European Tax Guide 2026: Expats & Remote Workers

Moving to Europe in 2026? Compare taxes across 31 countries, understand residency rules, and calculate your real take-home pay.

Why Use Our Calculator

  • Accurate Tax Calculations: Your net salary after income tax and social security in 48 countries, with each country's official rates
  • Real Cost of Living Data: Cost of living, rent, groceries and restaurant prices for 400+ cities worldwide
  • Multi-Currency Support: Salaries converted at mid-market rates, so both cities are compared in the same money

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Popular City Comparisons

London vs New York Berlin vs Amsterdam Paris vs London Barcelona vs Berlin Amsterdam vs Copenhagen Lisbon vs Berlin

Country Comparisons

Germany vs Italy France vs UK Denmark vs Netherlands Germany vs France Austria vs Switzerland Spain vs Germany Germany vs UK Finland vs Norway

Tax Calculators by Country

Germany Tax Calculator France Tax Calculator Spain Tax Calculator UK Tax Calculator Netherlands Tax Calculator Italy Tax Calculator Switzerland Tax Calculator Portugal Tax Calculator

Understanding Cost of Living Comparisons

What Makes This Cost of Living Calculator Different

Most cost of living calculators show you price differences and stop there. This one starts from your salary: enter what you earn now and what you would earn in the new city, and it works out your take-home pay in both after income tax and social security, then sets it against rent and local prices.

The result is a complete financial picture: not just whether a city is cheaper, but whether you will actually have more money in your pocket after taxes and expenses. Tax calculations use official government brackets for a single filer with standard deductions, so the figures reflect what a typical employee would take home.

How to Compare Cost of Living Between Countries

Pick the city you live in now and the city you are considering. Enter your current gross annual salary and the salary you would earn there, and set how much of your take-home pay you save today, from 0% to 50%.

Click Compare to see your net pay in both cities, rent and what is left after it, how prices compare overall and for rent, groceries and restaurants, and whether the new salary lets you save the same share.

What Is Included in the Cost of Living Comparison

The comparison shows an overall cost-of-living index for each city, Numbeo's indices for rent, groceries and restaurants, local purchasing power, and typical rents for one- and three-bedroom flats in and outside the city centre.

Numbeo's indices use New York City as 100: a city scoring 70 is about 30% cheaper than New York in that category. The overall index averages several sources on roughly the same scale, so any two cities can be compared regardless of currency.

Data Sources and Methodology

The overall cost-of-living index averages Numbeo, Expatistan and LivingCost.org and leaves out the source furthest from the others. Rents come from Numbeo, with national rent statistics where Numbeo has no figure. Expatistan and LivingCost.org are updated less often than Numbeo.

Tax calculations are built from official government tax rules for 48 countries, coded directly into the tool and updated for 2026 brackets. The calculator applies standard employment deductions for a single filer. If you are self-employed or have additional income sources, treat the results as a reliable starting point.