Settle four things before comparing an international offer to anything: whether the figure is gross or net and under which country's system, where you will be tax resident, what social contributions and statutory benefits replace or add to the cash, and who bears the cost of currency movement. Until all four are answered, the two numbers are not measuring the same thing.
Gross or net, and whose gross
Many countries quote salaries in terms Americans do not expect, and effective tax rates differ enormously. A gross figure that looks like a cut can be a rise after tax, and the reverse happens just as often. Ask for an illustrative net figure from the employer’s own payroll provider.
Where you are tax resident
Residency is determined by rules, not by preference, and it is possible to be resident in two places at once. US citizens and permanent residents file US returns on worldwide income regardless of where they live, with mechanisms that reduce double taxation rather than removing the obligation. This is genuinely specialist territory and worth paid advice before signing rather than after.
What the state provides
In much of the world, healthcare, pensions and substantial paid leave arrive through statutory systems funded by contributions rather than through an employer’s benefits menu. A lower headline salary can carry more actual coverage. Comparing an American package to a European one on salary alone systematically misreads both.
Currency and where it lands
Being paid in one currency while holding obligations in another puts the exchange risk on you. If you have a mortgage or loans at home, ask whether any part can be paid in that currency, and what happens if the rate moves sharply.
The parts nobody quotes
Visa and dependant permits, school fees, whether a partner has the right to work, notice periods and termination protections that may be far stronger or weaker than you are used to, and what happens to the package if the assignment ends early.
The order to do this in
Net figure first, because it is the only number that compares to anything. Then residency, then benefits, then currency. Working in the other order means renegotiating each answer as the ones above it change.
Common questions
Why can't I just compare the salaries?
Because gross figures sit under different tax systems and different statutory benefits. The two numbers are not measuring the same thing until both are net.
Do I still file US taxes abroad?
US citizens and permanent residents file on worldwide income wherever they live. Mechanisms exist to reduce double taxation; the filing obligation itself remains.
Why does a lower salary sometimes buy more?
Because healthcare, pensions and paid leave often arrive through statutory systems funded by contributions rather than through an employer benefits package.
Who carries the currency risk?
You do, unless it is negotiated. If you hold obligations at home, ask whether part of the pay can be delivered in that currency.
What is most often left out of the offer?
Visas and dependant permits, whether a partner may work, school fees, and what happens to the package if the assignment ends early.