Compare Take-Home Pay Between Two Countries
Enter a salary in each country’s own currency. The percentage of gross you keep is the only figure that compares fairly across currencies — and it is the number that shifts most with income level.
Country A
80.8% kept · £2,693 / month net
Net £32,320 / year from £40,000 gross
Country B
67.2% kept · €2,241 / month net
Net €26,893 / year from €40,000 gross
United Kingdom keeps more of gross — 80.8% versus 67.2%, a difference of 13.6% of gross.
Side-by-side detail
| Measure | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 🇩🇪 Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary entered | £40,000 | €40,000 |
| Net per year | £32,320 | €26,893 |
| Net per month | £2,693 | €2,241 |
| Share of gross kept | 80.8% | 67.2% |
| Effective deduction rate | 19.2% | 32.8% |
| Marginal income-tax rate | 20.0% | 28.4% |
| Standard VAT | 20% | 19% |
| Tax-free allowance | £12,570 | €12,348 |
Share of gross kept, all countries
Take-home as a share of gross, computed at one representative salary per country in that country’s own currency. Lower deduction = higher take-home. Rows marked * come from a real statutory model (UK, Germany, France) rather than a flat rate.
| # | Country | Keeps | Deducted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 85% | 15% |
| 2 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands * | 84% | 16% |
| 3 | 🇮🇪 Ireland * | 84% | 16% |
| 4 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 82% | 18% |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom * | 81% | 19% |
| 6 | 🇸🇪 Sweden * | 81% | 19% |
| 7 | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 80% | 20% |
| 8 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 78% | 22% |
| 9 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 78% | 22% |
| 10 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 78% | 22% |
| 11 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 75% | 25% |
| 12 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 75% | 25% |
| 13 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 75% | 25% |
| 14 | 🇪🇸 Spain * | 74% | 26% |
| 15 | 🇫🇷 France * | 74% | 26% |
| 16 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 72% | 28% |
| 17 | 🇵🇱 Poland * | 71% | 29% |
| 18 | 🇦🇹 Austria * | 71% | 29% |
| 19 | 🇧🇪 Belgium * | 70% | 30% |
| 20 | 🇮🇹 Italy * | 70% | 30% |
| 21 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 70% | 30% |
| 22 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 70% | 30% |
| 23 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 70% | 30% |
| 24 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 70% | 30% |
| 25 | 🇵🇹 Portugal * | 69% | 31% |
| 26 | 🇩🇪 Germany * | 67% | 33% |
| 27 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 67% | 33% |
| 28 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 65% | 35% |
| 29 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 65% | 35% |
| 30 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 62% | 38% |
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare take-home pay between two countries?
Comparing net salary across countries only makes sense on the share of gross you keep, because currencies differ. Enter each country’s own local-currency salary above: the percentage of gross left after tax and social contributions is directly comparable, while the raw net figures are not.
Which European country has the lowest tax on salary?
Computed at one representative salary per country, the least-deducted are Romania, Netherlands, Ireland and the most-deducted are Denmark, Slovenia, Norway. The ranking shifts with income level because progressive bands and contribution ceilings bite differently — set a salary above to see the effect at your level.
Does a higher salary always mean a higher tax rate?
The marginal rate rises with income in every progressive system on this site, but the effective rate rises much more slowly, and it never reaches the top marginal rate. That is why a 50% top band does not mean half your salary disappears.
Are these figures net of everything?
United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Austria are computed line by line from their real statutory rules, each under its own stated assumptions. Every other country uses an effective deduction rate for a middle-income earner, so regional surcharges, contribution ceilings and tax credits are not modelled. Treat those rows as ballpark comparisons, not tax advice.
Keep going
- Salary converter — hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, annual
- Net salary estimator — any single country
- All 30 countries — bands, allowances and VAT rates