Take-home pay in Europe 2026: how much of your salary you keep
The same gross salary can leave thousands of euros more, or less, depending on where you work. We ran salaries from €30,000 to €150,000 through our calculators for Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, using each country's 2026 rules, to show what a single employee actually takes home.
Published 16 October 2026 by ExpatSalary. Every figure comes from the calculators on this site and links to its breakdown.
Key findings
- €39,648is the most a single employee keeps of a €50,000 salary, in Ireland. Germany leaves the least: €32,337.
- €7,311a year separates the best and worst country for take-home pay on €50,000, and €8,105 on €100,000.
- Spainleaves the most of a €100,000 salary under the standard rules (€65,227). With expat regimes, the Netherlands comes first with €79,047.
- 61%is the highest tax and social security rate on the next euro of pay we found below €160,000, in Italy at around €35,250.
Take-home pay on a map
The darker the country, the more of your salary you keep. Point at a country for the details, or click it to open its calculator.
- 1Ireland€3,304/month
- 2Netherlands€3,262/month
- 3Spain€3,016/month
- 4France€2,926/month
- 5Portugal€2,776/month
- 6Italy€2,714/month
- 7Germany€2,695/month
- Single employee, 2026 rules, yearly take-home ÷ 12. UK and Turkey have their own calculators in pounds and lira.
Take-home pay on €50,000
- Take-home
- Income tax
- Employee social security
In the Netherlands national insurance is collected with income tax in one combined rate, so it is shown as income tax. Irish USC and Italian regional and city surcharges count as income tax.
Take-home pay at every level
| Country | €30,000 | €50,000 | €80,000 | €100,000 | €150,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | €26,296 12% deducted | €39,648 21% deducted | €54,979 31% deducted | €64,532 35% deducted | €88,413 41% deducted |
| Portugal | €22,139 26% deducted | €33,314 33% deducted | €48,136 40% deducted | €57,692 42% deducted | €79,720 47% deducted |
| Netherlands | €27,754 7% deducted | €39,140 22% deducted | €53,913 33% deducted | €62,711 37% deducted | €85,818 43% deducted |
| Spain | €23,452 22% deducted | €36,190 28% deducted | €53,853 33% deducted | €65,227 35% deducted | €93,659 38% deducted |
| Germany | €21,227 29% deducted | €32,337 35% deducted | €48,049 40% deducted | €58,031 42% deducted | €84,851 43% deducted |
| Italy | €23,425 22% deducted | €32,568 35% deducted | €47,339 41% deducted | €57,122 43% deducted | €83,120 45% deducted |
| France | €22,700 24% deducted | €35,112 30% deducted | €52,447 34% deducted | €64,004 36% deducted | €89,922 40% deducted |
Take-home pay a year and the share of gross pay that goes in income tax and employee social security.
How fast the share you keep falls
| Country | Keep of €30,000 | Keep of €150,000 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 93% | 57% | 35 points |
| Ireland | 88% | 59% | 29 points |
| Italy | 78% | 55% | 23 points |
| Portugal | 74% | 53% | 21 points |
| Spain | 78% | 62% | 16 points |
| France | 76% | 60% | 16 points |
| Germany | 71% | 57% | 14 points |
Countries at the top tax high salaries much more heavily than low ones; those at the bottom have flatter systems.
Expat tax regimes on €100,000
| Country | Standard rules | With expat regime | Regime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | €62,711 | €79,047 | 30% ruling |
| Italy | €57,122 | €77,632 | Impatriati 50% |
| Spain | €65,227 | €71,938 | Beckham Law |
| Portugal | €57,692 | €71,200 | IFICI 20% |
| France | €64,004 | €70,684 | Impatriés 30% |
| Ireland | €64,532 | €64,532 | None |
| Germany | €58,031 | €58,031 | None |
Sorted by take-home pay with the regime. The biggest gain is €20,509 a year in Italy. Each regime has its own conditions, such as not having lived in the country recently and a minimum salary.
What you keep of a €5,000 raise
| Country | On €50,000 | On €100,000 | Highest rate on the next euro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 60% | 57% | 43% around €92,250 |
| France | 58% | 58% | 51% around €114,500 |
| Germany | 53% | 51% | 54% around €98,750 |
| Ireland | 53% | 48% | 52% around €70,250 |
| Italy | 51% | 49% | 61% around €35,250 |
| Portugal | 50% | 44% | 56% around €98,250 |
| Netherlands | 50% | 44% | 56% around €78,500 |
Pay rise calculator for any salary.
Method
- Ireland: single PAYE employee, 2026.
- Portugal: single resident employee, mainland, 2026.
- Netherlands: employee, holiday allowance included in the gross, 2026.
- Spain: single employee in Madrid on a permanent contract, 2026.
- Germany: single employee in tax class I, no church tax, statutory health insurance at the average rate, 2026.
- Italy: single employee in Milan, 2026.
- France: single non-executive employee paying €20 a month towards the company health plan, after income tax on the scale in force, 2026.
Take-home pay is gross salary minus income tax (including local and solidarity surcharges) and the employee's compulsory social security. Employer contributions, pensions above the legal minimum and family situations are left out. Each country's rules, sources and the official examples we test against are on the methodology page.
Download and reuse
The data is free to use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence: please credit ExpatSalary and link to this page. Suggested citation: "ExpatSalary, Take-home pay in Europe 2026, 16 October 2026."
Frequently asked questions
Which European country lets you keep the most of your salary in 2026?
Of the 7 countries in this report, Ireland leaves the most of a €50,000 salary (€39,648 a year) and Spain the most of €100,000 (€65,227), for a single employee under the standard rules.
Can I use these figures in an article?
Yes. The data is free to use, with a link to this page as the source. The CSV file has every figure in the tables.
Why are the UK and Turkey not in the ranking?
The ranking compares the same salary in euros, and converting pounds or lira would mix exchange rate movements into the tax comparison. Both have their own calculators on this site.
Compare any salary yourself with compare countries, or find the salary that keeps your take-home pay with the salary equivalent calculator.