What are the top marginal income tax rates in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland in 2024?
Executive summary
Available reporting and data compilations show top statutory personal income tax rates in the Nordic countries in 2024 clustered at very high levels: Denmark’s top statutory rate is cited around 55.9% (the highest in Europe), Finland’s around 55%, Norway’s combined top marginal rate near the high 40s, and Sweden’s top marginal rate reported in some sources above 50% depending on measurement (examples below) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Coverage in the provided sources varies by country and sometimes mixes statutory top rates with combined local/surtax measures or effective marginal rates; I flag those differences below [1] [5] [3] [4].
1. Denmark — Europe’s top statutory top rate, and what that number means
Multiple data compilations list Denmark with a top statutory personal income tax rate of roughly 55.9% in 2024, making it the highest single-country statutory top rate in Europe in those datasets [1] [5]. Tax Foundation–sourced reporting and other summaries note Denmark’s top statutory rate applies well below the very highest incomes (it can affect upper‑middle incomes), so the “top rate” in Denmark often refers to combined central and local income taxes plus surtaxes and social contributions folded into income tax [5] [1].
2. Finland — a top statutory rate reported near 55%
At least one widely cited source (PwC as quoted by Investopedia) and European compilations place Finland’s top personal income tax rate in 2024 at about 55% [2]. VisualCapitalist/Tax Foundation maps and Statista listings also place Finland among the Nordic countries with top statutory rates in the mid‑50s range, though some summaries combine central, regional, and surtax components [6] [1].
3. Norway — layered brackets producing a high combined marginal rate in the high‑40s
PwC and country tax summaries show Norway’s system combines a flat tax on general income (22% in the PwC summary) with progressive bracket taxes (“trinnskatt”) on personal labour income; those bracket taxes can push the top marginal combined rate to the high 40s in 2024 (examples: general income 22% plus bracket surcharges; PwC lists bracket rates such as 4.0% and 13.7% in ranges) [3]. VisualCapitalist and other compilers also show Norway’s top combined marginal rate below Denmark/Finland but substantially above many European averages [6] [3].
4. Sweden — reported top marginal rates above 50% in some measures, effective rates vary
Sweden’s reporting is complicated: some sources report a top marginal tax “in practice” of about 55.6% for 2024 based on combined national and municipal income taxes on incomes above a certain threshold, while other analyses emphasise variation across municipalities and point out that effective marginal tax rates depend on deductions and local rates [4]. Visual and comparative datasets place Sweden among high‑tax Nordics, but precise presentation depends on whether one reports statutory national top rate only or combined national + local surtaxes [6] [4].
5. Iceland — less consistently reported in the selected sources
The provided search results do not include a clear, single authoritative 2024 top marginal rate for Iceland among the items listed. Compilations of European top rates (Tax Foundation / VisualCapitalist / Statista) typically include Iceland in their maps, but the specific 2024 Iceland figure is not shown in the provided snippets; therefore, available sources do not mention a definitive Iceland 2024 top marginal rate in the excerpts supplied here [6] [1].
6. Why numbers differ across sources — statutory vs. combined vs. effective
All the datasets here mix different counting methods: some list the statutory central government top rate, others add sub‑central (municipal) taxes and surtaxes, and still others report “combined top statutory personal income tax rates” including social charges folded into income tax [6] [5] [1]. For example, Denmark’s headline 55.9% is a combined statutory measure that includes multiple components and affects incomes starting at relatively modest multiples of average pay, while Norway’s figure often results from adding a 22% general income tax to progressive bracket surcharges [5] [3].
7. Short guidance if you need precise figures for each country
If you want exact top marginal rates for Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland in 2024 broken down into (a) central government statutory rate, (b) typical municipal/region surtaxes, and (c) thresholds where those rates apply, consult primary official tax authorities or the underlying PwC/Tax Foundation country notes behind the VisualCapitalist/Statista maps; the sources above (Tax Foundation / PwC / VisualCapitalist / Statista) are the compilations used in these summaries [2] [6] [1] [3].
Limitations and final note: the selected sources differ in methodology and sometimes in whether they report statutory top rates or combined local plus central rates; for Iceland specifically, the provided snippets lack a clear 2024 top‑rate figure, so I could not state one from these excerpts [6] [1] [3] [4].