European Tax League Week 6 Standings: Portugal vs Europe, 15 Countries Ranked

15 countries. 15 rounds. 0 upsets.

Six weeks in. We have now compared Portugal's IFICI regime against 15 European countries. Some brought serious expat regimes. Some brought excuses. One brought a 32% top rate and accidentally finished sixth without any special incentive at all.

Portugal has not dropped a point.

Here is the full ranking, what we learned from each edition, and what is coming next.

The full standings, Week 6

Illustrative take-home on a €500K local salary under each country's best available regime. Income tax only for consistency across all comparisons. Social security and health contributions are excluded. Not tax advice.

# · Country · Take-home on €500K · Regime · Notes

1 · 🇵🇹 PORTUGAL · ~€400K to €500K · IFICI · 0% on qualifying foreign income. 10 yrs. No cap.

2 · 🇮🇹 Italy · ~€385K · Impatriate Regime · 50% exempt. 5 yrs. Full clawback if you leave before year 4.

3 · 🇪🇸 Spain · ~€380K · Beckham Law · 24% flat. 6 yrs. No deductions. €600K cap.

4 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland (Zug) · ~€375K to €390K · Ordinary cantonal rates · ~22-25% effective. Wealth tax applies. No expat regime.

5 · 🇫🇮 Finland · ~€375K · Key Employee · 25% flat. 7 yrs. No deductions. Min €5,800/mo.

6 · 🇵🇱 Poland · ~€340K · Standard progressive PIT · 32% top rate. No expat regime. Accidentally beat most of Western Europe.

7 · 🇩🇰 Denmark · ~€335K to €345K · Forskerordningen · 32.84% effective. 7 yrs. No deductions.

8 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · ~€330K · 30 Ruling · ~35% effective. 5 yrs. €233K salary base cap.

9 · 🇳🇴 Norway · ~€302K · Standard PIT + wealth tax · 39.6% income tax. 1.3% annual wealth tax on all assets.

10 · 🇫🇷 France · ~€300K to €330K · Impatriate Regime · 50% exemption cap. 8 yrs. Employer-tied.

11 · 🇧🇪 Belgium · ~€300K to €320K · STRIT · ~35-40% effective. 5+3 yrs. Min €70K salary.

12 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · ~€285K to €305K · Expertskatt · ~39-43% effective. 7 yrs. SEK 88,800/mo floor.

13 · 🇬🇧 UK · ~€275K · FIG regime · 45% on UK source from day 1. 4 yrs foreign income only.

14 · 🇦🇹 Austria · ~€265K · Standard progressive PIT · 50% on €500K. €10K allowance. Not a regime.

15 · 🇩🇪 Germany · ~€262K · Standard progressive PIT · 47.5% top rate. No expat regime whatsoever.

What we learned — edition by edition

🇮🇹 Italy had one of the best expat regimes in the world. 70-90% income exemption for up to 10 years. Then the 2024 reform cut it to 50%, capped at €600K, 5 years maximum with no extension. Leave before year four and face full retroactive clawback with penalties up to 180% of the tax saved. Italy enters second. Still loses to Portugal on duration, foreign income and clawback risk.

🇪🇸 Spain showed up with the Beckham Law: 24% flat, 0% on most foreign passive income, 6 years, family extension, no Modelo 720. The closest match of the series. Miss the 6-month application window by one day? Gone. No exceptions. The gap on a €500K salary: approximately €20K per year. Over 10 years vs 6, the difference is much larger.

🇨🇭 Switzerland came closest on raw rate. Zug's ~22-25% effective cantonal rate almost had us worried. Then came the wealth tax, worldwide income taxation, and no foreign income exemption. Switzerland is genuinely competitive for certain income profiles. Not for founders with foreign holdcos.

🇫🇮 Finland made its biggest tax move in years. Key Employee regime cut from 32% to 25% flat in January 2026. No deductions. No foreign income exemption. Hard cliff at year 7. Bold. Not enough.

🇵🇱 Poland brought no special regime and finished sixth. 32% top rate. Two brackets. Just a clean progressive system that happens to be lower than most of Western Europe. Accidentally beat France, Belgium, Sweden and the UK without a single concession to international talent. Europe's most underrated tax system.

🇩🇰 Denmark brought Forskerordningen. 32.84% effective for 7 years. No deductions. After year 7 the 55.9% top rate is waiting. A great country to work in, a brutal one to stay in.

🇳🇱 Netherlands had a head start and spent years dismantling it. The 30 Ruling used to be one of Europe's best. Now capped at €233K salary base, trimmed every budget cycle.

🇳🇴 Norway discovered oil in 1969. It has been taking your money ever since. 39.6% income tax plus a 1.3% annual wealth tax on everything you own. Whether your investments went up or down.

🇫🇷 France brought the Impatriate Regime and still lost. Well-designed. Employer-tied. 50% exemption cap. 45% top rate on the taxable half.

🇧🇪 Belgium tried harder than anyone and got beaten by €80K to €100K a year. STRIT gives up to 35% tax-free for 8 years. Standard rate 50-53%. The 150km rule and the minimum salary requirement disqualify a surprising number of people.

🇸🇪 Sweden tried. Expertskatt gives 25% tax-free for 7 years. The remaining 75% faces Swedish progressive rates. You do the math.

🇬🇧 UK abolished the non-dom regime and replaced it with the FIG regime. 4 years. Foreign income only. 45% on UK source income from day one. They replaced a Rolls-Royce with a bicycle and called it progress.

🇦🇹 Austria didn't even show up with a plan. Vienna is magnificent. The payslip is not. A €10,000 annual expenses allowance that is not a regime.

🇩🇪 Germany still hasn't. Europe's largest economy. Zero structured personal tax incentive for relocating international talent. Nothing.

🇵🇹 Portugal hasn't dropped a point. 🏆

The gap

The difference between 1st (Portugal at ~€400K) and 15th (Germany at ~€262K) on a €500K salary: approximately €138K per year. Same salary. Same role. Different passport stamp.

Over 10 years, before accounting for any foreign income benefit: approximately €1.38M.

And the 0% on qualifying foreign income under IFICI, covering dividends, capital gains, rental income abroad and foreign bank interest, is not included in those numbers.

What is Portugal's IFICI regime?

IFICI, Portugal's Non-Habitual Resident successor regime also known as NHR 2.0 or Portugal's 20% flat tax, gives qualifying professionals a 20% flat rate on qualifying Portuguese source employment and self-employment income in eligible activities for 10 years. Most qualifying foreign-source income categories are exempt from Portuguese income tax entirely for the duration of the regime.

Check your eligibility at expatico.eu/eligibility or read the full IFICI guide.

What is coming next

8 countries still to enter the league. Ireland is next. 52% top rate but with an interesting twist. Then Luxembourg, Malta, Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Romania and Hungary.

Some will surprise you. Malta and Estonia in particular.

Follow the series to see the full table build. And if Portugal sounds interesting, check whether you qualify in 2 minutes: expatico.eu/eligibility

Is IFICI right for you?

Eligibility depends on your professional profile, residency history, income structure and qualifying activity. The regime is powerful but requires proper setup to access the full benefit.

At Expatico, we help founders, executives and high earners assess whether they qualify, structure their move to Portugal correctly, and access the full range of Portuguese incentives, covering IFICI applications, company incorporation, talent sourcing and grant access.

Check if you qualify. Takes 2 minutes.

Or book a call directly.