Company taxes guide
Global corporate compliance, mapped by country and backed by law. Know exactly what to pay, which forms to file, and when.
A compact, e-filing-first tax system: 17% corporate income tax with strong small-company and start-up reliefs, 21% standard VAT with near-real-time invoice reporting (i.SAF), and progressive payroll taxation since 2026. Nearly everything is filed electronically through VMI (EDS, i.MAS) and Sodra (EDAS) self-service portals.
- Corporate income tax
- 17%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 15%
Latvia taxes company profits only when they leave the business: reinvested profit is taxed at 0%, and 20% corporate income tax falls due on distribution. VAT is 21%, payroll runs on a two-rate progressive personal income tax, and structured e-invoicing is mandatory for the public sector from 2026 (B2B from 2028). Filing is electronic through the State Revenue Service EDS portal.
- Corporate income tax
- 20%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 0%
Estonia taxes company profit only when it is distributed: retained and reinvested profit is taxed at 0%, and distributions are taxed at 22%. VAT is 24% and personal income tax a flat 22% with a €700/month tax-free allowance. Almost everything is filed online through e-MTA and the e-Business Register.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%
- VAT standard rate
- 24%
- Dividend tax
- 0%
Poland (EU, but outside the euro — thresholds are in złoty) has 19% corporate income tax with a 9% small-taxpayer rate and an optional distribution-based "Estonian CIT". VAT is 23%, personal income tax runs 12%/32% with a PLN 30,000 tax-free amount, and payroll carries heavy ZUS social contributions plus a non-deductible 9% health contribution. The headline 2026 change is mandatory KSeF structured e-invoicing.
- Corporate income tax
- 19%
- VAT standard rate
- 23%
- Dividend tax
- 19%
Czechia (EU, but outside the euro — thresholds are in koruna) taxes company profit at 21%. VAT is 21% with a single 12% reduced rate, personal income tax is 15% and 23%, and social and health insurance add a substantial employer cost. An s.r.o. can be formed with CZK 1 of capital. Filing runs through the Financial Administration; accounts go to the commercial register.
- Corporate income tax
- 21%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 15%
Slovakia taxes company profit at 21%, with a 10% reduced rate for small companies (revenue up to €100,000) and a 24% rate for large companies (tax base over €5m). VAT rose to 23% in 2025. Payroll carries heavy social and health insurance, and a financial-transaction tax on companies has applied since 2025. Filing runs through the Financial Administration.
- Corporate income tax
- 21%
- VAT standard rate
- 23%
- Dividend tax
- 7%
Hungary (EU, but outside the euro — thresholds are in forint) has the EU’s lowest corporate income tax at 9%, plus a local business tax of up to 2%. VAT is the EU’s highest at 27%, personal income tax is a flat 15%, and real-time invoice reporting (Online Számla) is mandatory. Filing runs through the tax authority NAV.
- Corporate income tax
- 9%
- VAT standard rate
- 27%
- Dividend tax
- 0%
Slovenia taxes company profit at a temporary 22% rate (the 19% base rose to 22% for 2024–2028 to fund flood reconstruction). VAT is 22%, personal income tax is progressive to 50%, and social contributions are split fairly evenly between employer and employee. Filing runs through the FURS eDavki system; annual reports go to AJPES.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%
- VAT standard rate
- 22%
- Dividend tax
- 25%
Croatia (in the eurozone since 2023) taxes company profit at 18%, with a 10% rate for revenue up to €1m. VAT is 25%, personal income tax has two municipally-set bands, and — atypically — employees bear the pension contribution while employers pay only health insurance. Mandatory B2B e-invoicing (fiscalization) starts in 2026. Filing runs through the Tax Administration.
- Corporate income tax
- 18%
- VAT standard rate
- 25%
- Dividend tax
- 12%
Romania (EU, but outside the euro — thresholds are in lei) taxes company profit at 16%, with a 1% micro-enterprise turnover regime for the smallest firms. Employment income is a flat 10% but carries very heavy employee social contributions (35%). Several 2025–2026 changes bite: VAT rose to 21%, dividend tax to 16%, the 3% micro rate was scrapped, and RO e-Factura structured e-invoicing plus SAF-T reporting are now in force.
- Corporate income tax
- 16%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 16%
Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 (fixed rate 1.95583 lev to the euro). It has one of the EU’s simplest and lowest tax systems: a 10% flat corporate tax, 10% flat personal income tax, and 20% VAT. Payroll social security is shared between employer and employee. Filing runs through the National Revenue Agency; SAF-T reporting begins for large taxpayers in 2026.
- Corporate income tax
- 10%
- VAT standard rate
- 20%
- Dividend tax
- 5%
Greece taxes company profit at 22% and dividends at 5%. VAT is 24%, and there is no registration threshold — you register before trading. Personal income tax was reformed for 2026 with lower middle-band rates. Real-time e-books (myDATA) are mandatory. Filing runs through the AADE tax authority.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%
- VAT standard rate
- 24%
- Dividend tax
- 5%
Germany taxes company profit in two layers: 15% federal corporate income tax (15.825% with the solidarity surcharge) plus a municipal trade tax that varies by town — together roughly 30%. VAT is 19%, wage tax is progressive to 45%, and social contributions are split about evenly between employer and employee. Mandatory B2B e-invoicing is phasing in from 2025 to 2028.
- Corporate income tax
- 15.825%
- VAT standard rate
- 19%
- Dividend tax
- 26.375%
Austria taxes company profit at a flat 23% corporate income tax, with a small annual minimum tax. VAT is 20%, personal income tax is progressive up to 55%, and social contributions plus employer payroll levies are substantial. The GmbH minimum capital was cut to €10,000 in 2024 and a new flexible company form (FlexCo) was introduced.
- Corporate income tax
- 23%
- VAT standard rate
- 20%
- Dividend tax
- 27.5%
The Netherlands taxes company profit at 19% up to €200,000 and 25.8% above. VAT is 21%, and wage income is taxed in a box system that folds national insurance into the first bracket (up to 49.5%). A 15% dividend withholding tax applies, alongside a 25.8% conditional withholding tax on payments to low-tax jurisdictions. Filing runs through the Belastingdienst and annual accounts through the Chamber of Commerce.
- Corporate income tax
- 19% / 25.8%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 15%
Belgium taxes company profit at 25%, with a 20% rate on the first €100,000 for small companies that pay their director a minimum salary. VAT is 21%, personal income tax is steeply progressive (25–50%) plus a municipal surcharge, and social contributions are high. The flagship 2026 change is mandatory structured B2B e-invoicing over Peppol from 1 January.
- Corporate income tax
- 25%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 30%
Luxembourg taxes company profit through three layers — 16% corporate tax, a 7% solidarity surcharge on it, and a municipal business tax — for an aggregate of about 23.87% in Luxembourg City. VAT is the EU’s lowest standard rate at 17%. A participation exemption makes it a major holding-company location. Filing runs through the Administration des contributions directes.
- Corporate income tax
- 16%
- VAT standard rate
- 17%
- Dividend tax
- 15%
France taxes company profit at 25%, with a 15% reduced rate on the first €42,500 for smaller companies. VAT is 20%, personal income is taxed on a progressive scale, and payroll carries some of Europe’s heaviest social contributions (roughly 40–45% employer on top of gross). Investment income is taxed under a ~31.4% flat tax. The big 2026 change is the phased launch of mandatory e-invoicing.
- Corporate income tax
- 25%
- VAT standard rate
- 20%
- Dividend tax
- 25%
Ireland taxes trading profit at its long-standing 12.5% rate, with 25% on passive income and a 15% Pillar Two minimum for large multinational groups. VAT is 23%, and employment income carries income tax at 20%/40% plus USC and PRSI. Filing runs through Revenue’s ROS system; companies register and file annual accounts with the Companies Registration Office.
- Corporate income tax
- 12.5%
- VAT standard rate
- 23%
- Dividend tax
- 25%
The United Kingdom (outside the EU since 2020) taxes company profit at 25%, with a 19% small-profits rate and marginal relief in between. VAT is 20% with a high £90,000 registration threshold. Employers pay 15% National Insurance, and payroll, VAT and accounts are all filed digitally — through HMRC for tax and Companies House for the public register.
- Corporate income tax
- 25%
- VAT standard rate
- 20%
- Dividend tax
- 10.75–39.35%
Spain taxes company profit at 25%, with reduced rates phasing in for micro and small companies (19–23% in 2026) and 15% for new companies. VAT is 21%, personal income tax combines a state and a regional scale up to around 47%, and payroll carries heavy social-security contributions. Filing runs through the AEAT; annual accounts go to the Commercial Register. (Figures are for common territory — the Basque, Navarre and island regimes differ.)
- Corporate income tax
- 25%
- VAT standard rate
- 21%
- Dividend tax
- 19–30%
Portugal cut its corporate income tax to 19% for 2026 (with a 15% rate on the first €50,000 for SMEs), on a path to 17% by 2028. On top sit municipal and state surcharges and a distinctive autonomous taxation of cars and certain expenses. VAT is 23% on the mainland, and payroll runs on a progressive income tax plus flat social contributions. E-invoicing rules, SAF-T and QR codes are well established.
- Corporate income tax
- 19%
- VAT standard rate
- 23%
- Dividend tax
- 28%
Italy taxes company profit with 24% corporate income tax (IRES) plus a regional production tax (IRAP, usually 3.9%). VAT is 22%, personal income tax has three brackets (the middle rate cut to 33% for 2026), and social contributions are high. Electronic invoicing through the SdI has been mandatory for years. There is no statutory minimum wage — pay floors come from collective agreements.
- Corporate income tax
- 24%
- VAT standard rate
- 22%
- Dividend tax
- 26%
Malta has a 35% headline corporate tax, but a full-imputation system with shareholder refunds — commonly 6/7 of the tax — brings the effective rate on distributed trading profit down to about 5%. VAT is 18%, the second-lowest in the EU. Every company files audited accounts. Filing runs through the Commissioner for Tax and Customs.
- Corporate income tax
- 35%
- VAT standard rate
- 18%
- Dividend tax
- 0%
Cyprus raised its corporate tax to 15% for 2026 (from 12.5%) as part of a wider reform, but keeps its hallmark features: no withholding tax on dividends, interest or royalties paid abroad, and full exemption for most dividend income. VAT is 19%. Every company must file audited financial statements. Filing runs through the Tax Department.
- Corporate income tax
- 15%
- VAT standard rate
- 19%
- Dividend tax
- 0%
Sweden (EU, but outside the euro — thresholds are in kronor) taxes company profit at 20.6%. VAT is 25%, personal income combines a municipal tax (about 32%) with a 20% state tax on higher earnings, and employers pay a flat 31.42% social charge with no ceiling. Filing runs through Skatteverket; annual reports go to Bolagsverket.
- Corporate income tax
- 20.6%
- VAT standard rate
- 25%
- Dividend tax
- 30%
Finland taxes company profit at a flat 20%. VAT is 25.5% (one of the EU’s highest), personal income combines a progressive state tax with a municipal tax, and social contributions are shared between employer and employee. A private company (Oy) needs no minimum capital. Filing runs through the Tax Administration’s OmaVero; accounts and beneficial owners go to the Trade Register (PRH).
- Corporate income tax
- 20%
- VAT standard rate
- 25.5%
- Dividend tax
- 20%
Denmark (EU, but outside the euro — thresholds are in kroner) taxes company profit at 22%. VAT is a single 25% rate with no reduced rates. Personal income tax is steeply progressive (top marginal around 56%, including an 8% labour-market contribution), and there is no statutory minimum wage. Filing runs through the Tax Agency (skat.dk); annual reports go to the Business Authority.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%
- VAT standard rate
- 25%
- Dividend tax
- 27% / 42%
The United States has no VAT — states levy retail sales taxes instead — and taxes company profit at a flat federal 21%, with most states adding their own corporate tax. Small businesses usually organise as pass-throughs (S corporations, LLCs) taxed only at the owner level. Companies are formed at state level; the IRS handles federal income and payroll taxes.
- Corporate income tax
- 21%
- Sales tax
- 0–11%+
- Dividend tax
- 0–23.8%
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rates and deadlines change — always verify against the linked laws and official sources, or ask a licensed advisor, before acting.