Personal average tax rates in Europe: Which countries saw the biggest rise in 2024?
Workers pay not only income tax but also social security contributions. Together, these two components make up the personal average tax rate, expressed as a percentage of gross wage earning. This combined rate is often referred to as the 'tax burden'.
Personal average tax rates vary significantly across Europe and tend to change annually in most countries, directly affecting net earnings.
So, which countries had the highest personal income tax and employee social security contributions in 2024? And where were the largest annual increases or decreases in personal average tax rates observed?
According to the OECD's Taxing Wages 2025 report and Eurostat data, among EU countries, the UK, three EFTA members, and candidate country Turkey, personal income tax rate varied from 4.1% in Cyprus to 35.7% in Denmark. These figures reflect the average wage of a single worker without children, presented in national currency values.
Employee social security contributions ranged from zero in Denmark to 29.9% in Romania, followed by Slovenia 23.6%. These rates do not include what employers also pay for social security. They are often equal to or even more than the employee's share.
In 2024, personal average tax rates differed from 15.6% in Cyprus to 39.7% in Belgium. That means two out of every five euros in gross salary went to taxes in Belgium.
In seven EU countries, personal average tax rates exceeded one-third of gross earnings. Besides Belgium, this group included Lithuania (38.2%), Germany (37.4%), Romania (36.9%), Denmark (35.7%), Slovenia (35.6%) and Hungary (33.5%).
In five additional EU countries, personal average tax rates exceeded 30%: Austria (32.7%), Luxembourg (32.1%), Croatia (30.9%), Italy (30.4%), and Finland (30.3%).
Overall, in 12 EU countries, at least three out of every ten euros of a worker's salary go directly to income tax and social security contributions.
Apart from Cyprus, Switzerland is the only country where the personal average tax rate remains below 20%. It was also below 25% level in Estonia (20.5%), Czechia (21%), the UK (21.4%), Bulgaria (22.4%), Spain (22.5%), Sweden (23.1%), Poland (24%) and Slovakia (24.1%).
Among Europe's top five economies, Germany has the highest personal average tax rate at 37.4%. Italy follows with 30.4%, which is 7 percentage points lower. France sits in the middle at 28%. The UK has the lowest rate at 21.4%, with Spain slightly above at 22.5%.
There is a 16 percentage point difference between Germany and the UK, which is largely due to a significant gap in employee social security contributions: 20.7% vs 5.9%.
In more than half of the countries, annual changes in personal average tax rates were minimal, ranging between -2% and +2%, with no change at all in a few countries.
However, some countries saw significant increases or decreases. Italy recorded the highest rise, with its personal average tax rate climbing from 28.3% to 30.4%—an increase of 7.5%, or more than 2 percentage points.
Cyprus followed with a 6.9% increase. The personal average tax rate also rose by more than 4% in Slovenia, Estonia, and Czechia.
The UK (-8.6%) and Portugal (-8%) were clear outliers in 2024, with major tax cuts resulting in personal average tax rate reductions of at least 8%. In both the UK and Portugal, the rates fell by more than 2 pp.
Two Nordic countries—Sweden and Denmark—also cut their rates, both by 3.7%.
In Southern Europe, tax rates mostly increased in 2024, particularly in Italy, Cyprus, and Spain. In Eastern Europe, the trend was mixed, with some countries seeing increases while others remained unchanged.
All the figures above are based on a single average wage earner without children. Personal average tax rates can vary significantly depending on family situation—especially due to changes in personal income tax.
Generally, single individuals without children pay the highest income tax, while households with children tend to pay less, which lowers their average tax rate.
For data on different marital statuses and family types, see our full article entitled: Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe.
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