Tax guides by country

Andorra

2026

Andorra caps personal income tax at 10% — one of the lowest ceilings in Europe. The first EUR 24,000 of general income is tax-free, the next EUR 16,000 costs 5%, and only income above EUR 40,000 pays the full 10%. Savings income enjoys its own EUR 3,000 exemption, dividends from Andorran companies are exempt entirely, and there is no wealth, inheritance or gift tax.

Argentina

2026

Argentina taxes residents on worldwide income at 5-35%, with every threshold re-indexed twice a year against inflation. Dividends settle at a flat 7%, listed local shares trade tax-free, and financial gains pay 15% — but an annual wealth tax (gliding down toward 0.25% by 2027) sits on top, and employees lose 17% to social security before income tax starts. There is no federal inheritance tax; only Buenos Aires Province charges one.

Australia

2026

Australia taxes residents on worldwide income through five brackets topping out at 45%, plus a 2% Medicare levy — but adds a further advantage with a tax-free first AUD 18,200, a 50% discount on capital gains held over a year, dividend franking credits that are refundable in cash, and no inheritance tax at all. Retirement saving runs through the superannuation system, where employers must pay 12% of salary into your fund and the money is taxed at concessional rates.

Austria

2026

Austria runs seven income tax brackets up to 55% — but softens the blow in ways outsiders miss: the 13th and 14th monthly salaries most employees receive are taxed at just 6%, investment income settles at a flat 27.5%, crypto swaps are tax-neutral, and there has been no inheritance or gift tax since 2008. Brackets rise with inflation automatically, a rarity in Europe.

Bahrain

2026

Bahrain charges no personal income tax at all — salaries, investment income, capital gains and inheritances are untaxed whether earned locally or abroad. What residents actually pay is narrow: social insurance on salary (8% for Bahrainis, 1% for expatriates), 10% value added tax (VAT) on spending, and one-off property fees. There is no annual tax return for individuals.

Belgium

2026

Belgium pairs some of Europe's heaviest taxes on work — 50% from just €51,070, plus municipal surcharges and uncapped 13.07% social security — with a historically gentle touch on capital: no wealth tax, dividends at a flat 30%, and until 2025 no general capital gains tax at all. That era just ended: from 1 January 2026 a 10% tax applies to gains on shares, funds and crypto above a €10,000 yearly allowance. Inheritance tax is a regional affair, with three regions running three different tariffs.

Belize

2026

Belize keeps personal tax simple and low: employment income is either exempt — everything up to BZD 29,000 a year since January 2025 — or taxed at a flat 25% after generous reliefs. There is no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and no wealth tax. Self-employed people pay a small percentage of gross receipts instead of income tax, and the Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) programme exempts foreign income for retirees who join.

Bulgaria

2026

Bulgaria enters the euro era with the European Union's simplest tax deal intact: a flat 10% on income, 5% on dividends, 0% on European-exchange share gains and bank interest, and no tax at all on what spouses and children inherit. Social charges are light too — 13.78% for employees, capped at just over EUR 2,100 of monthly pay.

Canada

2026

Canada layers federal tax (14% to 33% in 2026, with a newly cut bottom rate) on top of provincial taxes that push combined top rates past 53% in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. The softeners are real: only half of capital gains are taxed, a CAD 1,275,000 (2026, indexation resumed) lifetime exemption covers small-business and farm sales, homes sell tax-free, and there is no inheritance tax — death instead triggers a deemed sale of your assets.

Chile

2026

Chile taxes residents on worldwide income through a 0-40% scale — but hands newcomers a 3-year window in which only Chilean income counts, and taxes stock-market gains at a flat 10%. Property sellers get a lifetime shield of 8,000 inflation-indexed units of gain, foreign pensions arrive tax-free, and the inheritance tax runs 1-35% depending on kinship and size.

Colombia

2026

Colombia taxes residents on worldwide income through seven bands reaching 39%, with every threshold written in tax value units (UVT — COP 52,374 in 2026). Investors get a separate flat 15% on gains from assets held 2 years, heirs pay that same 15% instead of any inheritance tax, and wealth above roughly COP 3.8 billion attracts an annual 0.5-1.5% net worth tax. A December 2025 emergency decree that would have tightened the wealth tax was struck down in January 2026.

Costa Rica

2026

Costa Rica taxes only what is earned inside Costa Rica: foreign salaries, pensions, dividends and gains are outside the net entirely. Local employment income is settled by a final monthly withholding of up to 25% — most employees never file — while capital income and gains pay a flat 15%. There is no inheritance, gift or wealth tax; the one boutique charge is a solidarity tax on homes worth over CRC 143 million.

Croatia

2026

Croatia lets its cities set the income tax: you pay between 15% and 23% on income up to EUR 60,000 and 25–33% above, depending on where you live. Investors get gentler terms — 12% on dividends and financial gains with full exemption after 2 years — under-30s get their tax bill halved or wiped, and returning Croatian emigrants pay no income tax on salaries for 5 years.

Cyprus

2026

Cyprus rebuilt its tax system on 1 January 2026 and kept its expat superpowers intact: no tax on the first EUR 22,000, no capital gains tax outside local real estate, no inheritance tax, and a non-dom regime that strips dividend and interest charges down to a capped 2.65% health contribution for 17 years. New residents on EUR 55,000+ salaries can halve their taxable pay for 17 years, and crypto gains now have their own flat 8% rate.

Czech Republic

2026

The Czech Republic runs one of Europe's simplest personal systems: 15% on almost everything, 23% only above CZK 1.76 million, no inheritance tax, no gift tax within the family, and generous exemptions that let long-term investors — in shares since 2026 without any cap, and in crypto up to CZK 40 million a year — sell entirely tax-free after a 3-year hold.

Denmark

2026

Denmark's famously high taxes got a redesign in 2026: the old top tax split into three tiers, so marginal rates now step up gently — about 42% for most, 52% above DKK 641,200, 56% above 777,900 and roughly 60.5% only beyond DKK 2.6 million (all including the flat 8% labour-market contribution). In exchange: almost no separate social security, a 27% flat regime for arriving researchers and high earners, and spouses who inherit completely tax-free.

Ecuador

2026

Ecuador taxes residents on worldwide income through ten bands reaching 37% — but hands qualifying newcomers a 5-year window in which only Ecuadorian income counts, exempts foreign income already taxed abroad, and leaves savings interest tax-free. Everything runs in US dollars. Dividends settle at a flat 12%, and the inheritance tax climbs to 35% with children paying half rates.

El Salvador

2026

El Salvador runs a dollar-based territorial system: foreign income is simply outside the net, local income climbs a short 0-30% scale with the first USD 6,600 free, and capital gains pay a flat 10% — with property held over 6 years and exchange-traded securities exempt entirely. Bitcoin gains stay tax-free even after the 2025 reform made acceptance voluntary, and there is no inheritance tax.

Estonia

2026

Estonia runs the tidiest tax system in Europe: one 22% flat rate, a basic exemption that from 2026 is a simple EUR 8,400 for everyone, dividends that arrive tax-free because the company already paid, and no inheritance or gift taxes at all. Investors can defer everything — shares, funds, even crypto — through the investment-account wrapper, and returns are famously pre-filled in minutes.

Finland

2026

Finland runs a dual income tax: earned income climbs a state scale to 37.5% plus flat municipal (4.7%–10.9%) and church taxes — a top marginal around 55% with contributions — while all capital income sits at 30%, rising to 34% only above €30,000. Dividend taxation is famously nuanced (quoted, unquoted and the 8%-yield rule all differ), the new 25% key-employee rate is a notable expatriate concession, and a tax-free share investment account shelters up to €100,000.

France

2026

France runs two tax worlds side by side. Salaries and pensions climb progressive bands of up to 45% — softened by the family-quotient system that splits income across household members — while nearly all investment income settles at a single flat tax of 31.4% (12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social charges). High earners face surcharges and a 20% minimum rate, property owners meet a real-estate wealth tax, and inbound professionals get one of Europe's better expat regimes for up to 8 years.

Georgia

2026

Georgia runs one of the simplest personal tax systems anywhere: a flat 20% on income earned in the country, with foreign-source income of residents generally untaxed. Registered small entrepreneurs can pay just 1% of turnover, dividends and interest are settled with a 5% final deduction, and there is no wealth, estate or general capital gains regime layered on top.

Germany

2026

Germany pairs a smooth progressive income tax — rates glide from 14% to 45% rather than jumping in steps — with a simple flat 25% on investment income and famously generous income splitting for couples. The catch is what sits alongside: nearly 21% employee social insurance, a solidarity surcharge for higher earners, and church tax for registered members.

Greece

2026

Greece pairs a steep-looking 44% top rate with some of Europe's most aggressive relocation deals: a EUR 100,000 flat charge for the wealthy, a 7% rate for foreign pensioners and a 50% income-tax discount for incoming workers. From 2026 the ordinary scale was rebuilt around families — middle-band rates now fall with each dependent child, and workers under 26 pay nothing on their first EUR 20,000.

Hong Kong

2026

Hong Kong taxes only what arises in Hong Kong — and even then, gently. Salaries tax tops out at effectively 15–16%, dividends and capital gains are simply not taxed, there is no value added tax, no wealth tax and no inheritance tax. Offshore income stays untouched even when remitted, which is why the territory remains Asia's classic low-tax base for professionals.

Hungary

2026

Hungary runs Europe's simplest headline system — a flat 15% on almost everything — and then hands out sweeping exemptions by family status: under-25s pay nothing, mothers of two (under 40) pay nothing from 2026, and family allowances just doubled. The catch is the 13% social tax that quietly rides on top of interest, dividends and benefits, and an 18.5% employee social contribution on pay.

Indonesia

2026

Indonesia taxes residents on worldwide income across five bands from 5% to 35%, but much of what investors earn is settled by tiny final taxes instead: 0.1% on listed-share sales, 0.21% on crypto trades through licensed exchanges, and 10% on dividends you choose not to reinvest. There is no inheritance tax, and qualifying expat specialists can run 4 years on Indonesian-source income only.

Ireland

2026

Ireland runs a two-rate income tax — 20% then 40% — softened by generous tax credits, with a separate Universal Social Charge and social insurance stacked on top. For internationals, the headline draws are the remittance basis for non-domiciled residents and a 30% salary exemption for assigned executives.

Italy

2026

Italy taxes residents on their worldwide income through three national bands of 23%, 33% and 43%, with regional and municipal add-ons pushing the real top rate toward 45–47%. Most investment income is settled separately at a flat 26%, and a famous menu of newcomer regimes — a 50% salary exemption for inbound workers, a €300,000 lump-sum deal for the wealthy, and a 7% rate for retirees heading south — keeps Italy on every relocation shortlist.

Japan

2026

Japan's income tax stacks three layers — a 5–45% national scale, a 2.1% reconstruction surtax on it, and a flat 10% local inhabitant tax — reaching about 56% at the top. Investors live in a gentler world: listed dividends and share gains pay a flat 20.315%, and the expanded Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) shelters up to JPY 18 million for life. The counterweight is one of the world's toughest inheritance taxes, up to 55%.

Latvia

2026

Latvia's system pivots on one number: EUR 105,300. Below it you pay 25.5% on earnings; above it 33%, plus a 25% solidarity tax replacing capped social contributions, plus a 3% surcharge once total income passes EUR 200,000. Investors do better — most dividends arrive exempt because the company already paid, and remote workers on Latvia's digital-nomad visa can lock in 15%.

Lithuania

2026

Lithuania rebuilt its income tax for 2026: a three-tier 20/25/32% scale now covers salaries and most income, while dividends — and other non-employment income up to 12 average wages a year — keep a flat 15% outside the combined scale.

Luxembourg

2026

Luxembourg's tax system is built for its cross-border workforce and fund industry: 23 income tax brackets rising to 42% (45.78% with the employment-fund surcharge), a 15% dividend withholding with half of qualifying dividends exempt, and a quietly generous rule that private capital gains on shares and crypto vanish entirely after 6 months' holding. Spouses and children inherit largely tax-free, and an impatriate regime exempts half of a relocation premium worth up to €400,000.

Malaysia

2026

Malaysia taxes residents on a gentle 0-30% ladder and then leaves most wealth alone: individuals pay no capital gains tax outside real property, dividends arrive tax-paid with only a 2% charge above MYR 100,000 a year, and there is no inheritance tax at all. Foreign income brought into the country is exempt until the end of 2036 provided it was taxed where it arose.

Malta

2026

Malta runs a remittance system inherited from the British: residents who are not Maltese-domiciled pay tax only on Maltese income and on foreign income they bring in — and foreign capital gains stay tax-free even if remitted. Add no inheritance tax, no wealth tax, no annual property tax and a 0–35% scale whose tax-free band now stretches to EUR 22,500 for married parents, and the appeal to movers is obvious.

Mauritius

2026

Mauritius pairs a gentle 0-10-20% income tax with two standing gifts to investors: no capital gains tax at all, and tax-free dividends from Mauritian companies. Residents are taxed on foreign income only when they bring it into the country, estates pass with no inheritance tax, and social charges are a slim 1.5-3%. New for 2025/26: high earners above MUR 12 million pay a temporary 15% Fair Share Contribution.

Mexico

2026

Mexico's income tax climbs slowly to 35%, but the system is full of side doors: small businesses can pay just 1–2.5% of turnover under the simplified trust regime (RESICO), stock-market gains carry a flat 10%, selling your home is exempt up to about MXN 6 million, and inheritances and family gifts are entirely tax-free. Employee social security barely registers — the employer pays nearly all of it.

Monaco

2026

Monaco abolished income tax in 1869 and never brought it back: salaries, investments, capital gains, crypto and wealth are all untaxed, for residents and non-residents of every nationality — except the French, whom a 1963 treaty keeps inside French taxation. What exists instead: social contributions of roughly 13% (approximate — rates and ceilings vary by scheme and worker category) for employees, a 25% profits tax on businesses earning over a quarter of turnover abroad, and an inheritance tax of 0-16% that touches only Monaco-situated assets passing outside the direct family.

Montenegro

2026

Montenegro is one of Europe's lowest-rate tax systems: salaries are tax-free up to EUR 700 a month, then pay just 9% and 15%, capital income settles at a flat 15%, and employee social security is only 10.5% — with no health charge since 2022 and almost no employer contributions since late 2024 (a 0.5% unemployment share remains). Old-age pensions are exempt, main-home sales are untaxed, and inheritance tax (3-6%) touches only Montenegrin real estate passing outside the close family.

Netherlands

2026

The Netherlands sorts your income into three boxes and taxes each by its own logic: salaries climb to 49.5% in Box 1, stakes of 5%+ in a company pay 24.5%–31% in Box 2, and everything you own — savings, shares, crypto, a second home — is taxed in Box 3 not on what it actually earned but on a deemed return, at a flat 36%. Add the famous 30% ruling that makes almost a third of a newcomer's salary tax-free, and Dutch taxation rewards those who understand the boxes.

New Zealand

2026

New Zealand runs one of the developed world's cleanest systems: five income tax rates topping out at 39%, no general capital gains tax, no social security contributions, no inheritance tax and no gift duty. The traps are targeted — residential property flipped within 2 years is taxed, and crypto profits are usually ordinary income because the tax office assumes you bought to sell.

Norway

2026

Norway's system is two taxes stacked: a flat 22% on net 'general income' of every kind, plus a bracket tax of up to 17.8% on gross salary and pension income — a top marginal of 47.4% once the 7.6% national insurance is counted. Dividends and share gains are grossed up by 1.72 (an effective 37.84%), an annual wealth tax of about 1% starts at NOK 1.9 million, and the exit tax on unrealised share gains has become one of Europe's strictest.

Panama

2026

Panama taxes only what is earned in Panama: foreign salaries, dividends, gains and pensions are generally outside the system, subject to the source-of-income rules. Local income runs a short 0-15-25% scale with the first PAB 11,000 free, bank interest is exempt, capital gains pay a flat 10%, and there is no inheritance, gift or wealth tax at all — the balboa's 1:1 dollar peg keeps everything in familiar numbers.

Peru

2026

Peru splits the world in two: income from work climbs a 8-30% scale after a tax-free slice of 7 tax units (PEN 38,500 in 2026), while income from capital — rent, interest, gains — settles at an effective 5%. Dividends take 5% at source, bank-deposit interest is exempt through 2026, pensions are tax-free, and there is no wealth, inheritance or gift tax at all.

Philippines

2026

The Philippines runs a 0-35% income tax with the first PHP 250,000 free, and it treats foreign residents unusually well: a resident alien pays Philippine tax only on Philippine income, never on earnings from abroad. A 2025 capital-markets law cut the stock-trade tax to 0.1%, estates and gifts pay a flat 6%, and small self-employed earners can settle everything with an 8% flat tax.

Poland

2026

Poland's headline scale looks gentle — 12% up to PLN 120,000, then 32% — but the real story is in the side doors: a flat 19% option for business owners, lump-sum rates as low as 3% on turnover, complete income-tax exemption for workers under 26, and a four-year exemption of PLN 85,529 a year for people moving their tax residence in. On top sit a 4% solidarity tax for millionaires and a 9% health charge that behaves like a second income tax.

Portugal

2026

Portugal taxes residents on what they earn worldwide, using nine progressive bands topped by a solidarity charge on high incomes. Most investment income is settled at flat rates instead, and a set of newcomer regimes — led by the 20% IFICI incentive — is why so many mobile professionals shortlist the country.

Qatar

2026

Qatar charges no tax on salaries, wages, pensions or personal investment income — for locals and expatriates alike. The only individuals who pay income tax are those running a business, at 10% under company-style rules, and Qatari and Gulf Cooperation Council nationals are exempt even from that. There are no inheritance, gift or wealth taxes, and social security touches only Qatari and Gulf nationals.

Romania

2026

Romania keeps one of Europe's lowest headline income taxes — a flat 10% — but 2026 marks the end of its ultra-cheap investor era: dividends now cost 16%, crypto and off-market gains 16%, and even broker-withheld share gains doubled to 3–6%. The real weight sits in social charges: employees hand over 35% of gross pay in social contributions (pension and health — before the 10% income tax) in contributions before the 10% tax even starts.

Saudi Arabia

2026

Saudi Arabia levies no tax on salaries, wages or personal investment income — for Saudis and expatriates alike. Tax enters only through business: non-Saudi individuals running a business pay 20% under company rules, while Saudi and Gulf nationals pay the religious Zakat levy of 2.5% instead. There are no inheritance, gift or wealth taxes; the costs that do exist are transaction-side — a 5% real estate transaction tax, expat residency levies, and social insurance for Saudi employees.

Singapore

2026

Singapore keeps personal tax famously light: progressive rates that only reach 24% at the very top, no capital gains tax, no tax on dividends from Singapore companies, and no inheritance tax. The trade-off for locals is the Central Provident Fund — a hefty compulsory savings scheme that foreigners are excluded from entirely.

Slovakia

2026

Slovakia's famous flat tax is now firmly history: the 2026 consolidation package added 30% and 35% brackets on top of the 19/25% scale, and pushed the employee health charge to 5% with no ceiling.

Slovenia

2026

The proposed 25% crypto-disposal tax lapsed in parliament without enactment — occasional private disposals remain untaxed.

South Africa

2026

South Africa taxes residents on their worldwide income through a seven-band scale running from 18% to 45%. There is no zero band — rebates knock the first slice of tax off your bill instead, so income up to ZAR 99,000 is effectively tax-free if you are under 65. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) collects monthly through employers and squares everything up in an annual assessment.

South Korea

2026

South Korea's income tax climbs to 45% — 49.5% counting the 10% local surtax — but investors are treated far more gently: minority holders of listed shares pay no capital gains tax at all, crypto gains stay untaxed until at least 2027, and financial income under KRW 20 million settles at a 15.4% withholding. The heavyweight is the 10–50% inheritance and gift tax with famously modest allowances.

Spain

2026

Spain taxes residents on worldwide income through a two-part system: a general scale reaching 47% (your region sets half of it, so the true top rate varies by where you live) and a separate savings scale of 19%–30% for dividends, interest and capital gains. Add a wealth tax with a €3-million solidarity backstop, steep but heavily region-dependent inheritance tax, and the famous Beckham regime capping inbound workers at 24%, and location within Spain matters almost as much as moving there.

Sweden

2026

Sweden splits income into two worlds: salaries pay municipal tax of about 32% plus 20% national tax above SEK 643,000 — a top marginal near 52% — while everything from dividends to crypto sits in a flat 30% capital box. Employees barely notice social security (their 7% pension premium is fully credited back), inheritance and wealth taxes were abolished long ago, and the popular investment savings account now taxes nothing on the first SEK 300,000.

Switzerland

2026

Switzerland taxes income three times — federal, cantonal, municipal — yet stays famously competitive: the federal layer is capped at 11.5% by the constitution, and everything above that depends on which of the 26 cantons you pick. Private investors pay no capital gains tax on shares or crypto, dividends arrive with a refundable 35% withholding, wealth tax is real but modest, and spouses inherit tax-free everywhere. Canton choice can double or halve your total bill.

Thailand

2026

Thailand runs a 0-35% progressive income tax, but what makes it a magnet for mobile money sits around the edges: foreign income is only taxed when you bring it into the country, gains on Thai-listed shares are exempt, crypto sold through licensed Thai exchanges is tax-free until the end of 2029, and social security tops out at THB 875 a month. Inheritance tax only starts above THB 100 million per heir.

Turkey

2026

Turkey taxes residents on worldwide income at 15-40%, but inflation-indexed thresholds and wide exemptions soften the bite: pay up to the minimum wage is tax-free for everyone, half of dividends are exempt, property gains vanish after 5 years and quoted shares after 1 year. Inheritance tax is a gentle 1-10%, and crypto still waits for its first dedicated tax.

United Arab Emirates

2026

The United Arab Emirates charges no personal income tax at all — no tax on salaries, investments, capital gains, inheritances or wealth. What exists instead sits at the edges: a corporate tax that can reach individuals who run a business above AED 1 million turnover, municipal housing fees, and a pension scheme that applies to Emirati nationals only.

United Kingdom

2026

The United Kingdom runs a three-band income tax with a generous tax-free personal allowance, separate National Insurance on earnings, and its own rate schedules for dividends and capital gains. For newcomers, the story changed in 2025: the old non-dom regime is gone, replaced by a clean 4-year exemption on foreign income and gains for new arrivals.

United States

2026

The United States is the only major economy that taxes by citizenship: citizens and green-card holders owe federal tax on worldwide income wherever they live, softened abroad by a $132,900 foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credits. At home, seven federal brackets run from 10% to 37%, investment income enjoys preferential 0/15/20% rates, and the estate tax now ignores the first $15 million per person. States then add their own layer — from nothing in Texas or Florida to 13.3% in California.

Uruguay

2026

Uruguay taxes what happens in Uruguay: work income climbs a 0-36% scale, capital income settles at a flat 12% (dividends 7%), and foreign work income stays out of reach — though from 2026 foreign capital income and gains pay 12% — new residents can even lock in an 11-year holiday on foreign investment income. There is no inheritance or gift tax, and the wealth tax starts at just 0.1% above a threshold.

Vietnam

2026

Vietnam rewrote its income tax for 2026: five bands now run from 5% to 35% on monthly income, the tax-free personal deduction jumped to VND 15.5 million a month, and most investment income settles at flat transaction rates — 0.1% on share sales, 0.1% on crypto transfers, 2% on property prices and 5% on dividends. Bank deposit interest stays completely tax-free.