Head to head
Lisbon vs Madrid.
🇵🇹 Portugal against 🇪🇸 Spain, on tax, residence, cost, and the life. Same model, same year, no brochure.
🇵🇹 Portugal against 🇪🇸 Spain, on tax, residence, cost, and the life. Same model, same year, no brochure.
| Lisbon | Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Effective tax at $300K | 46% | 42% |
| Effective tax at $1M | 49% | 44% |
| Effective tax at $3M | 50% | 45% |
| Kept at $1M | $512K | $560K |
| Capital gains | 28% | 26% |
| Cost index (Zurich 100) | 62 | 70 |
| Safety | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Schools | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Sun hours | 2,800 | 2,770 |
| Supercar street index | #68 | #33 |
| Routes in | Golden visa, Remote work visa, Founder & talent | Remote work visa, Founder & talent |
| Net millionaire inflow 2025 (country, Henley) | +1,400 | −500 |
| Flight London | 3 | 2.6 |
| Flight New York | 7.6 | 8 |
Simplified marginal model, indicative 2026 brackets, non-US single filer, no social contributions, deductions, wealth taxes, or treaties.
Madrid keeps more of a $1M salary, $48K a year on this model. Lisbon answers with safety.
Capital gains: Lisbon 28%, Madrid 26%. The order of operations, move then sell or sell then move, decides more than the rate. Neither city taxes wealth as such.
Madrid leads on schools, Lisbon on safety, a lower cost and sun.
The engine takes what you earn and what you hold, then orders every address on the board against it.
Rank the board against my position →90 seconds. No account, no payment.
Tax figures use a simplified marginal model with indicative 2026 brackets for a non-US single filer, ignore social contributions, most deductions, wealth taxes, and treaties, and are not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.