Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2025
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) levy the highest top personal income tax rates in Europe.
4 min readProviding journalists, taxpayers, and policymakers with the latest data on taxes and spending is a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission.
As a nonpartisan, educational organization, the Tax Foundation has earned a reputation for independence and credibility.
Our EU tax policy team regularly provides accessible, data-driven insights from sources such as the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), and others.
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) levy the highest top personal income tax rates in Europe.
4 min readMore than 175 countries worldwide—including all major European countries—levy a value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services. EU Member States’ VAT rates vary across countries, though they’re somewhat harmonized by the EU.
5 min readSome European countries have raised their statutory corporate rates over the past year, including Czechia, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, and Slovenia.
3 min readThe method by which a country allows businesses to account for inventories can significantly impact a business’s taxable income. When prices are rising, as is usually the case due to factors like inflation, LIFO is the preferred method because it allows inventory costs to be closer to true costs at the time of sale.
2 min readOn average, European OECD countries currently levy a corporate income tax rate of 21.7 percent. This is below the worldwide average which, measured across 177 jurisdictions, was 23.9 percent in 2020.
2 min readToday’s map shows which European OECD countries implemented financial stability contributions (FSCs), commonly referred to as “bank taxes.”
2 min readProperty taxes are levied on the assets of an individual or business. There are different types of property taxes, with recurrent taxes on immovable property (such as property taxes on land and buildings) the only ones levied by all countries covered. Other types of property taxes include estate, inheritance, and gift taxes, net wealth taxes, and taxes on financial and capital transactions.
1 min readHungary relies the most on consumption tax revenue, at 45.3 percent of total tax revenue, followed by Latvia and Estonia at 45.1 percent and 42.4 percent, respectively.
2 min readSocial insurance taxes are the second largest tax revenue source in European OECD countries, at an average of 29.5 percent of total tax revenue.
2 min readDenmark relies the most on revenue from individual income taxes, at 52.4 percent of total tax revenue, followed by Iceland and Ireland at 40.8 percent and 31.5 percent, respectively.
1 min readDespite declining corporate income tax rates over the last 30 years in Europe (and other parts of the world), average revenue from corporate income taxes as a share of total tax revenue has not changed significantly compared to 1990.
1 min readBelgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom currently levy a type of financial transaction tax
2 min readValue-added taxes (VAT) make up approximately one-fifth of total tax revenues in Europe. However, European countries differ significantly in how efficiently they raise VAT revenues. One way to measure a country’s VAT efficiency is the VAT Gap.
4 min readMany countries incentivize business investment in research and development (R&D), intending to foster innovation. A common approach is to provide direct government funding for R&D activity. However, a significant number of jurisdictions also offer R&D tax incentives.
4 min readThe integrated tax rate on corporate income reflects both the corporate income tax and the dividends or capital gains tax—the total tax levied on corporate income. For dividends, Ireland’s top integrated tax rate was highest among European OECD countries, followed by France and Denmark
4 min readMore than 140 countries worldwide—including all European countries—levy a Value-Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services.
4 min readThis week, people around the world will celebrate New Year’s Eve, with many opening a bottle of sparkling wine to wish farewell to—a rather consequential—2020 and offer a warm welcome to the—by many of us, long-awaited—new year 2021.
1 min readNet wealth taxes are recurrent taxes on an individual’s wealth, net of debt. The concept of a net wealth tax is similar to a real property tax. But instead of only taxing real estate, it covers all wealth an individual owns. As today’s map shows, only three European countries covered levy a net wealth tax, namely Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. France and Italy levy wealth taxes on selected assets but not on an individual’s net wealth per se.
3 min readCorporate income taxes are commonly levied as a flat rate on business profits. However, some countries provide reduced corporate income tax rates for small businesses
2 min readPatent box regimes (also referred to as intellectual property, or IP, regimes) provide lower effective tax rates on income derived from IP.
4 min readInternational tax rules define how income earned abroad and by foreign entities are taxed domestically, making them an important element of a country’s tax code.
3 min readHow do consumption tax codes compare among European OECD countries? Explore our new map to see how consumption tax systems in Europe compare.
2 min read