Country Comparison · Updated June 2026
Corporate & Personal Tax Rates by Country
Corporate vs personal rates tell you who a system wants you to be: Ireland (12.5% corporate vs 48% top personal) and Estonia (0% on retained profits vs 22% flat personal) practically beg for incorporation; the US (21% federal corporate vs 37% top personal + state) rewards it selectively; France and Germany tax both sides hard enough that structure matters less than residence.
For mobile professionals the actionable pattern is the gap: where corporate rates sit 20+ points below personal ones and dividend taxation is civilised, contractor-via-company structures (Estonian OÜ, Irish Ltd, US S-corp) convert labour income into lower-taxed flows – legally, with substance requirements that 2026 enforcement actually checks.
Country comparison tool · 2026
Take-home on your salary
–
| Metric | A | B |
|---|
2026 estimates. Net pay combines income tax + employee social charges (US column modeled in a no-income-tax state); special expat regimes can improve the destination figure.
Key insights
Key insights
- Corp vs personal gaps: IE 12.5/48 · EE 0(retained)/22 · US 21/37+.
- Estonia's 0%-until-distribution is Europe's cleanest deferral.
- Integrated (corp+dividend) rates are the real comparison.
- Substance requirements have teeth in 2026 – structure follows life.
- S-corp/QSBS do the US-side work below the headline rates.
| Country | Effective tax + social | Net / year | Net / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | 30% | $79,180 | $6,598 |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 27% | $71,535 | $5,961 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 38% | $60,567 | $5,047 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 33% | $62,389 | $5,199 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 33% | $64,130 | $5,344 |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 29% | $63,589 | $5,299 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 31% | $54,762 | $4,564 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 35% | $58,127 | $4,844 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 22% | $78,000 | $6,500 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 28% | $72,000 | $6,000 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 26% | $74,000 | $6,167 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 12% | $88,000 | $7,333 |
The corporate-personal gaps that matter
Ireland: 12.5% trading rate vs 48%+ marginal personal – but close-company surcharges and PRSI close the naive gap; the play is retained growth, not salary substitution. Estonia/Latvia: 0% until distribution – the cleanest deferral in Europe. US: 21% + qualified-dividend rates ≈ 36–39% integrated, vs 37%+ personal – S-corps and QSBS do the real work. The table's integrated rates matter more than either headline.
Social charges hide in every comparison: European "income tax" figures without employee social contributions understate wedges by 10–20 points; US figures without the 7.65% FICA do the same. Every number on this page includes both sides' full employee burden.
What the wedge buys (and doesn't)
European wedges return visible services: healthcare without premiums, university without $200k price tags, childcare at €100–€600/month, year-long parental leave, and pensions with real replacement rates. The US wedge returns lower rates and higher variance – superb for high-earning, healthy, child-free years; expensive for everything else.
The honest framework: compute your family's actual US service costs (health premiums + deductibles, childcare, college funding, disability/life insurance you self-buy) as a percentage of income, add it to the US wedge, then compare. For median families that adjusted wedge runs 38–45% – European-grade, without the services guarantee.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which country lets you keep the most of $100k?
Among major destinations: Singapore (~88%), the US in no-tax states (~75%), the UK (~73%), Spain (~71%), the Netherlands (~67%), Germany (~62%), Belgium (~60%) – see the full gross-to-net table above. Special expat regimes (Beckham, IFICI, 30% ruling) move European answers 5–15 points.
Are European taxes really that much higher?
The wedges are higher (typically +8–15 points at $100k), but they bundle healthcare, childcare subsidies, education, and pensions that Americans buy privately. Service-adjusted, median-family burdens converge; top-earner burdens don't – the US remains the high-earner's structure.
Do these figures include social security contributions?
Yes – every figure combines income tax plus the employee's social charges (FICA in the US, NI in the UK, Sozialabgaben in Germany, etc.). Employer-side contributions are excluded consistently on both sides.
How do expat tax regimes change the picture?
Dramatically: Spain's Beckham (24% flat), Portugal's IFICI (20%), Italy's impatriati (~21.5% effective), the Dutch 30% ruling, and Croatia's nomad exemption (0%) all cut standard wedges by 5–20 points for qualifying inbound workers – the regime pages model each.
What about US citizens moving to Europe?
Citizenship-based taxation makes them pay the higher of the two systems: FTCs zero the US bill in high-tax Europe; low-tax setups leave residual IRS liability above the $132,900 FEIE. The US-expat pages on this site cover the mechanics.
Keep exploring
Related Country Comparison pages
- Family Benefits By Country
- Public vs Private Healthcare Europe
- Spain vs UK Quality Of Life
- US Expat UK Nhs Costs
- Private Health Insurance Europe
- Climate Air Quality By Country
- Pensions By Country
- Public Transit By Country
- Spain digital nomad visa requirements
- Malta digital nomad visa requirements
- Salary Conversion Cost Of Living Adjustment
- Salary needed in New York City
- San Francisco vs Denver salary equivalent
- Income Adjustment Calculator
- Boston vs Austin salary equivalent
- Index Salary Adjustment Calculator
- $120k in Austin vs San Francisco
- Salary Purchasing Power Comparison
- Salary Adjustment Formula
- Standard Of Living Calculator
- Contractor Rate From W2 Salary
- Contractor Expense Deduction Calculator
- 1099 Health Insurance Buffer
- 100 Per Hour Salary Equivalent
- Contractor Self Employment Tax
- Freelance vs Full Time Breakeven
- W2 To 1099 Rate Conversion
- Self Employed Developer Hourly Rate
- Feie Calculator
- US Citizen UK Tax Calculator
- Below Market Rent Baseline
- Rent Control vs Mortgage Stability
- Lease Renewal vs Hoa Fees
- Rent Control vs Wealth Building
- Rent Stabilization San Francisco
- Rent Controlled And Investing
- Rent Control Calculator Manhattan
- Bmr Housing vs Renting Sf
- Rent Stabilized vs Condo Breakeven
- Hidden Homeownership Costs
Plan the whole move, not just one number.
Every MovingCal tool shares the same 2026 dataset – carry your cities, salary, and countries from one calculator to the next.