Methodology

Sources We Trust

We prioritize primary sources such as government tax authorities, ministries of finance, and official legislation portals. We also use respected secondary sources like OECD datasets and Big 4 tax summaries to corroborate details.

What We Measure

We capture key fields including personal income tax rates, corporate tax rates, capital gains, foreign income treatment, residency thresholds, and major compliance notes. Each country page shows its data sources and the most recent update date.

Scoring (Directional, Not Advice)

The personal and business scores are directional indicators designed to help compare jurisdictions at a high level. They reflect rates, foreign income treatment, and practical considerations described on each page. Scores are not a substitute for professional advice.

Update Cadence

Each country entry has a “Last verified” date showing when we last checked the figures against the cited primary and secondary sources. That date is the truthful signal — if a jurisdiction’s last-verified date is several months old, treat it accordingly and confirm with the linked sources before acting.

We run a rolling verification programme. As of June 2026 every jurisdiction in the TaxAtlas dataset has been verified against primary and secondary sources within the last six months. The highest-traffic and most volatile jurisdictions (UAE, Singapore, UK, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Ireland, Hong Kong, Switzerland, US, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, and others with active legislative change) are revisited at a minimum of every six months. Material legislative events (e.g. the UK non-dom abolition in April 2025, Italy’s 2026 Budget Law, Cyprus’s 2026 tax reform, the US OBBBA TCJA permanence, Uruguay’s Law 20.446, Canada cancelling the capital-gains inclusion-rate hike) trigger an immediate refresh of the affected pages.

When sources change, we re-verify the figure, swap or add the citation, and bump the last-verified date in the same edit. Countries without a recent legislative event may carry an older last-verified date even when the figures are still correct — that is by design, so the dateline reflects work actually done rather than a marketing claim.

Limitations

Tax regimes vary by individual circumstances. Rates may differ by income bands, residency status, or special programs. Always verify your situation with local professionals.