In most European countries, people who earn more generally pay higher taxes. But top personal income tax rates for those in the highest brackets vary widely, with a clear divide between Northwestern and Eastern Europe.
Tax fairness is important for any society, reflecting whether people pay taxes in proportion to their income and wealth. In most European countries, the system is progressive: the more you earn, the higher the burden.
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Top personal income tax rates range from 10% in Bulgaria and Romania to 60.5% in Denmark as of 2026, according to the Tax Foundation.
Besides Denmark, top personal income tax rates exceed 50% in six other countries: France, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Sweden.
Top earners also face rates close to this level in Slovenia and the Netherlands.
The European average
The average top personal income tax rate across 35 European countries is 38.5%. This rises to 43.4% among European OECD members. In 18 countries, the rate exceeds 40%.
In nine countries, the top rate ranges between 40% and 48%: Ireland, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, Finland, the UK, Greece, and Turkey.
Among Europe’s five largest economies, the top rate varies from 45% in the UK to 55.4% in France. The gap is relatively wide at around 10 percentage points.
In contrast, besides Bulgaria and Romania, the top personal income tax rate is below 25% in Moldova, Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Czechia, and Estonia.
Strong regional divide: Northwestern vs. Eastern Europe
Top personal income tax rates show clear regional patterns. In general, Nordic and Western European countries have the highest top marginal rates, typically between 45% and 60%. There are exceptions such as Norway, which is just below 40%.
Most non-EU Eastern European economies maintain lower top rates, although Turkey stands out at around 41%, placing it closer to mid-tier EU tax regimes. Central and Eastern Europe, including the Balkans, also tend to levy lower rates. In some countries, flat-tax systems help keep top rates relatively low.
Tax rates change with policy shifts
These tax rates are not fixed, as governments adjust them in line with policy changes. Several countries have updated their top personal income tax rates over the past year, according to the Tax Foundation.
“Governments can generally generate revenue more efficiently by leveraging marginal tax rates at the lower end of the income distribution than by using higher top rates,” Alex Mengden, global policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, stated in his article.
“This is because applying a higher rate to a tax bracket negatively affects the incentive to earn more or less income only for individuals in that bracket, while also raising revenue from all taxpayers in higher brackets,” he added.
Denmark introduced a new income tax bracket for earnings above DKK 2.8mn (€375,000), raising its top rate from 55.6% to 60.5%.
Estonia increased its flat income tax rate from 22% to 24%, while Slovakia added two new tax brackets, lifting its top rate from 25% to 35%.
By contrast, Finland reduced its top personal income tax rate from 51.5% to 45%.
In 2025, only one in five people in the EU believed taxes were paid in proportion to income and wealth "to a large extent". About half (51%) agreed this was the case "to some extent", according to a Eurobarometer study.
