Tuesday 16 August 2011

The Real Cost Of Commuting

We have done this exercise before but it is probably worth repeating just to emphasize the true cost of commuting.  
 
The following numbers are based on somebody paying 40% tax and the numbers in brackets are after the proposed 8% increase.

The cost of an annual season Manningtree <-> London - £4,600 (£4,968)

To pay for this you have to earn £7,666 (£8,280)

If you want to park at the station the cheapest way is by annual season which costs £1,057 which means you have to earn £1,753 to pay for it.

So for a person (paying 40% tax) to commute to London from Manningtree and park at the station they have to earn £9,419 (£10,033) just to cover their costs.  Bearing in mind the 40% tax threshold kicks in at £37,400 that can mean over 25% of salary needed just to pay to go to work!!


(The above calculations are approximate in that they don't take into account NI contributions and the vagaries of the tax system, but you get the gist)

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