Top income tax rates in the OECD, 2025: how high they go and where they start
Published
In 2025, the top income tax rate on wages was 55.9% in Denmark and Japan, but Denmark's starts at 1.2 times the average wage and Japan's at 7.7 times. In Colombia, the top rate of 39.0% starts at 51.5 times the average wage. Here is the OECD data for 37 member countries.
A high top tax rate need not weigh on an ordinary salary: in some countries it starts only far above what most people earn, in others from around the average wage.
The OECD Tax Database publishes both numbers side by side, in Table I.7: the top statutory personal income tax rate, and the earnings level where it first applies, expressed as a multiple of the average wage. The figures below are for 2025, the latest year in the table.
The rate combines central and sub-central government income tax, for a single person without children. It is a marginal rate: it applies only to the part of the salary above the threshold, not to the whole salary. Employee social security contributions are not included. Latvia is left out: the OECD table shows a value of 0 for its 2025 rate and threshold, against 31.2% in 2024, so we do not use it.
The table
Ranked by top rate. In the last column, 1.0 means the top rate starts at the average wage.
| Rank | Country | Top income tax rate, 2025 | Starts at (× average wage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark | 55.9% | 1.2 |
| 1 | Japan | 55.9% | 7.7 |
| 3 | France | 55.4% | 12.9 |
| 4 | Austria | 55.0% | 17.4 |
| 5 | Canada | 53.5% | 2.8 |
| 6 | Portugal | 53.0% | 11.6 |
| 7 | Belgium | 52.7% | 1.0 |
| 8 | Sweden | 52.4% | 1.2 |
| 9 | Finland | 51.8% | 3.0 |
| 10 | Israel | 50.0% | 3.4 |
| 10 | Slovenia | 50.0% | 3.6 |
| 12 | Korea | 49.5% | 19.0 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 49.5% | 1.2 |
| 14 | Spain | 48.6% | 9.4 |
| 15 | Ireland | 48.0% | 1.2 |
| 16 | Germany | 47.5% | 4.4 |
| 17 | Italy | 47.2% | 1.5 |
| 18 | Australia | 47.0% | 1.7 |
| 19 | Iceland | 46.3% | 1.3 |
| 20 | Luxembourg | 45.8% | 3.3 |
| 21 | United Kingdom | 45.0% | 2.2 |
| 22 | Greece | 44.0% | 1.7 |
| 23 | United States | 43.7% | 8.7 |
| 24 | Switzerland | 41.4% | 3.1 |
| 25 | Türkiye | 40.8% | 5.6 |
| 26 | Chile | 40.0% | 18.6 |
| 27 | Norway | 39.7% | 1.8 |
| 28 | Colombia | 39.0% | 51.5 |
| 28 | New Zealand | 39.0% | 2.2 |
| 30 | Mexico | 35.0% | 20.6 |
| 31 | Lithuania | 32.0% | 4.4 |
| 31 | Poland | 32.0% | 1.3 |
| 33 | Costa Rica | 25.0% | 6.0 |
| 33 | Slovakia | 25.0% | 2.9 |
| 35 | Czechia | 23.0% | 2.9 |
| 36 | Estonia | 22.0% | 0.3 |
| 37 | Hungary | 15.0% | 0.0 |
The highest rates
Denmark and Japan had the highest top rates in 2025, both 55.9%, followed by France (55.4%) and Austria (55.0%). In nine countries the top rate is above 50%; Israel and Slovenia are at 50.0%.
Where the top rate starts
The threshold changes what the top rate means for a typical salary.
Top rate close to the average wage. In Belgium the top rate starts at 1.0 times the average wage, and in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland at 1.2 times. In these countries, someone earning a little above the average wage already pays the top rate on part of their salary.
Top rate only for very high earners. In Colombia the top rate starts at 51.5 times the average wage, in Mexico at 20.6 times, in Korea at 19.0 times, in Chile at 18.6 times and in Austria at 17.4 times. France (12.9) and Portugal (11.6) also set it more than ten times above the average wage.
So two countries with almost the same top rate can treat ordinary salaries very differently. Denmark and Japan share a top rate of 55.9%, but the threshold is 1.2 times the average wage in Denmark and 7.7 times in Japan.
Flat and near-flat systems
Hungary applies one rate, 15.0%, from the first unit of income, so its threshold is 0.0. Estonia applies 22.0% from 0.3 times the average wage. In both, the top rate is also the rate most workers pay, and they are the two lowest top rates in the table.
What the figures do not show
- What you actually pay. A marginal rate is not an average rate. Because the lower part of the salary is taxed at lower rates, the share of your salary that goes in tax can be well below the top rate. Our article on how much of your salary you keep uses the OECD's average rates for that question.
- Social security contributions. Employee contributions are not in this column and come on top of income tax.
- Tax credits. The indicator includes allowances and deductions but not tax credits, which can lower the bill at some income levels.
How to use these figures
- Compare your salary with the threshold. Divide your expected gross salary by the average wage of the country, which the OECD publishes in the same dataset. If the result is below the threshold, the top rate does not apply to you.
- Check the national tax authority. Rates and thresholds can change with each budget.
Country profiles: Denmark, Japan, France, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Colombia and Hungary.
This article describes tax rates as published by the OECD and is not tax or financial advice. Check the current rules with the tax authority of the country before you make decisions.
Countries in this article
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Related
Sources
- OECD. OECD Tax Database, Table I.7: Personal income tax, top statutory rate and marginal tax rate for employees at the earnings threshold where the top statutory personal income tax rate first applies (DSD_TAX_PIT@DF_PIT_TOP_EARN_THRESH), 2025. accessed .
- OECD. Personal income tax on wage income, PIT Explanatory Annex (updated April 2026). accessed .
- OECD. Tax Database: key tax rate indicators (December 2023), definition of the top statutory personal income tax rate. accessed .