Portugal vs Spain taxes (2026): wealth tax, income and CGT

Portugal vs Spain tax rates at a glance

Tax	🇵🇹 Portugal	🇪🇸 Spain
Income tax	Personal income tax: 12.5% - 48% Non-resident employment rate: 25% Dividend and interest income: 28% Employee social security: 11% Employer social security: 23.75%	Personal income tax: 19% - 54% Reference employment scale: 19% - 47% Top marginal rate: About 54% Savings income: 19% - 30% Impatriate regime: 24% to EUR 600,000 Employee social security: About 6.5%+
Corporate tax	Standard corporate tax: 19% SME rate: 15% Municipal surtax: Up to 1.5% State surtax: 3% - 9% Madeira / Azores: 13.3%	Corporate tax: 25% 2026 micro-enterprise first EUR 50,000: 19% 2026 micro-enterprise remainder: 21% 2026 small entities: 23% New companies and start-ups: 15% Credit institutions and certain hydrocarbons: 30% Canary Islands ZEC regime: 4% Pillar Two minimum: 15%
Capital gains tax	Default capital gains tax: 28% Property gains taxed: 50% Blacklisted jurisdictions: 35% Non-resident Portuguese securities: 0% / 28%	Individual capital gains: 19% - 30% Crypto gains: 19% - 30% Property gains: 19% - 30% Non-resident asset-transfer gains: 19% Non-resident property-sale withholding: 3% Exit-tax ownership threshold: >25% and EUR 1m
Dividend tax	Individual dividend tax: 28% Portuguese withholding tax: 25% Foreign dividend tax: 28% Blacklisted jurisdictions: 35%	Resident dividend tax: 19% - 30% Dividend WHT: 19% Corporate participation exemption: 95% of qualifying dividend Non-resident domestic withholding: 19% Standard corporate tax before distribution: 25%
Wealth tax	Net wealth tax: 0% AIMI for individuals: 0.7% AIMI for companies: 0.4% AIMI for tax havens: 7.5% IMI urban property: 0.3% - 0.45%	Wealth tax: 0.2% - 3.5% State minimum exemption: EUR 700,000 Principal residence exemption: Up to EUR 300,000 Large-fortune solidarity tax: 0% / 1.7% / 2.1% / 3.5% Wealth Tax filing threshold: Gross assets over EUR 2m
Inheritance / estate tax	Inheritance tax: 0% Stamp duty on free transfers: 10% Spouse / descendants / ascendants: 0% / 0.8%	Inheritance tax: 7.65% - 34% Gift tax: 7.65% - 34% Group I state allowance: EUR 15,956.87+ Group II state allowance: EUR 15,956.87 Group III state allowance: EUR 7,993.46 Group IV state allowance: None State fallback effective ceiling: Up to 81.6%
VAT / GST / sales tax	VAT: 23%	VAT: 21% / 10% / 4%
Other key taxes	None listed on country overview	Reference employment scale: 19% - 47%

Who wins on each tax

Personal income taxPortugal

Portugal's top rate is 48%, while Spain's combined regional rate can reach about 54%.

Corporate taxSpain

Spain's small-entity rates can be 19% or 23%, while Portugal's mainland standard rate is 19% before surtaxes.

Capital gains taxPortugal

Portugal commonly taxes investment gains at 28%, but real estate, long-held securities and non-resident cases can differ; Spain taxes savings-base gains at 19% to 30%, and Spanish real-estate sales can also trigger municipal land-value tax plus a 3% purchaser withholding for non-resident sellers.

Wealth taxPortugal

Portugal has no broad net wealth tax, while Spain levies regional wealth tax and can impose solidarity tax on large fortunes.

Inheritance taxPortugal

Portugal has no separate inheritance tax: close family is exempt from the 10% stamp duty, while other gratuitous transfers can face it; Spain's inheritance tax has a state 7.65% to 34% scale but regional allowances and bonuses can change the outcome dramatically.

The verdict

Portugal is usually the less punitive answer for wealthy residents because it has no broad net wealth tax; Spain can impose wealth tax and a solidarity tax on large fortunes.

Spain's standard income-tax and savings-income rates can be higher, although the decisive numbers vary by autonomous community.

Choose Portugal for a tax-sensitive private-wealth move; choose Spain when a particular region, market or special regime outweighs its higher asset-tax exposure.

How to read this comparison

Portugal and Spain are natural Iberian alternatives, but Spain's wealth-tax regime is often the decisive difference for high-net-worth movers.

Frequently asked questions

Is Portugal or Spain better for wealthy residents?

Portugal is usually more attractive for private wealth because Spain has annual wealth tax. Spain's regional rules and any special regime should still be assessed case by case.