UK expat financial calculators — run the numbers before you sign
Free calculators for every pitch Gulf expats get sold: RL360 Quantum, Zurich Vista, Hansard Vantage and Generali Vision offshore plans; offshore bonds; UK buy-to-let; Gulf property. Plus the budget calculator that tells you whether any of it is affordable in the first place.
Illustrative compound fee drag when initial units, mirror fund charges and adviser commission are modelled against a low-cost ETF benchmark.
Year-one CGT can be nil when the gain sits inside the annual allowance and is realised before UK return.
Track investable surplus after Gulf living costs, school fees and UK commitments.
Model Section 24, SDLT, non-resident surcharge and opportunity cost side by side.
Why I created this site
Free calculators in the Gulf are rarely free. The price is your email address, which lands on the desk of a commission-based adviser within the hour. Not here. This calculator runs in your browser. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent, nothing follows you.
Thinks in your two currencies
AED, QAR or SAR as income. GBP as the destination. Set your currencies once in the nav and every calculator handles both simultaneously — no mental conversion required.
I have No product to sell you
No RL360 affiliate link, no offshore bond referral, no property commission. The fee drain calculator was built specifically to show what those products cost you — so the output is the same whether it flatters the product or condemns it.
Your numbers stay in your browser
Everything runs locally. No account, no email, no tracking. Your salary, savings and property values are entered once, stay on your device and are gone when you close the tab. We don't even need to set a cookie!
A tax-free salary sounds like a pay rise. Run the numbers before you find out it wasn't.
Whether you're weighing up the offer or already five years in, the sequence is the same. Find your stage and use the right tool to get through it.
Know what you really earn at home
Your UK position isn't just your payslip. Employer pension contributions, child benefit, NI credits towards your state pension and a free workplace safety net all disappear the day you leave. Price them before you compare salaries.
Budget the offer against your destination
Now put the new salary against real local costs. School fees, rent paid a year upfront, flights home, healthcare and FX losses on every transfer. The surplus left over is the only number that matters, and it's usually smaller than the recruiter implied.
Learn to invest it yourself
Investing the surplus doesn't need an adviser, a structure or a meeting in a hotel lobby. A low-cost global index fund through a proper offshore broker does the job. The guides show you how, step by step.
Spot the fee traps before you sign
Long-term offshore savings plans from the likes of RL360, Friends Provident and Zurich are sold hard across the Gulf. Charges can swallow years of growth, and exit penalties lock you in. Run the plan through the calculator before the meeting ends, not after you've signed.
Come home without getting mugged
The return leg has its own traps. Get the Statutory Residence Test wrong, mistime a sale or move money home carelessly and HMRC takes a slice of everything you worked for. Plan the exit before you book the flight.
Three tools for the three most expensive mistakes Gulf expats make.
Offshore savings plans, offshore bonds and Gulf buy-to-lets are sold most aggressively to expats. All three come with projections that leave out the charge structure. These calculators use the actual provider numbers.
Offshore bond vs ETFs calculator
Compare a low-cost ETF held in Interactive Brokers against a "Tax Free" offshore bond.
I model the wrapper fees, adviser costs, chargeable event income tax and withdrawal deferral. Tax saving must beat total fees to make the bond worth it.
RL360 / Zurich / Hansard fee drain
Model initial unit charges, surrender penalties, mirror fund fees and adviser commission for RL360 Quantum, Zurich Vista, Hansard Vantage and Generali Vision — then compare against direct ETF investing.
Gulf property ROI calculator
Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman purchases carry 4–7% in transaction costs before the rental yield clock starts. Model the true return — purchase costs, net yield, mortgage, exit costs — and compare it against a 7% global ETF over your hold period.
What does it actually cost when the brochure closes?
Every offshore plan, offshore bond and property pitch comes with projected returns. None of them show you the total charge in writing alongside a direct alternative. That gap is where the money goes. These tools close it.
| What you were told | What the calculator tests | What you get back |
|---|---|---|
| "This offshore savings plan is disciplined investing." | What do initial units, surrender charges, mirror fund fees and adviser commission cost over the real contract term? | Provider-source charge model versus direct ETF in a GIA or broker account. |
| "This offshore bond makes UK tax disappear." | Is it tax-free, or just expensive deferral — with income-tax treatment as a chargeable event when you return? | GIA dividend and CGT tax model versus bond charges and final chargeable event liability. |
| "UK property is safer than markets." | What is the net yield after stamp duty, Section 24, management fees, voids, repairs and selling costs? | Buy-to-let after-tax return versus a global ETF held in a GIA over the same period. |
| "You can afford the premium." | What does your actual monthly cashflow look like after all Gulf and UK commitments? | True monthly surplus, savings rate and financial pressure points — before you sign. |
The articles people read the night before a financial meeting.
Context first, calculator second. Each guide covers the specific product or situation in plain English, then links to the tool so you can go straight from understanding to modelling your own numbers.
RL360 Quantum review: is it worth it, or a fee trap?
An honest, numbers-first look at how RL360 Quantum's charges actually work — the initial-unit trap, what your adviser earned the day you signed, the surrender penalties, and whether it's ever worth keeping.
RepatriationUK Statutory Residence Test: how many days can you spend in the UK?
The test that decides whether HMRC treats you as UK tax resident — the automatic tests, the sufficient-ties rules, and a worked example showing how one extra trip home can flip your whole year.
End of ServiceHow UAE end-of-service gratuity is calculated
Why it's based on basic salary, not your package, the 21-day and 30-day bands, the two-year cap, and a worked example that shows why most people overestimate their gratuity by nearly double.
Expat Advisor ForensicsExpat Investment Plans Exposed
A forensic look at RL360 Quantum, Zurich Vista, Hansard Vantage and Generali Vision, with the real numbers, the real commissions, and what to actually do if you're already in one.
ETF InvestingHow to invest in VWRA from the Gulf
Why VWRA is the right fund, why Interactive Brokers is the right platform, how to get your money there from whichever GCC country you're in, and how often to invest based on your monthly savings.
All twenty-two calculators. No registration, no upsell.
The forensic tools are listed first because they're usually the most urgent. Everything runs in your browser — open one, enter your numbers, close it. Nothing is stored anywhere.
The questions worth Googling before you agree to anything.
Honest answers to the things Gulf expats search for after a financial meeting — usually late at night, when the brochure is still on the table.
Are RL360 Quantum, Zurich Vista and Hansard Vantage offshore plans worth the fees?
For most Gulf expats, the answer is no once the full charge structure is modelled. Initial units (typically the first 18–24 months of premiums) are charged at 100%, surrender penalties run for up to 10 years, mirror fund charges add 1–2% annually and adviser commissions compound on top. The fee drain calculator uses provider KFD and brochure data to model the exact cost versus investing the same amounts directly in a low-cost UCITS ETF.
Are offshore bonds tax-free for UK expats returning home?
Usually tax-deferred rather than tax-free. Gains inside an offshore bond accumulate free of UK tax during the deferral period, but the full gain is assessed to income tax as a chargeable event when the bond matures or is surrendered after you become UK resident again. The offshore bond calculator compares this tax treatment and all wrapper fees against a low-cost GIA using 2026/27 HMRC rates.
Which expat calculators should I use first?
Start with the budget calculator to establish your true monthly investable surplus — it pre-loads into the other tools. Then choose based on the decision in front of you: the fee drain calculator if you have been shown an offshore savings plan; the offshore bond calculator if comparing bonds and GIAs; or the buy-to-let calculator if you are considering UK property.
Does ExpatMoneyMatters provide regulated financial advice?
No. The site provides educational calculators and independent research. It is designed to help UK expats understand the numbers before taking regulated financial, tax or legal advice from a qualified adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
What is end-of-service gratuity and how does it affect my retirement planning?
End-of-service gratuity (EOSG) is a statutory lump-sum from Gulf employers calculated at 21 days basic pay per year for the first five years of service and 30 days per year thereafter. The retirement planner combines your ETF portfolio projection, estimated EOSG entitlement and UK property equity into a single unified 20-year net worth view.
Run it before you sign.
Pick the product in front of you, enter the numbers from the brochure, and compare it against the direct alternative. The result is the conversation no sales meeting will have with you.