of my hard-working, talented wife.