Paying Less Tax in Europe: the Best Option Is Inside the EU

Lists of "the least taxed countries in Europe" line up Bulgaria, Andorra, Monaco, Switzerland, Georgia and Montenegro in the same table, without ever saying which ones are in the European Union.

For someone who wants to stay in the internal market, that is the only distinction that matters. And it holds a surprise.

The best in Europe is inside the EU

Malta beats both Andorra and Georgia. That is counter-intuitive, because the reflex is to assume you have to leave the EU to pay less. You do not: you have to know where to look inside it.

What staying in the EU spares you

This is not about European sentiment, it is a list of concrete things.

You need nobody's permission to move. An identity card is enough. There is no permit to obtain, no security deposit, no minimum stay imposed by the host country. Andorra asks for a permit and a deposit; Paraguay asks for 120 days a year; Cyprus asks for nothing beyond moving.

Your social security is coordinated. Rights accrued in one country add up across the others, and a regulation says which one covers you. Outside the EU each country is a separate case, and double contributions become possible.

And above all, the exit tax. Almost no article covers it, and it is often the biggest cheque of the whole move.

In France, article 167 bis of the tax code does not organise instalments but a deferral of payment, and it comes in two versions:

• as of right, towards the EU, the EEA, and any other state that has signed with France both an administrative assistance convention and an assistance-in-recovery convention. You declare, you pay nothing, you post no guarantee;
• on application, everywhere else. You must ask for it, appoint a tax representative, post guarantees covering the tax, and file at least 90 days before moving your domicile.

A large holding of shares makes that difference considerable, and it plays out before departure, not after.

The three real doors inside the EU

Malta, for someone living off capital

Malta shows 35% on income and 35% on companies, and holds rank 22nd with 8.4 out of 10. The gap comes from its basis: a newcomer is resident non-domiciled, and Malta never taxes a foreign capital gain, even remitted. No other EU country offers that.

What it does not cover: a remitted salary stays taxed. Malta is built for someone living off assets, not for an employee. See our guide.

Cyprus, for someone who moves

Cyprus is rank 33rd, and its interest is not its scale, which reaches 35%. It is the 60-day rule: you can be tax resident there while spending only sixty days, provided you do not spend more than 183 days in any single other country and you hold an activity and a home on the island.

One condition disappeared on 1 January 2026: you also had to be tax resident of no other state, and that is no longer required. The non-dom status exempts foreign dividends and interest for seventeen years. The GESY health contribution still applies, 2.65% capped. See our guide.

Bulgaria, for someone who just wants a low rate

Bulgaria is rank 44th: 10% on income, 10% on companies, and the euro since 2026. There is no regime to apply for, no condition to meet, no duration to respect. It is the ordinary scale, for everyone.

It is the exact opposite of Malta and Cyprus: no subtlety, no status, a rate. See our guide.

Behind them, Romania is rank 62nd and Hungary rank 68th, at 10% and 15% on income. Hungary has the highest VAT in Europe, 27%, which pushes it back.

Conditional regimes, and why they do not count in the ranking

Several EU countries offer a welcome regime. None enters our score, and that is not an oversight: a conditional regime cannot be promised.

• Portugal, rank 187th. The NHR has been closed since 2024. The IFICI that replaced it targets listed professions and excludes pensions.
• Italy, rank 187th. A EUR 300,000 flat charge for a new resident, and 7% for ten years for a retiree settling in an eligible southern municipality.
• Greece, rank 193rd. 7% for fifteen years for a retiree, a EUR 100,000 flat charge for a non-dom.
• Spain, rank 203rd. The Beckham law gives 24% for six years, but on Spanish income.
• The Netherlands, rank 208th, with the 30% ruling, reserved for an employee recruited from abroad.

A flat charge never enters the score either: converting it into a rate would mean assuming your income, and our promise is that the calculation can be redone by hand.

The other half of the table

The EU is not a tax haven. Twenty of its twenty-seven countries sit in the bottom half of our ranking: France is rank 195th, Germany 212th, Austria 213th, Denmark 216th.

What the EU offers is not a low level of taxation, it is two or three internal exits and the right to use them without asking.

And if you accept leaving

Three immediate neighbours are worth the detour, provided you know what you give up:

• Andorra, rank 25th, 10% at most. Permit and security deposit required.
• Monaco, rank 60th, zero on income, except for French nationals, whom the 1963 treaty sends back to French tax.
• Switzerland, rank 150th. The forfait exists, from around CHF 435,000 of deemed expenditure. Below that level Switzerland is an ordinary-tax country, expensive to live in.

So, where?

The full ranking gives all 217 countries, and the FiScore page explains the calculation. See also the best countries to move to.

Sources

Each country's rate and basis come from its own page, with source and verification date. For the exit tax: article 167 bis of the French tax code. Checked in August 2026.

This page informs, it does not advise. The exit tax deferral is prepared before departure, and a 90-day deadline cannot be caught up: have it looked at, as our terms say.