Take-home pay 2026: DE, FR, UK, NL, PL, ES
Same gross salary, six countries: how much is left after income tax and social contributions? Computed with the same engines as our take-home pay calculators, as of 2026-09-29.
Key figures
- On €50,000 gross a year, employees keep the most in United Kingdom (80.2%) and the least in Poland (64.0%).
- Germany ranks 5 of 6 at €50,000: €32,337 net (64.7%) – €7,771 less than in United Kingdom.
- At €30,000 the range runs from 70.8% (Germany) to 92.6% (Netherlands); at €80,000 from 60.1% (Germany) to 73.4% (United Kingdom).
- Social contributions make the difference: in France, Germany and Poland more than 20% of gross goes to social insurance, in United Kingdom and Spain less than 10%. In the Netherlands the employee share is part of the payroll tax; health and unemployment insurance are paid by the employer.
Chart free to use under CC BY 4.0, credit “toolboxday.com”. Chart as PNG · Chart as SVG
All figures
Gross salary €30,000 a year
| Country | Gross | Tax | Social contributions | Net | Net in € | Net share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | €30,000 | €2,232 | €0 | €27,768 | €27,768 | 92.6% |
| United Kingdom | £25,715 | £2,627 | £1,052 | £22,036 | €25,708 | 85.7% |
| Spain | €30,000 | €4,926 | €1,950 | €23,124 | €23,124 | 77.1% |
| France | €30,000 | €714 | €6,252 | €23,034 | €23,034 | 76.8% |
| Poland | PLN 130,959 | PLN 9,600 | PLN 28,125 | PLN 93,234 | €21,358 | 71.2% |
| Germany | €30,000 | €2,248 | €6,525 | €21,227 | €21,227 | 70.8% |
Gross salary €50,000 a year
| Country | Gross | Tax | Social contributions | Net | Net in € | Net share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £42,859 | £6,056 | £2,423 | £34,380 | €40,108 | 80.2% |
| Netherlands | €50,000 | €10,832 | €0 | €39,168 | €39,168 | 78.3% |
| Spain | €50,000 | €11,200 | €3,250 | €35,550 | €35,550 | 71.1% |
| France | €50,000 | €4,055 | €10,467 | €35,478 | €35,478 | 71.0% |
| Germany | €50,000 | €6,788 | €10,875 | €32,337 | €32,337 | 64.7% |
| Poland | PLN 218,265 | PLN 31,704 | PLN 46,875 | PLN 139,686 | €31,999 | 64.0% |
Gross salary €80,000 a year
| Country | Gross | Tax | Social contributions | Net | Net in € | Net share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £68,574 | £14,858 | £3,382 | £50,334 | €58,720 | 73.4% |
| Netherlands | €80,000 | €26,071 | €0 | €53,929 | €53,929 | 67.4% |
| France | €80,000 | €10,408 | €16,404 | €53,188 | €53,188 | 66.5% |
| Spain | €80,000 | €23,136 | €4,017 | €52,847 | €52,847 | 66.1% |
| Poland | PLN 349,224 | PLN 70,268 | PLN 68,173 | PLN 210,783 | €48,286 | 60.4% |
| Germany | €80,000 | €15,694 | €16,257 | €48,049 | €48,049 | 60.1% |
Method
Standard case in every country: single, no children, aged 30–64, permanent employee, one job, annual gross paid in twelve equal monthly salaries, no workplace pension, no student loan.
Same gross in euros. Pounds sterling and zloty at the ECB reference rate of 2026-09-29 (€1 = 0.85718 GBP = 4.3653 PLN), rounded to whole pounds/zloty.
Germany: tax class I, no church tax, average additional health contribution 2.9%, childless (care insurance surcharge), outside Saxony. France: non-cadre, mainland outside Alsace-Moselle, no supplementary health cover, withholding at the neutral rate. UK: England/Wales/Northern Ireland, tax year 2026/27. Netherlands: white monthly table with payroll tax credit. Poland: employment contract, standard costs PLN 250, PIT-2. Spain: permanent contract, 12 payments, situation 3 (single, no children).
Tax = income/payroll tax incl. solidarity surcharge; social contributions = employee shares (France incl. CSG/CRDS, Poland incl. 9% health contribution).
What the comparison does not show
- Purchasing power and wage levels: €50,000 is a top salary in Poland and a middle one in the Netherlands. The comparison shows deductions, not living standards.
- Employer contributions are not included – they are particularly high in France and the Netherlands.
- Netherlands: the basic health insurance premium is paid separately by the insured person. UK: auto-enrolment pension contributions are not deducted.
- France and Spain: the figure is the monthly withholding (neutral rate or retención); the final tax is settled with the annual return.
Calculators and sources
Calculators with all legal sources:
- Germany Salary Calculator 2026: Gross to Net After Tax (Germany)
- France Gross to Net Salary Calculator 2026 (brut → net) (France)
- UK Take Home Pay Calculator 2026/27: Salary After Tax (United Kingdom)
- Netherlands Salary Calculator 2026 incl. 30% Ruling (Netherlands)
- Poland Salary Calculator 2026: Gross to Net (Brutto Netto) (Poland)
- Spain Salary Calculator 2026: Gross to Net After Tax (Spain)
ECB euro reference exchange rates (2026-09-29)
Download the data
All 18 cases (6 countries × 3 salaries) as CSV (German column names). Licence CC BY 4.0 – credit “toolboxday.com”. CC BY 4.0
Press
Figures, chart and table may be used freely with credit “toolboxday.com” (ideally linking to this page). We are happy to compute further salary levels or cases: info@saracai.de