Income tax by country — headline rates

Cross-country comparison of headline income tax rates. Draft-status country pages are excluded until figures are cross-checked.

See the full 65-country comparison table →

Rank	Country	Headline rate	Composition
#1	Denmark	≈ 60.5%	Municipal ~25% + state tiers (12.01/7.5/7.5/5%) capped at 57.07%, plus the 8% labour-market contribution — stepping from ~42% to ~60.5% marginal.
#2	Japan	≈ 56%	National 5–45% plus the 2.1% reconstruction surtax and a flat 10% inhabitant tax — 55.945% combined at the top.
#3	Austria	55%	50% above €104,859; the 55% band starts only at €1 million (legislated through 2029). No local income taxes.
4	Finland	≈ 55%	State tax to 37.5% above €52,100 + municipal 4.7%–10.9% + optional church tax — roughly 55% top marginal once contributions are counted.
5	Sweden	≈ 52%	Municipal tax (avg 32.38%) on all earned income plus 20% national tax above SEK 643,000 — no national tax at all below that line.
6	Belgium	50%	50% above €51,070 — one of Europe's lowest top-rate thresholds — plus municipal surcharges averaging about 7% of the tax.
7	Slovenia	50%	Five brackets from 16% to 50% (above EUR 82,346 in 2026) on active income; passive income sits outside at flat rates.
8	Netherlands	49.5%	Top Box 1 rate above €78,426; the first band's 35.75% bundles 27.65% of national insurance with 8.1% of income tax.
9	South Korea	49.5%	Eight brackets from 6% to 45%, plus local income tax at 10% of the bill — 49.5% all-in at the top.
10	Portugal	48%	Top band 48% above €86,634; a solidarity charge adds 2.5% over €80,000 and 5% over €250,000.
11	Norway	47.4%	22% flat on net income + bracket tax up to 17.8% on gross salary above NOK 1,467,200 + 7.6% national insurance.
12	Spain	47%	Standard combined scale tops at 47% above €300,000; regions set their own half of the scale, so the real top rate depends on where in Spain you live.
13	Australia	45%	45% above AUD 190,000, plus the 2% Medicare levy — a 47% top marginal rate (48.5% without private health insurance at high incomes).
14	France	45%	45% above €181,917 per household part, plus 3–4% surcharges over €250,000/€500,000 and a 20% minimum effective rate at those levels; social charges of 9.7% apply to salary separately.
15	Germany	45%	Progressive glide from 14% to 42% at €69,879, 45% above €277,825; solidarity surcharge adds 5.5% of the tax for higher earners.
16	South Africa	45%	Single national scale — no provincial or municipal income taxes. Capital gains feed into the same scale at a 40% inclusion rate.
17	United Kingdom	45%	45% above £125,140; 40% from £50,270; National Insurance adds up to 8% on top — and the personal allowance tapers away above £100,000.
18	Greece	44%	Progressive 9–44% with no local income taxes and no solidarity surcharge; middle-band rates drop with each dependent child.
19	Italy	43%	National top band 43% above €50,000; regional (1.23%–3.33%) and municipal (up to 0.9%) surcharges lift the true top rate to roughly 45–47% depending on where you live.
20	Luxembourg	42% (45.78% marginal)	42% above €234,870, plus a 7%–9% employment-fund surcharge on the tax — a 45.78% true top marginal rate — and a 1.4% dependency contribution.
21	Chile	40%	Eight bands from 0% to 40%, written in annual tax units; the top rate starts above 310 units — about CLP 259 million.
22	Ireland	40%	40% above €44,000 (single), plus Universal Social Charge up to 8% and 4.2% social insurance — a top marginal stack around 52%.
23	Turkey	40%	Five bands from 15% to 40% above TRY 5.3 million; employment income enjoys a wider 27% band (to TRY 1.5 million) and the minimum-wage exemption.
24	Colombia	39%	Seven bands from 0% to 39%, all set in tax value units; the top rate starts above 31,000 units — about COP 1.6 billion.
25	New Zealand	39%	Five rates from 10.5% to 39% above NZD 180,000 — with no social security on top, just a ~1.4% accident levy.
26	Ecuador	37%	Ten bands from 0% to 37%; the top rate starts above USD 109,956 and there are no surcharges.
27	United States	37%	37% federal above $640,600 (single) / $768,700 (joint); state income taxes add 0–13%+ and vary — figures shown are federal.
28	Uruguay	36%	Work income climbs eight bands from 0% to 36%; capital income never enters the scale — it pays flat 12%.
29	Argentina	35%	Nine bands from 5% to 35%, re-indexed semi-annually; generous employee allowances push the real tax-free line to roughly ARS 30 million.
30	Cyprus	35%	Progressive 0–35% from 2026, with the 0% band at EUR 22,000 and the top rate only above EUR 72,000; a 2.65% capped health contribution runs alongside.
31	Indonesia	35%	Five bands from 5% to 35%; the top rate starts above IDR 5 billion and there are no surcharges.
32	Malta	35%	Progressive 0–35% with no social surcharges on top; the 35% starts at EUR 60,000 for everyone, but the 0% band depends on family status.
33	Mexico	35%	Eleven brackets from 1.92% to 35% (above MXN 5.1 million in 2026); no state income taxes on top for individuals.
34	Philippines	35%	Six bands from 0% to 35%; the top rate starts above PHP 8 million and there are no surcharges.
35	Slovakia	35%	New for 2026: 19/25/30/35% progressive scale on employment income, plus an uncapped 5% health charge; small business income enjoys 15%.
36	Thailand	35%	Eight steps from 0% to 35%; the top rate starts above THB 5 million and there are no surcharges on top.
37	Vietnam	35%	Five bands on monthly income from 5% to 35%; the top rate starts above VND 100 million a month with no surcharges.
38	Canada	33% + province	Five federal brackets from 14% to 33%, plus provincial tax — combined top rates run from 44.5% (Nunavut) to 54.8% (Newfoundland).
39	Croatia	33%	Two bands — up to and above EUR 60,000 — with the exact rates (15–23% and 25–33%) set by each city and municipality.
40	Latvia	33%	25.5% up to EUR 105,300 and 33% above, plus a 3% surcharge on total income over EUR 200,000 — with 10.5% social contributions running alongside.
41	Lithuania	32%	New 2026 scale: 20% to EUR 83,237, 25% to EUR 138,729, 32% above — with 19.5% employee social contributions alongside.
42	Poland	32%	Two brackets — 12% and 32% above PLN 120,000 — plus a 4% solidarity tax over PLN 1 million and a 9% health charge collected separately.
43	El Salvador	30%	Four bands reaching 30% above USD 22,857, each pairing a statutory fixed quota with a rate on the excess — Salvadorean-source income only, with the bill capped at 30% of taxable income.
44	Malaysia	30%	Ten steps from 0% to 30%; the top rate starts above MYR 2 million and non-residents pay a flat 30%.
45	Peru	30%	Work and foreign income climb five bands from 8% to 30%; capital income sits outside the scale at an effective 5%.
46	Belize	25%	Single flat national rate on employment income above the exempt zone. No municipal income taxes, no surcharges.
47	Costa Rica	25%	Employment income: monthly withholding scale to 25%. Self-employment: annual scale to 25%. Only Costa Rican-source income counts.
48	Panama	25%	Three bands — 0%, 15% and 25% — with the top rate starting above PAB 50,000; only Panamanian-source income counts.
49	Singapore	24%	Progressive 0–24%; the top rate only starts above SGD 1 million, and there are no social charges on top for foreigners.
50	Czech Republic	23%	Flat 15% for most people; 23% only on income above 3 times the average wage — CZK 1,762,812 in 2026.
51	Estonia	22%	One flat 22% on salaries, business income and gains — after a universal EUR 8,400 exemption, with employee social charges of just 1.6–7.6%.
52	Georgia	20%	Single flat national rate on Georgian-source income. No progressive scale, no municipal income taxes.
53	Mauritius	20%	Three bands — 0%, 10% and 20% above MUR 1 million of chargeable income — plus the temporary 15% Fair Share Contribution above MUR 12 million.
54	Hong Kong	15% / 17%	Progressive 2–17% on income after allowances, but never more than the 15%/16% standard rate on income before allowances — whichever is lower wins.
55	Hungary	15%	A true flat personal income tax (szja) — 15% on salaries, rents and most income — with an 18.5% employee social contribution alongside and huge family-status exemptions.
56	Montenegro	15%	Three bands — 0%, 9% and 15% above EUR 1,000 a month — plus a municipal surtax of 13-15% of the tax.
57	Switzerland	11.5% federal (+ canton)	The constitution caps the federal tax at 11.5%; cantonal and municipal taxes come on top and vary widely — total top rates run from about 22% (Zug) to about 45% (Geneva).
58	Andorra	10%	National tax only, capped at 10%. Three bands: 0% to EUR 24,000, 5% to EUR 40,000, 10% above.
59	Bulgaria	10%	A true flat tax — 10% on salaries, freelance income and rents, with fixed cost deductions instead of allowances; sole traders pay 15%.
60	Romania	10%	Flat 10% on salaries, business income and rents — but 35% of gross pay goes to social contributions first, and unexplained income is taxed at 70%.
61	Bahrain	0%	No personal income tax exists — no national, municipal or emirate-style levy on individual earnings of any kind.
62	Monaco	0%	No personal income tax on any salary or investment income; only business activity with over 25% foreign turnover meets the 25% profits tax.
63	Qatar	0% / 10%	No tax on employment or personal income; business and professional profits pay a flat 10% under corporate-style rules.
64	Saudi Arabia	0% / 20%	No tax on employment or personal income; business profits of non-Saudi individuals pay a flat 20%, and Saudi/Gulf nationals' businesses pay 2.5% Zakat instead.
65	United Arab Emirates	0%	No personal income tax on any salary, at any level; only business activity above AED 1m turnover meets the corporate regime.

Headline rates only. Effective burdens depend on brackets, allowances, surcharges, residency and regime elections — see each country guide for detail. Updated 2026-07-11.