Top Marginal Personal Income Tax Rate by Country
Last reviewed: 2026-05-13. Top brackets change with national budgets — Estonia 20%→22% (2025), Singapore 22%→24% (2024), Australia stage-3 reforms (July 2024) are recent examples.
| Country | Top rate | Top-bracket trigger | Surcharges + inbound regime |
|---|---|---|---|
 Finland | 57.3% (national + average municipal) | €85,800 | National progressive + municipal ~7-23% + church tax Inbound regime: 32% flat tax for inbound foreign key employees for 7 years (raised from 4 years in 2024) |
 Denmark | 55.9% | DKK 588,900 (~$84,000) | Combined national + municipal + labour-market contribution + church tax Inbound regime: Researcher regime 27% flat for 7 years on qualifying scientific employment |
 Austria | 55% | €1,000,000 (top bracket only); 50% from €99,266 | 55% top bracket above €1M was extended through 2025 |
 Japan | 45% + 10% local = 55% | ¥40,000,000 (~$270,000) | +2.1% reconstruction surcharge; local inhabitant tax 10% flat |
 Canada | 33% federal + provincial = ~53.5% (ON), ~53.3% (QC), ~48% (AB) | $246,752 federal; provincial brackets vary | Combined federal + provincial; Quebec has separate provincial tax administration |
 Portugal | 48% + 5% solidarity = 53% on income >€250k | €81,199 (48%); +2.5% solidarity €80-250k; +5% above €250k | Progressive 6-bracket system Inbound regime: NHR closed Jan 2024; IFICI replacement narrower scope (research / innovation only) |
 Sweden | 52.3% (varies by municipality) | SEK 643,100 (~$59,000) | Combined national 20% + municipal 28-35%; church tax ~1% for members Inbound regime: Expert Tax Relief — 25% reduction for qualifying inbound highly-paid experts |
 Ireland | 40% income tax + 11% USC/PRSI = ~52% | €42,000 (40% income tax); USC bands above €70,044 | Universal Social Charge (USC) up to 8% + 4% PRSI Inbound regime: SARP — 30% exemption on inbound-assignee income above €100,000 for 5 years |
 Belgium | 50% | €48,320 | +regional surcharges; municipal taxes 0-9% on top of federal Inbound regime: Inbound researcher/management exemption (since 2022) — partial exemption |
 Israel | 50% top marginal (47% PIT + 3% surtax on income >₪721,560) | ₪721,560 (~$200,000) — 3% surtax band; ₪514,200 for 47% bracket | +National Insurance + healthcare contribution Inbound regime: Olim (new immigrants) 10-year foreign-source exemption — major HNWI Aliyah draw |
 United States | 37% federal + state up to 13.3% CA = ~50% combined | $609,350 single / $731,200 MFJ federal | +3.8% NIIT, +0.9% additional Medicare; +state ranging 0% (TX/FL/NV/etc.) to 13.3% (CA) |
 Netherlands | 49.5% | €75,518 | Two-bracket system (36.97% + 49.5%); box-2 substantial-interest income at 24.5%/31%; box-3 deemed-yield on wealth Inbound regime: 30% Ruling — 30% tax-free allowance for skilled migrants (capped + tapered post-2024) |
 South Korea | 45% + 10% local = 49.5% | ₩1,000,000,000 (~$725,000) | + 10% local income tax on national PIT base |
 France | 45% + 4% high-earner contribution = 49% | €177,106 main bracket; +4% on income >€500,000 | +17.2% social levies on investment income (effective ~64% on dividends/interest) Inbound regime: Impatriate Regime exempts up to 50% of qualifying inbound-employee income for 8 years |
 Australia | 45% + 2% Medicare + 1% MLS = 48% (high-income surcharge tier) | AUD 190,000 (from July 2024 — was AUD 180,000) | + 2% Medicare; + 1-1.5% MLS for high earners without private health cover; new stage 3 brackets from July 2024 |
 Germany | 45% + 5.5% solidarity surcharge = 47.5% | €277,826 (Reichensteuer); regular 42% from €62,810 | +church tax 8-9% for members; trade tax for self-employed |
 Norway | 47.4% | NOK 1,250,450 (~$115,000) | National 22% + bracket tax 17.5% + national insurance 7.9%; wealth tax + dividend additional tax |
 Spain | 47% (state 24.5% + autonomous community ~22.5% in most regions) | €300,000 | Wealth tax + solidarity wealth tax overlay on HNWIs; autonomous-community variation significant Inbound regime: Beckham Law — 24% flat on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000 for 6 years |
 South Africa | 45% | ZAR 1,817,000 (~$95,000) | +UIF + skills levy; tax-free annual portion R95,750; dividend withholding 20% |
 Switzerland | 11.5% federal + cantonal/communal (Zug ~22% top; Geneva ~45% top) | CHF 783,300 federal; cantonal brackets vary widely | Federal modest; cantonal + communal variation extreme. Lump-sum Forfait Fiscal regime available in most cantons |
 United Kingdom | 45% (additional rate) | £125,140 | + 2% Class 1 NIC on excess; effective marginal can hit 60% in £100k-£125k band due to personal-allowance taper Inbound regime: 4-year FIG regime from April 2025 (Foreign Income & Gains) replaced remittance basis for new arrivals |
 Greece | 44% | €40,000 | + solidarity contribution 2.2-10% (rate depends on income) Inbound regime: Article 5C — 50% inbound-employee exemption for 7 years; €100,000 HNWI flat-tax regime on foreign income for 15 years |
 Italy | 43% | €50,000 | +regional 1.23-3.33% + municipal 0-0.9% IRPEF additional taxes Inbound regime: Impatriate Regime 50%/60% exemption; HNWI €200,000 flat tax on foreign income |
 Chile | 40% | UTA 310 / ~CLP 24,000,000 (~$26,000) | 8-bracket progressive system |
 Colombia | 39% | COP 1,260,000,000 / 31,000+ UVT (~$320,000) | Wealth tax + dividend tax overlay; complex bracket structure |
 New Zealand | 39% | NZD 180,000 | No payroll/social-security taxes (separate ACC levy) Inbound regime: Transitional residency exemption — 4-year exemption on foreign-source income for new tax residents |
 Poland | 32% + 4% solidarity = 36% (above PLN 1M) | PLN 120,000 (32%); +4% solidarity above PLN 1,000,000 | Income up to PLN 30,000 effectively tax-free via tax-free amount |
 Argentina | 35% | ARS 12,500,000 (peso-denominated, adjusts with inflation) | Standard progressive system; high inflation forces frequent bracket updates |
 Cyprus | 35% | €60,000 | Non-dom regime exempts foreign dividends/interest from defence contribution; +17% GHS (healthcare) Inbound regime: 50% exemption for new residents earning >€55,000; 20%/€8,550 exemption on lower salaries |
 Malta | 35% | €60,000 | Remittance-basis system for non-domiciliaries — only foreign income remitted to Malta taxed Inbound regime: Residence Programme + MGRP fixed-tax regimes for HNWI inbound residents |
 Mexico | 35% | MXN 4,511,707 (~$220,000) | Standard progressive; ISR (Impuesto Sobre la Renta) |
 Thailand | 35% | THB 5,000,000 (~$140,000) | Foreign-source income remitted to Thailand became taxable from 2024 reform — major change for expat retirees Inbound regime: LTR visa holders receive 17% flat tax on Thai-source income for qualifying highly-skilled |
 Lithuania | 32% | 60× average wage (~€118,000) | Progressive PIT + 19.5% Sodra social-insurance contributions |
 Latvia | 31% | €105,300 (top bracket) | Progressive three-bracket: 20%/23%/31% |
 Malaysia | 30% | MYR 2,000,000 (~$425,000) | Territorial PIT on Thai-source — foreign-source income not taxed for individuals; MM2H regime overlays |
 Brazil | 27.5% | BRL 55,976 annual (~$11,000) | Relatively low top bracket compared to OECD average |
 Slovakia | 25% | 176× minimum subsistence (~€42,000) | Two-bracket 19%/25% |
 Singapore | 24% | SGD 1,000,000 | Raised from 22% in 2024 Inbound regime: NOR (Not Ordinarily Resident) regime — concessionary treatment for inbound; tax-resident only if 183+ days |
 Czech Republic | 23% | CZK 1,582,812 (~$70,000) — 36× average wage | Two-bracket: 15% + 23%; flat-rate solidarity tax above threshold |
 Estonia | 22% flat (raised from 20% in 2025) | N/A — flat rate | Famously flat-rate; corporate tax only on distribution; raised to 22% in 2025 budget |
 Hong Kong | 17% standard rate; 15% top progressive bracket | HKD 200,000+ for top progressive band; standard rate caps at 15% effective | Taxpayer pays lower of progressive or 15% standard rate; pure territorial system |
 Hungary | 15% flat | N/A — flat rate | Among EU's lowest top PIT rates; child-allowance generous |
 Bulgaria | 10% flat | N/A — flat rate | Tied with Romania for EU's lowest; +13.78% social-security + 8% health |
 Romania | 10% flat | N/A — flat rate | Lowest top PIT rate in EU; +10% social-security health + 25% social-security pension on gross |
 Bahrain | 0% | N/A | No personal income tax |
 Kuwait | 0% | N/A | No personal income tax |
 Oman | 0% | N/A | No personal income tax |
 Qatar | 0% | N/A | No personal income tax; 10% foreign-business corporate tax on Qatar-source income |
 Saudi Arabia | 0% | N/A | No personal income tax for individuals; Zakat 2.5% annual on net worth for Saudi/GCC nationals; corporate 20% standard |
 United Arab Emirates | 0% | N/A | No personal income tax; new 9% federal corporate tax above AED 375,000 for businesses (since 2023) |
Reading this matrix
- Top rate alone is misleading. Spain's 47% top rate is closer to 24% under the Beckham regime; Italy's 43% drops materially under the €200,000 flat tax for HNWIs.
- Trigger thresholds matter. Top brackets in Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden, Finland) hit at €40k-€80k — middle-class effectively. Top brackets in Israel, Japan, Korea trigger only above €170k-€270k.
- Social-security overlay. The headline PIT rate excludes employer and employee social-security contributions, which can add 20-40% to total labour cost. See SSC matrix.
- Flat-tax states. Bulgaria 10%, Romania 10%, Hungary 15%, Estonia 22%, Lithuania 20% base — among EU's most-favoured PIT jurisdictions.
- Zero PIT. UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman — combined with absence of CGT and estate tax in many of these, materially favoured for HNWI residence planning.
- Wealth-tax + capital-gains overlay. See companion matrices for the full picture: wealth tax, CGT, inheritance tax.
See also: Tax residency matrix · Tax regime explorer.