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Tax year 2026 · two countries, two engines · no rate baked in

Baltimore, MD vs Adelaide, Australia: $100,000 against A$100,000

This comparison examines how tax obligations shape net earnings in Baltimore and Adelaide. By applying a identical gross salary of 100,000 in local currencies, we can observe the specific impact of federal and state or national policies. This page functions as a structural analysis of tax codes rather than a cost-of-living index, as financial systems operate under distinct legislative frameworks. Please note that this is not tax advice and individual circumstances will always require professional verification before making major decisions.

Baltimore, MD · United States

Planning-estimate state rate 5.00%

State income tax
$5,000
5.00% of gross · planning estimate
Take-home / year
$74,180
74.2% of gross
Federal income tax
$13,170
same for every US state
FICA
$7,650
SS $6,200 + Medicare $1,450
Monthly rent used for this side: $1,948 — ZORI metro value for Baltimore, MD (2026-08-31)
Take-home after a year of rent: $50,804 — $23,376 of rent a year
Adelaide · Australia

Australia payroll deductions (2026 model)

Income tax
A$20,788
Adelaide engine output
Take-home / year
A$77,212
77.2% of gross
Total deducted
A$22,788
22.8% of gross
Take-home / month
A$6,434
annual ÷ 12
Assumptions on this side: Resident for tax purposes, low income tax offset applied, Medicare levy with the simplified low-income exemption.
No rent, cost-of-living or price data is published for Adelaide on this site — that column is deliberately empty rather than estimated.
⚖️
Same headline numerals, two different tax systems.

On $100,000 the US side gives up $25,820 (25.8% of gross) through federal tax, FICA and the Maryland state line. On A$100,000 the Australia side gives up A$22,788 (22.8% of gross) through income tax and payroll contributions. Take-home is $74,180 versus A$77,212 — and the currencies are not the same, so the honest next step is the live rate below, not a verdict from these two numbers alone.

Live exchange rate — nothing is baked into this page

$74,180 vs A$77,212 — what does that mean in one currency?

This page stores no exchange rate. Your browser fetches the European Central Bank reference rate for AUD/USD the moment the script runs, so the converted line below is true at the rate of that day and not at a rate this page froze months ago. Nothing above changes: the tax figures are published in their own currencies because that is what the two engines actually compute.

AUD → USD (live ECB)
—
fetching the live ECB rate…
Adelaide take-home in USD
—
A$77,212 converted
Baltimore take-home
$74,180
from the US engine, unchanged
Gap, in USD
—
once the live rate is in

Without JavaScript the conversion cannot run — the two columns stay in AUD and USD, which is exactly why every figure on this page is published in local currency.

A currency conversion is not a purchasing-power comparison. It tells you what the other salary is worth in dollars at one moment, not what it buys in Adelaide. Groceries, transport, healthcare and — above all — rent differ, and this site holds no rent series outside the United States.
Side by side

$75,000, $100,000 and $150,000 against A$75,000, A$100,000 and A$150,000

Each row compares the same rung of the two ladders — the numerals are held equal on purpose so that what you see moving is the tax rule, not the currency. The percentage columns are the share of gross that reaches the worker. No exchange rate is applied to these numbers.

US grossBaltimore, MD take-homeKeptAustralia grossAdelaide take-homeKept
$75,000 USD$57,84277.1%A$75,000 AUDA$60,21280.3%
$100,000 USD$74,18074.2%A$100,000 AUDA$77,21277.2%
$150,000 USD$106,29170.9%A$150,000 AUDA$110,16273.4%
US side: single filer, no pre-tax contributions, 2026 IRS rules, Maryland state treatment — planning estimate at 5.00%. Australia side: Resident for tax purposes, low income tax offset applied, Medicare levy with the simplified low-income exemption.
Full ladder, both engines

Australia deductions beside the US ones, step by step

Eight rungs, all computed by the two engines on this page's build — nothing in this table is typed by hand. The non-US rungs use the same numerals as the US rungs, in the local currency.

US gross (USD)Maryland state taxUS take-homeAustralia gross (AUD)Australia deductedAdelaide take-home
$35,000$1,750$28,552A$35,000A$2,688A$32,312
$50,000$2,500$39,855A$50,000A$6,538A$43,462
$75,000$3,750$57,842A$75,000A$14,788A$60,212
$100,000$5,000$74,180A$100,000A$22,788A$77,212
$125,000$6,250$90,453A$125,000A$30,788A$94,212
$150,000$7,500$106,291A$150,000A$39,838A$110,162
$200,000$10,000$138,927A$200,000A$60,138A$139,862
$250,000$12,500$170,682A$250,000A$83,638A$166,362

The Maryland state line is a planning estimate and is labelled as such in the calculator — treat it as a planning number, not an exact withholding amount.

Where the Australia deduction actually goes

A$100,000 gross in Adelaide: the Australia stack

Every line below is an output of au/calculator-au.js at A$100,000 — the same file the Australia calculator loads in your browser.

ComponentAmount
Income tax — 16% from A$18,200 to A$45,000 · 30% to A$135,000 · 37% to A$190,000 · 45% above, after the Low Income Tax OffsetA$20,788
Medicare levy 2% (simplified low-income exemption)A$2,000
Take-home per yearA$77,212
Take-home per monthA$6,434
Australian income tax, the Medicare levy and the offset are federal: the engine gives the same figure in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. State payroll tax and stamp duty sit outside this model.

Source of this block: Australia engine au/calculator-au.js — resident bands 0/16/30/37/45%, Low Income Tax Offset, Medicare levy 2%.

Rent reality — US side only

What $100,000 leaves in Baltimore, MD after a year of rent

Rent is the largest line most workers cannot move, so the take-home gap is only half the story. This site publishes rents for US metros only: there is no rent series for Adelaide, Australia, so this section deliberately covers one side instead of guessing the other. Source: Zillow Research ZORI (Metro), kamuya açık araştırma dosyası · ay: 2026-08-31.

SideMonthly rentAnnual rent% of grossTake-home after rent
Baltimore, MD ZORI metro value for Baltimore, MD$1,948$23,37623.4%$50,804
Adelaide no rent data held for Australia————
Reading the trade-off

A year of rent in Baltimore, MD is $23,376 — 23.4% of the gross salary on the table — leaving $50,804 of the US take-home.

The Australia column stays empty on purpose. A German or Dutch or Canadian rent figure would have to come from a proper source series; until this site holds one, the Adelaide side is a tax comparison, not a cost-of-living comparison.

Australian income tax, the Medicare levy and the offset are federal: the engine gives the same figure in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. State payroll tax and stamp duty sit outside this model.

Wider context on the US side

The same $100,000 in ten US states

Federal tax and FICA do not move between states; only the state line does. Maryland is highlighted, and the last column is the gap against Baltimore, MD.

StateState taxTake-home / yearDifference
Maryland planning est.$5,000$74,180+$0
Texas no income tax$0$79,180+$5,000
California progressive$5,344$73,836$-344
New York progressive$4,952$74,228+$48
Florida no income tax$0$79,180+$5,000
Washington no income tax$0$79,180+$5,000
Illinois flat 4.95%$4,950$74,230+$50
Colorado flat 4.40%$4,400$74,780+$600
Georgia flat 5.19%$5,190$73,990$-190
North Carolina flat 4.25%$4,250$74,930+$750
Live check — run either engine yourself

Try another salary on Baltimore, MD or Adelaide

Baltimore, MD take-home / year
$74,180
74.2% of gross
Adelaide take-home / year
A$77,212
77.2% of gross
Adelaide deducted
A$22,788
income tax + payroll
US deducted
$25,820
federal + FICA + state

Both sides run the same engines the site's calculators use: au/calculator-au.js on the Australia side and assets/js/tax-2026.js on the US side. The US selector starts on Baltimore, MD; the Australia side is fixed to Resident for tax purposes, low income tax offset applied, Medicare levy with the simplified low-income exemption.

Planning estimates only — not tax advice. City, county and local taxes, credits and itemised deductions are excluded on the US side; Australia assumptions are listed above. No exchange rate is applied to these two boxes: each column stays in its own currency.
How it is calculated

Two engines, one salary each

Baltimore, MD: assets/js/tax-2026.js — 2026 federal brackets, the $16,100 standard deduction, FICA with the $184,500 Social Security cap, and the Maryland state model. Adelaide: au/calculator-au.js — Resident for tax purposes, low income tax offset applied, Medicare levy with the simplified low-income exemption. Both engines are the ones loaded by the site's own calculators, and both are checked at build time against tax-rules/2026.json.

In Baltimore, the federal government captures a significant share of income, supplemented by a 13,170 federal tax deduction. The state of Maryland adds its own layer, while FICA contributions fund social insurance programs. Conversely, the Australian system centers on federal income tax, which reaches a total of 20,788 after applying applicable offsets. The structure in Adelaide is consolidated, avoiding state-level income taxation for this salary level. Both systems rely on progressive brackets, yet they differ in how they categorize and distribute tax responsibilities between regional and central authorities.

The payroll deductions in Baltimore support the Social Security and Medicare systems through a 7,650 contribution, ensuring future benefits and current medical coverage. These funds are specifically earmarked for federal programs that workers access upon retirement or meeting eligibility criteria. In Adelaide, the deductions facilitate a broader range of social services, including the Medicare levy of 2,000 that maintains the national public health framework. While both regions utilize these funds to stabilize social welfare, the management of these resources remains strictly tied to the respective national mandates.

Comparing these two locations using identical numerals in local currencies creates a transparent framework for evaluating tax code efficiency. By holding the gross salary constant, users can identify exactly how much of their pay is retained after statutory obligations are met. This method avoids the distortion of fluctuating exchange rates, which shift independently of domestic tax rules. It is an honest comparison because it treats each jurisdiction as a sovereign system. However, this frame is purely fiscal and excludes the complex variables of local prices or lifestyle costs.

Baltimore, MD or Adelaide? What it means in practice

The data focuses on the payroll deductions that occur before a salary reaches a bank account. For Baltimore, the Maryland state line represents a 5.00% slice of the gross earnings. Meanwhile, Adelaide residents navigate a progressive federal schedule that accounts for national health funding. While both systems use graduated rates, the components within the paycheck differ significantly. We provide this breakdown to help workers visualize their statutory obligations without conflating local tax policy with broader economic purchasing power differences.

In practical terms, the Baltimore salary results in a take-home amount of 74,180. This final figure accounts for the standard federal and state liabilities that a typical worker in Maryland should anticipate. Because payroll laws are uniform across the state, this calculation provides a reliable baseline for annual financial planning. However, workers should remember that these totals are planning estimates. Actual take-home pay may fluctuate based on personal exemptions, contributions to private retirement accounts, or specific tax credits that this high-level view cannot fully capture.

Many people mistakenly assume that a higher gross-to-net ratio implies a superior quality of life in Adelaide, where the take-home is 77,212. This perception fails to account for the unique trade-offs inherent in each tax system. Relying solely on the net-to-gross percentage overlooks the specific government services funded by these taxes and the variance in personal out-of-pocket expenses. Comparing these two cities requires recognizing that tax structures are merely one piece of a complex puzzle that dictates how much capital a worker retains at the end of the year.

Baltimore, MD vs Adelaide: common questions

What is the role of the Maryland state tax?

Maryland applies a specific state income tax of 5,000 for this salary level. This amount is subtracted from the gross pay in addition to the federal tax and FICA requirements.

How does the Adelaide deduction stack work?

The primary deductions in Adelaide include the federal income tax, which totals 20,788, and the Medicare levy. These are federal-level obligations that serve as the main components of the Australian tax system.

What do FICA taxes provide in the US?

The 7,650 FICA contribution funds the Social Security and Medicare programs. These specific taxes are used to secure retirement income and healthcare access for eligible participants.

Why does this page use identical numerals?

Using identical numerals allows for a clear comparison of tax rules without the confusion of exchange rates. It isolates the tax policy of each jurisdiction rather than comparing the currency strength.

How does rent affect the Baltimore calculations?

We include an average rent figure of 23,376 for Baltimore to provide context for living costs. Unfortunately, we currently have no equivalent rental data for the Adelaide market.

Who might find this comparison useful?

This comparison is designed for workers evaluating their tax exposure between these two regions. It is best suited for those looking to understand the mechanics of their paycheck before accepting a new role.

Kaynak / Sources: US engine assets/js/tax-2026.js (2026 federal brackets, $16,100 standard deduction, FICA Social Security wage base $184,500) · Australia engine au/calculator-au.js — resident bands 0/16/30/37/45%, Low Income Tax Offset, Medicare levy 2% · rules of record tax-rules/2026.json (lastVerified 2026-09-16) · US rents: Zillow Research ZORI (Metro), kamuya açık araştırma dosyası (veri/kiralar.json, month 2026-08-31) — Baltimore, MD only, no non-US rent series exists here · exchange rate: European Central Bank reference rates via api.frankfurter.app, fetched live in your browser, never stored on this page · every figure above is an output of these files, nothing is estimated by hand.

Sources & method

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: · Last updated: 2026-11-09