taxing wages

I’m interested in how tax systems work in different countries, and how salaries can be so high in the US. That still doesn’t add up in my mind. And most of the time the tech scene in Europe complains about the cost to the employer of those high salaries.

I live in Sweden, so I roughly know how the system works here. But understanding other countries takes a lot of effort, and it’s more or less impossible for one person to compare them and get the full picture. How much will you be taxed on your gross salary? And how does that change when your salary goes up?

Most people think taxes are very high in Sweden. Well, it depends on how much you earn. If you earn around the national average, Sweden is actually fine, better than most European countries.

Luckily I came across the OECD Taxing Wages 2026 report, and decided to make this app for myself and for others, to do an actual comparison between countries.

It’s an estimate from a standardised model, not tax advice. Your payslip is the authority.