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Curated list · updated 2026

Highest tax rates in the world

The world's highest top personal income tax rates, ranked. Click any column to sort, click any row to open the country.

179

countries ranked by top income tax

At the other end of the map are the countries where top earners hand over the most. The highest personal income tax rates cluster in Western and Northern Europe, where the Nordics, Austria, Belgium and France run top rates around or above 50%, funding broad public services. High rates are not automatically bad, since they buy healthcare, education and pensions, but for a mobile founder or investor they are a strong reason to look elsewhere. The countries below have the highest top personal income tax rates in 2026, ranked from the top down. Sort by any column, or compare them with the low-tax alternatives.

Europe (48)Caribbean (9)Middle East (4)Asia-Pacific (42)Americas (24)Africa (52)

Country ▾	Income tax ▾	Corporate ▾	VAT ▾	Type
Finland	56.5%	20%	25.5%	Standard
Denmark	55.9%	22%	25%	Standard
Austria	55%	23%	20%	Standard
Canada	53.53%	26.5%	5%	Standard
Sweden	52%	20.6%	25%	Standard
Aruba	52%	22%	7%	Standard
Cuba	50%	not published	0%	Standard
Belgium	50%	25%	21%	Standard
Slovenia	50%	22%	22%	Standard
Israel	50%	23%	18%	Temporary regime
Netherlands	49.5%	25.8%	21%	Standard
Portugal	48%	19%	23%	Standard
Norway	47.4%	22%	25%	Standard
Spain	47%	25%	21%	Standard
Curaçao	46.5%	22%	6%	Standard
Iceland	46.29%	20%	24%	Standard
Luxembourg	45.78%	16%	17%	Standard
United Kingdom	45%	25%	20%	Temporary regime
Germany	45%	15%	19%	Standard
France	45%	25%	20%	Standard
Switzerland	45%	14.6%	8.1%	Standard
Australia	45%	30%	10%	Standard
Japan	45%	23.2%	10%	Standard
South Korea	45%	25%	10%	Standard
South Africa	45%	27%	15%	Standard
China	45%	25%	13%	Standard
Greece	44%	22%	24%	Standard
Italy	43%	24%	22%	Standard
Senegal	43%	30%	18%	Standard
Papua New Guinea	42%	not published	10%	Standard
Central African Republic	40%	30%	19%	Standard
DR Congo	40%	30%	16%	Standard
Malawi	40%	not published	17.5%	Standard
Mauritania	40%	25%	16%	Standard
Republic of the Congo	40%	30%	18.9%	Standard
Zimbabwe	40%	not published	15%	Standard
Ireland	40%	12.5%	23%	Standard
Turkey	40%	25%	20%	Standard
Chile	40%	27%	19%	Temporary regime
Taiwan	40%	20%	5%	Standard
Tunisia	40%	20%	19%	Standard
Uganda	40%	30%	18%	Standard
Colombia	39%	35%	19%	Standard
New Zealand	39%	28%	15%	Standard
India	39%	30%	18%	Standard
Nepal	39%	25%	13%	Standard
Gibraltar	39%	15%	0%	Territorial
Cameroon	38%	not published	19.25%	Standard
Suriname	38%	36%	10%	Standard
Mali	37%	30%	18%	Standard
United States	37%	21%	0%	Standard
Morocco	37%	20%	20%	Standard
Ecuador	37%	25%	15%	Standard
Namibia	37%	30%	15%	Territorial
Zambia	37%	30%	16%	Territorial
Uruguay	36%	25%	22%	Territorial
Latvia	36%	20%	21%	Standard
Sri Lanka	36%	30%	18%	Standard
Gabon	35%	30%	18%	Standard
Iran	35%	not published	10%	Standard
Niger	35%	30%	19%	Standard
Sierra Leone	35%	30%	15%	Standard
Togo	35%	27%	18%	Standard
Cyprus	35%	15%	19%	Standard
Malta	35%	35%	18%	Standard
Mexico	35%	30%	16%	Standard
Thailand	35%	20%	7%	Temporary regime
Indonesia	35%	22%	11%	Temporary regime
Vietnam	35%	20%	10%	Standard
Philippines	35%	25%	12%	Standard
Argentina	35%	35%	21%	Standard
Slovakia	35%	21%	23%	Standard
Kenya	35%	30%	16%	Standard
Ghana	35%	25%	15%	Standard
San Marino	35%	18%	0%	Standard
Guyana	35%	25%	14%	Standard
Dominica	35%	25%	15%	Standard
Pakistan	35%	29%	18%	Standard
Algeria	35%	26%	19%	Standard
Ethiopia	35%	30%	15%	Territorial
Venezuela	34%	34%	16%	Standard
Eswatini	33%	25%	15%	Standard
Croatia	33%	18%	25%	Standard
Puerto Rico	33%	37.5%	11.5%	Standard
Poland	32%	19%	23%	Standard
Lithuania	32%	17%	21%	Standard
Mozambique	32%	32%	16%	Standard
Ivory Coast	32%	25%	18%	Standard
Benin	30%	30%	18%	Standard
Burundi	30%	30%	18%	Standard
Chad	30%	35%	18%	Standard
Djibouti	30%	not published	10%	Standard
Eritrea	30%	not published	0%	Standard
Jamaica	30%	not published	15%	Standard
Lesotho	30%	not published	15%	Standard
Malaysia	30%	24%	8%	Territorial
Peru	30%	29.5%	18%	Standard
Jordan	30%	20%	16%	Standard
Nicaragua	30%	30%	15%	Territorial
El Salvador	30%	30%	13%	Territorial
Trinidad and Tobago	30%	30%	12.5%	Standard
Rwanda	30%	28%	18%	Standard
Seychelles	30%	25%	15%	Territorial
Grenada	30%	28%	15%	Territorial
Saint Lucia	30%	30%	12.5%	Standard
Bhutan	30%	22%	5%	Standard
Tanzania	30%	30%	18%	Standard
Bangladesh	30%	27.5%	15%	Standard
Barbados	28.5%	9%	17.5%	Standard
Brazil	27.5%	34%	·	Standard
Egypt	27.5%	22.5%	14%	Standard
Cape Verde	27.5%	20%	15%	Standard
Samoa	27%	27%	15%	Standard
Burkina Faso	25%	27.5%	18%	Standard
Equatorial Guinea	25%	25%	15%	Standard
Gambia	25%	not published	15%	Standard
Guinea-Bissau	25%	not published	19%	Standard
Liberia	25%	not published	10%	Standard
Myanmar	25%	22%	5%	Standard
Panama	25%	25%	7%	Territorial
Costa Rica	25%	30%	13%	Territorial
Azerbaijan	25%	20%	18%	Standard
Dominican Republic	25%	27%	18%	Territorial
Honduras	25%	25%	15%	Territorial
Botswana	25%	22%	14%	Territorial
Belize	25%	25%	12.5%	Territorial
Nigeria	25%	30%	7.5%	Standard
Laos	25%	20%	10%	Standard
Lebanon	25%	17%	11%	Territorial
Tonga	25%	25%	15%	Standard
Angola	25%	25%	14%	Territorial
Singapore	24%	17%	9%	Territorial
Czech Republic	23%	21%	21%	Standard
Albania	23%	15%	20%	Standard
Liechtenstein	22.4%	12.5%	8.1%	Standard
Estonia	22%	22%	24%	Standard
Russia	22%	25%	22%	Standard
Isle of Man	21%	0%	20%	Standard
Afghanistan	20%	not published	0%	Standard
Guinea	20%	25%	18%	Standard
Madagascar	20%	20%	20%	Standard
South Sudan	20%	30%	18%	Standard
Sudan	20%	not published	17%	Standard
Georgia	20%	15%	18%	Standard
Mauritius	20%	15%	15%	Standard
Armenia	20%	18%	20%	Standard
Cambodia	20%	20%	10%	Standard
Mongolia	20%	25%	10%	Standard
Fiji	20%	20%	15%	Standard
Jersey	20%	0%	5%	Standard
Guernsey	20%	0%	0%	Standard
Somalia	18%	not published	0%	Standard
Ukraine	18%	18%	20%	Standard
Hong Kong	17%	16.5%	0%	Territorial
Hungary	15%	9%	27%	Standard
Montenegro	15%	15%	21%	Standard
Kazakhstan	15%	20%	16%	Standard
Maldives	15%	15%	8%	Standard
Iraq	15%	15%	0%	Standard
Belarus	13%	20%	20%	Standard
Bolivia	13%	25%	13%	Territorial
Macau	12%	12%	0%	Standard
Tajikistan	12%	18%	14%	Standard
Moldova	12%	12%	20%	Standard
Uzbekistan	12%	15%	12%	Standard
Palau	12%	12%	10%	Standard
Libya	10%	20%	0%	Standard
Timor-Leste	10%	not published	0%	Standard
Turkmenistan	10%	8%	15%	Standard
Andorra	10%	10%	4.5%	Standard
Bulgaria	10%	10%	20%	Standard
Romania	10%	16%	21%	Standard
Paraguay	10%	10%	10%	Standard
Serbia	10%	15%	20%	Standard
North Macedonia	10%	10%	18%	Standard
Bosnia and Herzegovina	10%	10%	17%	Standard
Kosovo	10%	10%	18%	Standard
Kyrgyzstan	10%	10%	12%	Standard
Guatemala	7%	25%	12%	Territorial

Highest tax rates in Europe

Europe stays within easy reach of the EU while still trimming your tax bill, which is why it draws so many nearby movers. 48 of the 179 high-tax countries on this list are in Europe:

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

Highest tax rates in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is home to the classic zero-tax islands where there is no income, corporate or capital gains tax at all, sunshine included. 9 of the 179 high-tax countries on this list are in the Caribbean:

Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Highest tax rates in the Middle East

The Gulf states pair 0% personal income tax with fast residency, modern cities and direct flights to almost anywhere. 4 of the 179 high-tax countries on this list are in the Middle East:

Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon.

Highest tax rates in Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific blends territorial tax systems, low living costs and some of the fastest-growing economies on earth. 42 of the 179 high-tax countries on this list are in Asia-Pacific:

Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Highest tax rates in the Americas

The Americas offer territorial regimes and low-cost living within the same time zones as the United States. 24 of the 179 high-tax countries on this list are in the Americas:

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Highest tax rates in Africa

A small group of African jurisdictions rounds out the low-tax map, usually through territorial or resource-driven regimes. 52 of the 179 high-tax countries on this list are in Africa:

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Highest tax rates in the world: frequently asked questions

Which country has the highest income tax?

The Nordic countries, along with Austria, Belgium and France, sit at the top, with headline top rates around or above 50% once surcharges are counted. Exact rankings shift year to year.

Why do some countries have such high taxes?

High-tax countries generally fund universal healthcare, free or cheap education, strong pensions and generous social safety nets. Residents pay more but receive more public services in return.

Who pays the highest taxes in the world?

High earners in the Nordics, Belgium, Austria and France face the steepest marginal rates. Effective rates are lower than headline rates because only income above each threshold is taxed at the top band.

How can I pay less tax if I live in a high-tax country?

Options include using an expat regime for new residents, relocating your tax residency, restructuring how you take income, and making the most of pension and investment allowances. Advice tailored to your situation matters most here.

Keep exploring

Countries with the lowest income tax →Countries with no income tax →Tax haven countries →European countries with the lowest income tax →

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