Germany vs United Kingdom
Across most of the range German social contributions run 10 to 15 points higher than UK National Insurance. Go beyond 100,000 euros and that difference narrows fast.
See the two side by sideOne salary, two tax systems
A single gross figure run through two different systems, and the distance that opens up between them. Every result comes from the same engine that powers the country calculators.
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Put in your own salary and pit any two of our 22 countries against each other, converted at market rates and run through both tax systems.
France vs Germany
France carries the reputation while Germany carries the deductions. At the same gross salary the French employee normally keeps more, and that stays true up to roughly 120,000 euros.
See the two side by sideNew Zealand vs Australia
Australia pays more and taxes less at every level. That pairing, not the climate, is what keeps the trans-Tasman flow moving in a single direction.
See the two side by sideNetherlands vs Belgium
Belgium has one of the heaviest tax wedges anywhere in the OECD. The Netherlands comes out ahead at every income level, and the 30% ruling turns that lead into a landslide.
See the two side by sideUnited Kingdom vs Ireland
Two systems that arrive at similar answers by very different paths. USC is the charge British readers notice first, and the broader Irish standard band is what cancels it out.
See the two side by sideUnited States vs United Kingdom
Federal tax alone paints far too flattering a picture of the US. Add state tax and health insurance premiums and the two land much closer than the headline rates imply.
See the two side by sideUnited States vs Canada
Canada takes more in the middle of the range and the US moves ahead at the top. Where exactly they cross comes down to which province and which state are in play.
See the two side by sideUnited Kingdom vs Canada
Comparable burdens built in different shapes. Canada loads CPP and EI at the front, while the UK relies more on income tax once you pass the higher-rate threshold.
See the two side by sideUnited Kingdom vs Australia
At the bottom of the scale Australia's tax-free threshold and 16% opening band beat anything on offer in the UK. Further up, superannuation changes what you are comparing at all.
See the two side by sideGermany vs Austria
On paper they are near twins. The 13th and 14th salaries, taxed at just 6% in Austria, are what pull them apart over a full year.
See the two side by sideDenmark vs Sweden
They are usually filed together as high-tax Nordics. AM-bidrag and the Danish top tax push the two burdens further apart than most people would guess.
See the two side by sideNorway vs Sweden
Norway's flat 22% plus bracket tax up against Sweden's municipal-first structure. The winner depends entirely on where you sit on the income scale.
See the two side by sideItaly vs Germany
Italy looks like the cheaper option until INPS and the regional addizionali enter the sum. Germany's higher gross salaries then carry much of the final result.
See the two side by sideIreland vs United States
A multinational salary in Dublin set against the same role in the States, with USC, PRSI and American state tax all taken into account.
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