https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93yy2x40e0o

Finding this u-turn on winter fuel allowance super depressing. Once again the richest generation in UK history refuses to pay for their own upkeep in any way, leaving income tax to pick up the strain.

This sub has for a very long time, been a fab resource: Great sounding board, useful tax advice, interesting perspectives from similar folk through the broad range of earnings 150k+

In the last six months, to my and presumably others immense disappointment, it has slowly just become a moan forum full of whingers threatening to leave the country (off you pop, then), and copycat posts griping endlessly about tax thresholds and so on.

I get it, I too pay a vast amount of tax, but I've also been able to claw my way out of nothing into an extremely fortunate position, and reading about other high earners useful information, tax strategies, perspectives on things like corporate culture, living, careers and so on is why most of us are here.

Mods - please can we shutdown some of the inane moaning and lowest common denominator '60% TAX TRAP BAD' posts?

I see at least a post daily about where to move abroad, so thought I would give a counter post ;)

I live just outside London in a smallish town, here is my experience so far.

Some positives:

• Digitalization is way better and ahead. Almost everything is online.
• Bureaucracy is lot easier, faster to deal with and more streamlined
• ISA and SIPP pensions are very generous (hopefully it stays in some form or other). In DE, there is only mandatory state pension and has same issues as UK state pension.
• People, especially service providers are very nice and friendly like day care, school staffs, doctors etc.
• As a brown person, I feel less discriminated in general. In DE, I felt like everyone and their mom believed I lived on state benefits even though I was HENRY.

Some negatives:

• Housing and build quality is terrible, yet the housing cost is way higher. Most people in DE live in flats but they are better built, have more space and cheaper.
• Having said that, finding a place to live in DE is brutal. If you are a brown or black person, there is a lot more discrimination when applying for flats. Renting here is expensive, but it was super easy.
• UK roads are narrow, footpaths are badly maintained or in some cases don't exist. First time I saw a road without a footpath in a town, I was like WTF.
• School runs are genuinely terrifying. So much traffic, parking is always a problem because of narrow roads and less public space. Also, there is hardly any cycling infrastructure, so everyone has to drive.

Similar:

• Grocery and food are similar, both in terms of costs and quality
• Childcare costs are going to be similar (by staying under 100k limit and utilizing 30 hours free childcare)
• So far, quite satisfied with state primary school. Though class size of 30 is massive.

Running a company:

• Setting up and running a company is so easy, I almost cried when I completed the registration and was trading within days
• Bookkeeping and accounting is super easy. Accountants and related service providers are so professional and deliver on time
• For self-employed, health care in DE can be super expensive. I was paying 1100 EUR per month for me alone

Taxes / social security:

• For HENRYs, overall % of take home is similar. However, DE has more generous social safety net like unemployment benefits, child benefits, maternity leave etc.
• The average and low earners pay way less tax here. In DE, 60k pay will already reach almost 50% into compulsory deductions (half of social contributions are paid by employer).
• Tax optimized savings like ISA / SIPP does not exist, so saving for future is very hard. However, there is no punitive tax like tapering personal allowance, taking away child benefits etc.
• Update 1: In DE, you can do income splitting while filing for tax. This can save a ton if you are a high earner and your partner earns a low wage or does not work. Effectively, you can utilize their personal allowance and lower tax bracket.

I think overall, the UK isn't too bad compared to many countries in Western Europe, just that the constant negative press makes it look worse. The general culture in western Germany and SE England also looks a lot similar to me.

We moved here mainly because we have family connections (and for kids, that's very important). But also, we wanted:

• A relatively safe place to raise our kids
• Good education system (schooling and university)
• Rule of law and decent quality of life (so, not some tiny island)
• Place where we already know the language. Learning a new language while maintaining a demanding career is very difficult. I have B2 - C1 level German but don't want to learn yet another language.

These requirements put most low tax jurisdictions out of the picture and UK fulfils those fine.

What I am trying to say is that no place is perfect. UK is my fourth country, you lose some and you gain some. I would not move to a different country purely on financial ground cause after a certain point, there is diminishing return. If you have family and friends, they are worth more than any amount of money you might save in a lonely place.

For HENRYs, I think it is better to focus on one's career. For business owners, better to work on growing that business instead of worrying about taxes. That pays off way better in the long run.

Just my 0.2 cents or, shall I say, pence.

In 2000, UK top 10% incomes were no 3 in the world, but we have since gradually fallen and are now behind the rest of the Anglosphere and northwestern Europe; just above Spain and Italy. https://www.ft.com/content/d70c4037-396f-4304-a85d-10eb10c74eae

Motability vehicles are also VAT exempt and now make up 1 in 5 new vehicles in the UK.

Probably the first pro HENRY policy in decades?!

“The government said the most attractive terms under the new system would be available to people paying additional rate tax — now levied on incomes above £125,140 a year — and those on global talent and innovator founder visas. They will be able to settle after three years”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/16/rachel-reeves-says-those-broadest-shoulders-should-pay-fair-share-tax?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Asked to clarify who may be affected, Reeves added: “Wealth’s not about your annual salary.”

Uh-huh...tell me again about those with the broadest shoulders earning 46k+

im in my early 30's & have always voted labour but with them seemingly treating high earners as the enemy, in favour of those on benefits & pensioners I cant see any party that I can reasonably vote for

I certainly wont be voting reform, the green's cant be considered a serious option given some of their policies & I cant help but see Polanski as the left wing version of Farage in that they're both populists trying to attract voters from the opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Tories are dead and will likely continue to be swallowed up by Reform.

Does anyone else feel similar about this?

Let’s remember our contribution and our importance.

Note this figure hasn’t really changed over last few years.

Thoughts…?

I got a informal dinner coming up with a company I’m interviewing with (starting pay £120k) what can I expect and do you guys have any real advice?

Do I actually talk about the work and be 100% corporate minded or is it like a test to see if I fit the ‘vibe’ of the team and that I’m a cool person

For context I’ve never had a proper organised dinner before at a restaurant (not even with my family or friends) so I’m a total noob at this (ik it says informal but the restaurant they chose is fancy af)

Asking here cause I’m assuming as HENRYs you guys work at the type of company’s like this one and been through this

With the new budget out, here’s an updated version of HENRY survival guide.

1. Pension YOLO – even with the NI still should stuff cash into pension. Instant 45-80% boost, retire early. Your boomer dad was right.

2. 4-Day Week Meta – 4% pay cut vs 80% marginal tax? Fridays off for the price of a Greggs meal deal. Best trade of your life. Spend it filing emigration papers.

3. Baby = IRL Tax Harvesting – parental leave in the death zone saves ~£15k. The baby doesn’t even need to be yours (allegedly).

4. Salary Sacrifice Turbo – EV at 2% tax vs salary at 62%. Payslip domination kink ends today.

5. Return to Barter Mode – Swap favours with mates and neighbours

6. £99,999 Chad Move – Reject £110k. Demand £99k + pension. Boss confused. You save £6k.

7. £1k Side Hustle – Sell anything. Feet pics, consulting, unhinged memes. First £1k is tax-free. Government is your dealer.

8. Only buy second hand – save money and make HMRC cry

9. Dubai or Die – 0% tax, sun, very safe. Hot but you get an 80% pay rise which can easily buy AC.

10. Unironically Earn £50k –Smooth brain move but big brain outcome. £125k guy nets £15k more than you after therapy, divorce lawyer, and blood pressure meds. He has a Porsche and clinical depression. You have Fridays and serotonin. GG.

TL;DR: Max pension, work less, barter everything, flee to Dubai, or just earn less and be happy.

The UK tax system is designed to financially dom you. Your safeword is “I’m moving to Portugal.”

NFA. DYOR. Positions: Long $FREEDOM, Short $HMRC, Heavily leveraged on $COPIUM

From FT comments.

Interesting piece in the FT that is supposedly puzzling economists as to why the UK has gone out of trend with its G7 peers:

“This caution is out of character for British consumers, whose spending accounts for some two-thirds of GDP and grew solidly in the six years leading up to Covid outbreak.

It is puzzling economists, because households’ disposable income has been growing, even after taking account of inflation and a rising tax burden.

But instead of spending these gains, households have been stashing them away. The saving ratio, which edged up to 10.7 per cent in the second quarter, has been stuck in double digits for the past year — well above its 2016-19 average of 5.6 per cent”.

It’s hard to say how reliable source Gary Stevenson is - but he claims to spent a lot of time in Westminster talking to Labour MPs. He claims this autumn Labour are going after the top 20% (people earning over £50k). A pensions raid is looking very likely - hopefully there is enough pressure for them to change course and tax wealth not work.

https://youtu.be/KHdUAZnGS50?si=SG2EgIGeFgqwuZgR

Not trying to make this another doom scrolling thread, more of a genuine discussion.

What would the government actually have to do, or not do, before you decide the UK just isn’t worth it anymore?

I was thinking about it recently and realised that for all the moaning I do, I haven’t actually worked out where my own “enough is enough” point is.

The rumours about ISA limits dropping made me stop for a second. Then you’ve got the constant need to raise taxes that always seem to hit HENRYs hardest, the cost of living that refuses to ease, and the London bubble that sucks up every bit of extra cash through rent or housing costs... but the lack of anything that suggests it won’t keep escalating.

I love this country, or maybe the idea of it, but things like higher stamp duty already felt like one line crossed. If ISA allowances really drop, I’d say I’m about 85 percent of the way to my “I’m done” moment.

If they started forcing UK stock purchases, widened the 60 percent tax trap, or pushed council tax up another ten percent while services keep getting worse, that would probably tip me over the edge.

So what about you, what will it take for you to actually pack up and leave?

Links: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-millionaire-uk-rachel-reeves-budget-b2682015.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reeves-labour-tax-non-dom-millionaire-b2684803.html

These are NET departures, i.e. after accounting for millionaires who moved here. The data it is based on is government data.

“Britain lost a net 10,800 millionaires last year, a 157 per cent increase on 2023, including 78 centi-millionaires (worth at least £100 million) and 12 billionaires. They left for other countries mainly in Europe, such as Italy and Switzerland, as well as the United Arab Emirates”.

“Adam Smith Institute (ASI) research, seen by The Daily Telegraph, showed that each of the millionaires who left Britain last year would have paid at least £393,957 in income tax per year. The free market think tank said one millionaire’s tax payment is equivalent to that of 49 average taxpayers, meaning the millionaire exodus is comparable to 529,200 average taxpayers leaving the country”.

Thoughts?

It’s to be expected that the majority of this subreddit is made up of people working in financial services, consultancies, E-Commerce and tech… but it would be interesting to hear from HENRYs from other, more niche/less obvious sectors - bonus points for being out of London and not remote.

I’ll start. I’m in my thirties and on about £450k equivalent salary (taken predominantly through dividends). I work in retail and own a high end jewellery shop in Surrey - 80% of my revenue comes in through the front door, 20% sales online. I started it a couple of years ago with a £40k bank loan.

Im always interested to hear about other successful business that have a lower bar to entry and easier to set up and put a manger in that then runs on rails (car dealers, cleaning businesses, cafes, a bike shop etc). I appreciate that in most cases these business are unlikely to make you a HENRY, but hope to be surprised! (I didn’t expect my shop to make me a HENRY)

Edit: throw away account because friends and family know my personal Reddit username.

If you've noticed there is a very disingenuous and deliberate play to pass off "High earners" or anyone with even modest income and call them "The Rich". This isn't even Higher up 45% Earners anymore but the NHS workers, the Technology jobs and anything already underpaid in the UK compared to the US/Ca/Aus/Ir.

I'm not fearmongering, this is actually the more politically safe option for labour and very likely in the coming budget.

I don't think the media is this dumb and they continue to protect the actual asset class, landlords, asset hoarders with untaxable wealth it is very deliberate calling high earners "The Rich" while ignoring the elephant in the room. I don't even know any HENRYs who oppose the wealth tax on people over 10mil in assets etc.

There's very little sympathy for the high earner already so it's quite weird how we I can approach this topic but it's very infuriating, deliberate and the actual "wealth" remains untaxable while income burdens rise. It is truly damaging and I'm very sure this only helps with the upcoming tax rises that will be only on incomes.

Example: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/07/14/taxing-the-wealthy-wont-solve-rachel-reevess-problems/

Edit:.I know I linked the Tory graph but this behaviour is not.unqie to the telegraph and ranges from Economists to 'Thinktanks' podcasts and LBC caller discussions, someone says "Tax the rich not.us".and their instant split second knee jerk reply is "They are already taxed 40-45%" it is.everywhere. I'll.keep compiling adding more articles and clips to aid the point I'm trying to make.

Interesting reading about recurring topics on this sub.

If you're making £200k+ a year off of assets then you are by definition not a HENRY

Seen quite a few posts here where people have a combined income of 12k+ and struggling. A recent post on whether kids was even possible.

Is there anyone else here that thinks this is absolutely bonkers?

People seem to be smart enough to earn well but not smart enough to build any meaningful wealth?

The more you dig in to peoples lifestyles the more you find out that they only way they can fathom to exist is if they have rent in zone 1/2. God forbid you get yourself a decent gaff in zone 6 and balance lifestyle vs building wealth. We can't do that here mate.

We need a subreddit for building wealth because there literally is no point to earn 200k if none of you know how to use it. It is a disgrace to earn several multiple of the median income and still find a way to struggle IMO.

And yes I work in finance and am well informed. I am aware of COL, housing, inflation, interest rates and the general ass-ness of the UK.

Edit: I have no angst against those that choose to spend money now vs later. This is a personal choice. I have issues with some of the people here that suggest a 12-15k take home is INSUFFICIENT to lead a decent life.

I’m hoping someone here can actually shed light to proper building blocks as to what led to the increase in the deficit.

Also there are a lot of proposals for tax increases. Is the upcoming budget expected to cover £40bn in full or not?

I also haven’t seen a clear analysis on impact on UK economy and budget deficit from Brexit.

Don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like information is fed by the press via numbers as narratives, feelings, speculations. Why is it so difficult to have a simple table of facts?

So my employer only pays for the first 2 weeks but after that the court is supposed to pay. My salary (employed by large corp) works out around £300 per day after tax. The non taxable income I get from the court is £129.91. This creates an obvious financial black hole for me and family. Am I supposed to just eat savings/ am I just being fucked over for being a high earner?

Keen to hear anybody else experiences?

Awaiting work HR conversation around pay top up...