Head-to-head · tax residents 2026
Germany or Estonia: which should you move to?
Two of Europe's top relocation targets, both with newcomer regimes. Here is how they compare on the taxes that move the needle.
Tell us your country, income and net worth. The verdict above and the cost, flight time and "who wins" all update for you.
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| Factor |  Germany ↗ |  Estonia ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Top personal income tax | 45% | 22% |
| Corporate tax | 15%* | 22%* |
| Capital gains tax | Taxed | Taxed |
| Dividend tax | 26.4% | 0% |
| VAT / sales tax | 19% | 24% |
| Wealth tax | No | No |
| Inheritance tax | Yes | No |
| Foreign income | Worldwide | Worldwide |
| Headline expat regime | None | Distributed-Profits Corporate Tax (Estonian Model) |
| Cost of living (vs your country) | 80 | 66 |
| Population | 83,491,249 | 1,366,475 |
| Area | 357,021 km² | 45,226 km² |
| Population density | 234/km² | 30/km² |
| Airports (large + medium) | 75 | 6 |
| Annual tourists | 37,420,000 | 2,166,000 |
| Flight time from your country | · | · |
| Direct flight likely? | · | · |
| Life expectancy | 81.5 yrs | 79.3 yrs |
| Safety (homicides/100k) | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Happiness (0-10) | 7.08 | 6.02 |
| Corruption index (higher = cleaner) | 80/100 | 75/100 |
| Double-tax treaties (approx) | ~96 | ~62 |
| Internet speed (median fixed) | 104 Mbps | 95 Mbps |
| Healthcare spend / person | $6,849 | $2,438 |
| Air quality (PM2.5, lower=better) | 8.81 | 5.92 |
| Time zone (approx) | UTC+1 | UTC+2 |
| Digital nomad visa | No | Yes |
| Official languages | 1 (German) | 1 (Estonian) |
Green = more favourable. Cost of living shown as a percentage of your home country (under 100% = cheaper than home). Tax data: compiled by us, being re-verified; cost of living: World Bank PPP; area & population: GeoNames; life expectancy & homicide rate: World Bank.
* Germany: 15% federal corporate income tax + 5.5% solidarity surcharge on it (=15.825%) + municipal trade tax ~7-21% → combined effective ~30-33%. · Estonia: Estonian distributed-profits model: undistributed (retained/reinvested) profits are 0% taxed; CIT of 22% (22/78 of the net distribution) is due only when profits are distributed as dividends or deemed-distributed.
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