Home / Global compare / Austin vs Berlin
Same verified engines as the calculators. Austin = Texas, single, no pre-tax. Berlin = Klasse I, with kids, no church tax. Currency moves the verdict — check the live rate before deciding.
| Austin $120,000 | Berlin €85,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | $17,570 federal | €24,564 ESt |
| Payroll / social | $9,180 FICA | €16,369 SV |
| State | $0 (Texas) | — (federal country) |
| Take-home / year | $93,250 | €44,067 |
| Take-home / month | $7,771 | €3,672 |
At €1 = $1.15, Berlin's net is ≈$50,677 — Austin keeps about $42,500 more a year. The whole gap is tax structure: Texas levies no income tax while Germany's ESt + SV take roughly 48% at this level. Cost of living (especially Austin rent vs Berlin rent) is a separate calculation.
About $93,250 a year single in 2026 ($7,771/month) after $17,570 federal and $9,180 FICA — no state tax.
About €44,067 a year (Klasse I, with kids) after €24,564 income tax and €16,369 social insurance.
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Austin's deduction stack is simple: federal income tax of $17,570 and FICA of $9,180 on a $120,000 single salary, with Texas adding nothing at the state level. Berlin's is layered: income tax of €24,564 plus €16,369 of social contributions on €85,000 — roughly 48% of gross before any local charge. Germany funds health insurance, statutory pension, unemployment cover and long-term care inside that social block; the US version of that protection is mostly bought separately by employer and employee, which is why comparing only the take-home line understates the German side by the value of what it already pays for.
The comparison is only true for one currency pair on one day. At €1 = $1.15 Berlin's net is about $50,677, so Austin keeps roughly $42,500 more a year. Move the rate to $1.05 and Berlin's net falls to about $46,300, widening the gap; move it to $1.25 and Berlin gains around $4,000 without a single tax rule changing. Before deciding, fix the rate you believe in — and check whether your salary offer is indexed to it.
The comparison uses a single, childless employee on a standard tax class in Berlin and a single filer in Austin, with no dependants, no itemised deductions and no employer extras. Berlin figures include income tax, solidarity surcharge where applicable, and statutory health, care and pension contributions; Austin figures include federal income tax, FICA payroll taxes and, importantly, the fact that Texas levies no state income tax on wages.
Cost-of-living figures assume a one-bedroom apartment near the centre and a single-person household. Employer benefits — a thirteenth salary, holiday pay, a public transport pass, subsidised health cover — are excluded, even though they materially change the outcome in Germany. All figures are rounded and intended for planning, not as financial advice.
Figures on this page are planning estimates built from published IRS tables and state agency rates; they are not tax advice. How we build and check these estimates · Edited by: Nuh Taspinar · Last updated: 2026-11-09