Europe's map of income tax has a pattern. The bill is highest in the large countries of the west and lowest in the microstates. On the Patrician.ch 2026 model, Monaco keeps the most of a $1M salary, $10M over 10 years, followed by Gibraltar and Andorra la Vella.
Small is generous
Income kept after tax on $1M a year over 10 years, US dollars
Note: Income tax only, 10 years at 2026 rules. Cost of living, property and social charges are not deducted.
Source: Patrician.ch 2026 tax model, built on official tax authority rates
Caps, flats and lump sums
The places near the top rarely run a lower version of the usual ladder of rates. They run a different machine. Gibraltar caps the bill: The rate shown is Category 2 status: tax is charged on the first £118K of income only, so the bill is capped at £42,380 a year whatever you earn, with a floor of £37,000. The government announced on 18 June 2026 that new applicants need a net worth of at least £5M, up from £2M, with existing holders grandfathered. No capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, no VAT. A 15% transaction tax on goods, not on services, applies since 15.07.2026.
Andorra la Vella flattens it. 10% flat income tax above €40K, no tax on gains from shares when the stake is 25% or less or held 10 years, 10% on other capital gains, including a founder's sale of a larger stake inside 10 years, no wealth or inheritance tax.
Jersey offers a negotiated floor and ceiling: High Value Residency: 20% on Jersey property income and on the first £1.25M of other income, and 1% on everything above, a minimum tax of £250K a year, and a house bought above £3.5M or an apartment above £1.75M.
The Swiss cantons compete with each other. Of the Swiss places on the board, Zug keeps the most on ordinary rates, at an effective 21%. Zug offers a lump sum as well. Lump sum taxation is available in Zug, one of the 21 cantons that still offer it. The tax is set on a deemed spending base, at least 7 times the rent or rental value of the home, with a federal floor of CHF 435,000 for 2026 and a Zug floor of CHF 500,000 of taxable income. Zug ordinary rates are already among the lowest in Switzerland.
The other end
At the far end sit Cascais, Quinta do Lago and Lisbon. In the last of the list, a $1M salary keeps $5.0M over 10 years. Several of the expensive countries soften the rate for arrivals with money from abroad. Italy charges a fixed sum on foreign income: Flat tax for new residents on foreign income under Article 24-bis, a fixed 300,000 euros a year for anyone who becomes resident from 1 January 2026, plus 50,000 euros per family member, for up to 15 years. Earlier entrants keep the 100,000 or 200,000 rate they joined on (2026 Budget Law, Law 199 of 30.12.2025). Greece does the same. Non dom flat tax of €100K a year on all foreign income for up to 15 years, against a €500K investment in Greece within 3 years and €20K a year more per family member, plus a 7% flat rate for foreign pensioners. The chart shows ordinary rates, before any such regime.
Each place has its own page, and the full Europe ranking weighs tax against cost, safety, schools and sun.
Figures come from the Patrician.ch 2026 model: indicative headline brackets for a non-US single filer, current to October 2026. Research, not tax, legal or immigration advice.