Rates last updated: 10 October 2026 · How we verify
🇪🇺 Ireland vs Europe: How Irish Tax Compares With 9 Countries in 2026
"Ireland is a high-tax country" is one of the most repeated things people say about moving here. We tested it against nine European countries, using the same employee, the same three salaries and verified 2026 rates for every country — with every calculation published in full.
The short version: of the countries we've compared, Ireland is one of the cheapest places for an employee to earn a salary. At €30,000 only the Netherlands beats it. At €60,000 only the UK beats it, and Ireland starts to lose ground to more countries as incomes approach six figures.
The full comparison
- A single employee in Ireland keeps 87.7% of €30,000, 74.9% of €60,000 and 64.5% of €100,000.
- Only the Netherlands beats it at €30,000 (92.5% before health insurance), only the UK at €60,000 (75.6%), and the UK (68.6%) and Spain (65.3%) at €100,000.
- Romania keeps 58.5% at every salary.
A single employee with no dependants, on a standard employment contract. The figure is the share of gross pay you keep after income tax and employee social contributions.
| Country | €30,000 | €60,000 | €100,000 | Full comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 87.7% | 74.9% | 64.5% | — |
| Netherlands* | 92.5% | 73.5% | 62.7% | Ireland vs Netherlands |
| United Kingdom | 83.7% | 75.6% | 68.6% | Ireland vs UK |
| Spain (Madrid) | 78.2% | 70.3% | 65.3% | Ireland vs Spain |
| Italy (Milan) | 78.1% | 62.6% | 57.1% | Ireland vs Italy |
| France | 76.5% | 68.6% | 64.2% | Ireland vs France |
| Portugal | 73.0% | 63.4% | 57.4% | Ireland vs Portugal |
| Poland | 71.2% | 61.8% | 59.8% | Ireland vs Poland |
| Germany | 70.7% | 62.6% | 58.0% | Ireland vs Germany |
| Romania | 58.5% | 58.5% | 58.5% | Ireland vs Romania |
\*Before the compulsory Dutch health insurance premium, which averages €1,884 a year in 2026 and is paid directly to an insurer rather than through payroll. After it — and after the Dutch health-care allowance, which at €30,000 gives back about €1,512 of the premium — the Dutch figures are 91.3%, 70.3% and 60.8%.
Each linked article shows the full line-by-line calculation for both countries at €60,000, and explains the assumptions behind every figure.
What the table shows
- At €30,000 every country except the Netherlands leaves you with less than Ireland, by four points (UK) to almost thirty (Romania).
- The reason is Ireland's €4,000 of credits, which wipes out most of the tax on a modest salary.
- At €60,000 only the UK is ahead, by under a point; at €100,000 the UK and Spain keep more and France is almost level.
At €30,000, only the Netherlands beats Ireland. Every other country leaves you with less: the UK four points less, Germany and Poland sixteen to seventeen points less, and Romania almost thirty. The reason is tax credits: Ireland's €4,000 comes straight off the bill, which wipes out most of the income tax on a modest salary. The Netherlands goes further, with more than €8,000 of credits at their peak, and a health-care allowance that gives back most of its compulsory health insurance premium at that income.
At €60,000, only the UK beats Ireland — by less than a point. Every continental country in the comparison takes more. Italy, Germany and Poland take more than twelve points more, and Romania more than sixteen.
At €100,000, the picture starts to change. The UK and Spain both keep more of your salary than Ireland, and France is almost level. Italy, Portugal, Germany, Poland and Romania still take considerably more.
Why Ireland wins for most salaries
- Employee social contributions: Irish PRSI is 4.35% since 1 October 2026, against 6.5% in Spain, 9.19% in Italy and 11% in Portugal.
- Poland charges 13.71% plus a 9% health contribution, France around 21%, Germany 21.75% and Romania 35%, all from the first euro.
- In France, Germany and Romania, income tax at €60,000 is actually lower than in Ireland.
One difference explains most of the table: employee social contributions.
Irish PRSI is 4.35% since 1 October 2026 (4.2% before that; the tables use the average across 2026). In the Netherlands, national insurance premiums of 27.65% are built into the first income tax band. Elsewhere on the continent, employees pay far more than Ireland in separate contributions: 6.5% in Spain, 9.19% in Italy, 11% in Portugal, 13.71% in Poland plus a separate 9% health contribution, around 21% of an ordinary salary in France, 21.75% in Germany, and 35% in Romania.
Those contributions apply from the first euro, which is why the gap is widest at lower salaries. In France, Germany and Romania, income tax at €60,000 is actually lower than in Ireland — it's the social contributions that make them more expensive overall.
Why Ireland loses at the top
- Irish charges never stop: above €70,044 each extra euro costs 52.2% (40% income tax, 8% USC, PRSI), while continental contributions hit ceilings.
- The UK overtakes Ireland at around 52,000, Spain around €92,000, France around €103,000, Poland around €148,000 and Romania around €156,000.
- Germany follows around €195,000, Italy around €229,000, and Portugal not even at €300,000.
Two features of the Irish system push the cost up at higher incomes.
Irish charges never stop. PRSI applies to your whole salary, and USC rises to 8% above €70,044. Put together with the 40% income tax rate, each extra euro above that point costs 52.2%.
Continental contributions have ceilings. Spanish social security stops at €61,214.40 of salary. German health and care contributions stop at €69,750, and pension contributions at €101,400. Polish pension and disability contributions stop at PLN 282,600. Above those ceilings, the marginal cost in those countries falls — while Ireland's keeps rising.
That's why each country overtakes Ireland at a different point:
| Country | Where it overtakes Ireland | Main reason |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | around 52,000 | National Insurance drops to 2% above the higher-rate threshold |
| Spain (Madrid) | around €92,000 | social security ceiling at €61,214.40 |
| France | around €103,000 | lower marginal rate at high salaries |
| Poland | around €148,000 | pension contributions stop at PLN 282,600 |
| Romania | around €156,000 | a flat 41.5% on every euro, against Ireland's rising rate |
| Germany | around €195,000 | two contribution ceilings |
| Italy | around €229,000 | pension contributions stop at €122,295, for people first insured after 1995 |
| Portugal | not even at €300,000 | — |
The Netherlands works the other way round. On tax alone it's cheaper than Ireland below about €41,000 and more expensive above it, because its generous tax credits taper away as income rises.
What the table doesn't include
- Special regimes for new arrivals (impatriati, Beckham law, impatriés, IFICI, the Dutch 30% ruling, Polish return relief) can reverse the comparison if you qualify.
- Ireland's SARP only exempts 30% of earnings above €125,000 for assigned employees.
- Ireland's 12.5% company rate beats every standard rate except Poland's 9% for small companies, its 31% CGT is higher than most, and Irish reliefs must be claimed.
Special regimes for new arrivals. Several countries offer reduced taxes to people moving in: Italy's impatriati regime, Spain's Beckham law, France's régime des impatriés, Portugal's IFICI, the Netherlands' 30% ruling and Poland's return relief for people going home.
For someone who qualifies, these can reverse the comparison entirely — which is why they're covered in each country article rather than built into the table. Ireland's own regime, SARP, is much narrower: it applies only to employees assigned here by their employer, and exempts 30% of earnings above €125,000 from income tax.
Company tax. For trading companies, Ireland's 12.5% is lower than every standard rate in the comparison. The one exception is Poland, where small companies with revenue up to €2 million, and start-ups, pay 9%. Several countries also have reduced rates for small companies on their first slice of profit — the details are in each article.
Investment gains. Ireland's capital gains tax is 31%, cut from 33% on 7 October 2026. Of the countries where we compared investment taxation, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland and Romania generally tax gains on shares more lightly; France's 31.4% flat tax is now almost exactly level with Ireland.
Reliefs you claim yourself. The Irish figures exclude rent credit, medical expenses, remote working relief and flat rate expenses. In Ireland these aren't applied automatically — you have to claim them, going back four years. Over four years, they can add up. See the top Irish tax deductions you could be missing.
How we calculated it
- One single employee with no dependants on a standard contract, at 2026 rates verified against official sources.
- Local taxes where they exist (Milan, Madrid), UK figures compared in sterling on effective rate, Polish and Romanian salaries converted at ECB reference rates.
- No spending-dependent reliefs or employer benefits are included.
Every figure follows the same method, set out in full in each country article:
- One employee: single, no dependants, on a standard employment contract, with no special regime.
- 2026 rates verified against each country's official sources. Where a country's scale for 2026 income isn't published yet, we use the latest published scale and say so.
- Local taxes where they exist: Italy's figures use Lombardia and Milan, and Spain's use Madrid, because part of the tax is set regionally.
- Currency: the UK figures are calculated in sterling on the same nominal salaries and compared on effective rate, without conversion. The Polish figures convert each salary at the ECB reference rate of 25 September 2026 (PLN 4.3718 per euro); the results barely move across the range of the previous four months. The Romanian figures convert at the ECB reference rate of 5 October 2026 (RON 5.3363 per euro); because every Romanian employee charge is a flat percentage, the exchange rate doesn't affect the result.
- Excluded: reliefs that depend on your own spending, and employer-specific benefits such as health plans. The compulsory Dutch health insurance premium isn't a tax, so it's shown separately rather than in the table.
If you've lived in more than one of these countries
- Ireland has double taxation agreements with all nine countries, so the same income should not be taxed twice, but relief has to be claimed and evidenced.
- If you already live in Ireland, the four open years are usually worth more than the comparison: 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.
Most of the people who contact us have worked in at least two countries. Ireland has double taxation agreements with all nine, so the same income shouldn't be taxed twice — but relief is claimed and evidenced, not applied automatically. The full list is on Revenue's double taxation treaties page, and the country-by-country detail for people who've moved here is in our tax guides by nationality and the complete guide.
If your position spans two countries — employment in one, property or a company in the other — that's what our VIP Premium service is for. For a straightforward review of four open Irish years, the Tax Back service covers it. No refund, no fee.
If you're already living in Ireland, the more useful question isn't which country taxes less — it's whether you've claimed the four years that are still open. Start with 2022.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
Is Ireland a high-tax country?
Not for most employees. On our comparison, Ireland keeps more of a €30,000 salary than every country except the Netherlands. At €60,000 only the UK beats it. It gets closer to a high-tax country as salaries approach six figures: Spain overtakes it at around €92,000 and France at around €103,000, and the UK is already ahead from about €60,000.
Why do people think Ireland is expensive?
Partly because the 40% rate starts at €44,000, which sounds high. But the comparison that matters is the total — income tax plus social contributions — and Ireland's social contributions are among the lowest of the countries we compared.
Which country is cheapest for a high earner?
Of those we compared, the UK keeps the largest share at €100,000, followed by Spain (Madrid). Special regimes for new arrivals can change this for people who qualify.
Will these figures change?
Every country changes its rates, usually each year, and these figures are for 2026. Ireland's Budget 2027 has already announced changes from January 2027: the standard rate band rises to €46,500 for a single person, the personal and employee credits to €2,125 each, and the top of the 2% USC band to €30,300 — all of which will slightly improve the Irish figures for 2027.