Best of
Cities with the lowest payroll deduction
Ranked by combined effective income tax + employee-side social security. Lower means a higher take-home from any given gross salary.
Why this list matters
Combined payroll deduction (income tax + employee social security) is what actually shifts your gross-to-net ratio. Headline marginal rates often understate the effective burden because social-security contributions are flat above floors but progressively binding.
Lower deduction = higher take-home from any given gross. Pair with the cost-of-living per city to know if the net actually stretches further.
Combined deduction = effective income tax + employee-side social security, expressed as a percentage of gross. Effective rate (not marginal) for a single filer at the country median wage. Lower means more take-home.
| # | City | Combined deduction | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  DubaiUnited Arab Emirates | 5% | United Arab Emirates |
| 2 |  SingaporeSingapore | 6% | Singapore |
| 3 |  BangkokThailand | 10% | Thailand |
| 4 |  RiyadhSaudi Arabia | 10% | Saudi Arabia |
| 5 |  LimaPeru | 12% | Peru |
| 6 |  Mexico CityMexico | 12% | Mexico |
| 7 |  JakartaIndonesia | 13% | Indonesia |
| 8 |  ManilaPhilippines | 16% | Philippines |
| 9 |  Kuala LumpurMalaysia | 17% | Malaysia |
| 10 |  AucklandNew Zealand | 17% | New Zealand |
| 11 |  CasablancaMorocco | 18% | Morocco |
| 12 |  Cape TownSouth Africa | 19% | South Africa |
| 13 |  TaipeiTaiwan | 19% | Taiwan |
| 14 |  Hong KongHong Kong | 20% | Hong Kong |
| 15 |  ZurichSwitzerland | 21% | Switzerland |
| 16 |  SeoulSouth Korea | 21% | South Korea |
| 17 |  CairoEgypt | 21% | Egypt |
| 18 |  ShanghaiChina | 21% | China |
| 19 |  PragueCzech Republic | 22% | Czech Republic |
| 20 |  TallinnEstonia | 22% | Estonia |
| 21 |  MedellinColombia | 22% | Colombia |
| 22 |  Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam | 22% | Vietnam |
| 23 |  SydneyAustralia | 23% | Australia |
| 24 |  MadridSpain | 24% | Spain |
| 25 |  New YorkUnited States | 25% | United States |
| 26 |  BangaloreIndia | 25% | India |
| 27 |  SantiagoChile | 25% | Chile |
| 28 |  LondonUnited Kingdom | 26% | United Kingdom |
| 29 |  Buenos AiresArgentina | 26% | Argentina |
| 30 |  TokyoJapan | 27% | Japan |
| 31 |  TorontoCanada | 28% | Canada |
| 32 |  DublinIreland | 29% | Ireland |
| 33 |  IstanbulTurkey | 29% | Turkey |
| 34 |  WarsawPoland | 31% | Poland |
| 35 |  LisbonPortugal | 31% | Portugal |
| 36 |  AmsterdamNetherlands | 33% | Netherlands |
| 37 |  São PauloBrazil | 33% | Brazil |
| 38 |  BudapestHungary | 34% | Hungary |
| 39 |  Tel AvivIsrael | 34% | Israel |
| 40 |  RomeItaly | 35% | Italy |
| 41 |  StockholmSweden | 35% | Sweden |
| 42 |  ParisFrance | 36% | France |
| 43 |  AthensGreece | 36% | Greece |
| 44 |  BrusselsBelgium | 38% | Belgium |
| 45 |  OsloNorway | 38% | Norway |
| 46 |  ViennaAustria | 42% | Austria |
| 47 |  BerlinGermany | 42% | Germany |
| 48 |  BucharestRomania | 45% | Romania |
| 49 |  CopenhagenDenmark | 45% | Denmark |
The top three, in context
The UAE anchors the low-tax end with 0% personal income tax. The 5% employee social-security contribution is the only structural deduction. Pairs poorly with high housing costs but the after-tax math is unique globally.
Singapore's effective personal income tax is in the high single digits at median salaries and tops out around 22-24% for top earners. Foreigners are exempt from CPF (the 20% mandatory savings), so the foreigner-relocator take-home is unusually strong.
Thailand's combined deduction is among the lowest of any catalogued country with a functional public infrastructure. Recent rule changes (2024) on foreign-sourced income remittance have tightened a previously-permissive regime — read the latest before assuming.
Low headline tax doesn't always equal good net outcome. The UAE's tax-free salary is partly offset by paid healthcare and housing costs; Singapore's low tax is offset by very high housing. Always look at the full net-after-essentials math per city, not just the deduction column.
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