Income tax rates in Europe vary significantly and reflect diverse approaches to funding public services, with countries that impose higher top marginal tax rates often supporting extensive social welfare systems, while those with lower rates may prioritize competitiveness or maintain less comprehensive programs.
This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, displays the top statutory personal income tax rate of 36 European countries.
European countries typically utilize a progressive tax system, where higher income brackets are taxed at higher rates, and the top rate applies only to income above a specified threshold. These represent the highest personal income tax rates of each European country.
The data is sourced from the European Commission and PwC via Tax Foundation (as of February 2024), featuring combined central and sub-central top personal income tax rates and surtaxes. Social security contributions are not included.
Which European Countries Tax Top Earners Most?
Below, we present the top statutory personal income tax rate for 36 major European countries.
| Country | Top Statutory Personal Income Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 55.0% |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 53.5% |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 10.0% |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 35.4% |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 35.0% |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 23.0% |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 55.9% |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 20.0% |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 51.4% |
| 🇫🇷 France | 55.4% |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | 20.0% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 47.5% |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 44.0% |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 15.0% |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | 46.3% |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 48.0% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 47.3% |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | 31.0% |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 32.0% |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 45.8% |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | 35.0% |
| 🇲🇩 Moldova | 12.0% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 49.5% |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 39.6% |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 36.0% |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 53.0% |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 10.0% |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 25.0% |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 50.0% |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 54.0% |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 52.3% |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 39.5% |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | 40.8% |
| 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 19.5% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 45.0% |
Within European OECD countries, the average top statutory personal income tax rate stands at 42.8%.
Denmark (55.9%), France (55.4%), and Austria (55%) boast the highest rates, whereas Hungary (15%), Estonia (20%), and the Czech Republic (23%) feature the lowest.
Typically, European countries outside the OECD exhibit lower top tax rates and often operate under a flat tax system. Bulgaria and Romania hold the lowest rate at 10%, followed by Moldova (12%), Ukraine (19.5%), and Georgia (20%).
Scandinavian nations, known for their comprehensive social safety nets and public funding for services like universal healthcare, higher education, and parental leave, also impose relatively high personal income tax rates.
Denmark is implementing significant changes to its personal income tax system set to take effect in 2026, potentially impacting the country’s top earners substantially.
Under the new three-tier tax structure, high-income earners in Denmark earning over DKK 2,588,300 may encounter a total marginal tax rate of up to 60.5%. Denmark ranks sixth globally for countries with the highest wealth per person in both average and median wealth measurements.
To explore more about taxation across different countries, refer to this graphic depicting major economies’ tax-to-GDP ratios.
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