The state of FIRE in Europe.
What changed in the rules that decide a European exit — verified against official sources, one edition a year, kept online so citations don't rot.
The 2026 edition
2026 was the year the direction showed itself. Belgium — for decades the continent's quiet no-capital-gains haven — started taxing gains. France's flat tax crept up, Italy re-priced its newcomer deal, Romania lifted its investing taxes, Lithuania made quick gains progressive. The other way, quieter: Sweden doubled its tax-free floor, Czechia uncapped its three-year exemption, Ireland cut its fund tax, Estonia cancelled a rise. And the doors kept closing — Spain's golden visa gone, Malta's passport struck down, Portugal's citizenship clock doubled. The average exit got a little more expensive; the patient one, a little cheaper.
The movers
What actually changed, country by country. Every line restates a change already carried — and dated — on that country's page.
Every country page gains 'Getting in' and 'Health'
The other half of the exit, verified: the residence route for the financially independent, golden-visa status, the clocks to permanent residency and a passport, when you become tax-resident — and how healthcare works before the public system takes you.
Austria tightens its exit-tax deferral
From 1 July 2026, larger deferred exit-tax gains need an annual proof filing to keep the deferral alive.
Sweden's citizenship jumps to eight years
In force since 6 June 2026: eight years, self-support rules and Swedish-and-society requirements — with no protection for applications already in the queue.
Portugal doubles its citizenship clock
The new nationality law raises naturalisation from five years to ten (seven for EU and CPLP citizens), counted from the first residence card. Applications filed before 19 May 2026 keep the old five.
Slovenia opens a tax-sheltered account
A new investment account (the INR) lets gains, dividends and rebalancing go untaxed inside it — 0% after fifteen untouched years — though its eligible-instrument rules shut out the standard global ETFs.
Andorra triples the price of passive residence
The passive-residence investment rises to €1,000,000 (€400,000 via the housing fund) plus a €50,000 non-refundable fee — and new permits are capped at 163 a year.
Lithuania makes quick gains progressive
A 2026 reform pulls short-term securities gains into a new progressive scale (up to 32%), while shares held over five years — or gains taken inside the investment account — stay at a flat 15%.
Romania lifts its investing taxes
A 2026 fiscal package raised the tax on dividends and on foreign-broker share gains to 16% (from 10%), and doubled the light local-broker rates to 3% and 6%.
Italy re-prices its newcomer deal
The 2026 budget doubled the financial-transaction tax and raised the lump-sum flat tax for new residents to €300,000 for 2026 arrivals.
Slovakia raises its top brackets
Top income-tax brackets rise to 35%, but the one-year holding exemption for listed ETFs is left untouched.
Ireland cuts its fund tax rate
The fund exit-tax rate falls from 41% to 38%; the eight-year deemed disposal stays.
Czechia uncaps its three-year exemption
The 2025 cap on the tax-free-after-three-years rule is gone; the exemption is uncapped once more (crypto keeps a cap).
Sweden doubles the ISK free floor
The tax-free floor on the ISK wrapper rises from SEK 150,000 to SEK 300,000.
France's flat tax ticks up
The flat tax on investment gains rises from 30% to about 31%, as the social charges inside it increase.
Cyprus rewrites its tax code
The dividend defence contribution falls from 17% to 5% on post-2026 profits, the 60-day residency rule loosens, and the non-dom window gains a paid extension.
Belgium's first capital gains tax arrives
A 10% tax on investment gains begins — counting only growth from 2026, with the first €10,000 per person each year exempt. The old haven, gently closed.
Estonia cancels a rate rise
The legislated increase to 24% is scrapped; the flat rate stays at 22%.
Still echoing from the year before
The EU's court kills Malta's golden passport
Citizenship-by-investment ruled contrary to EU law; Malta repealed the framework. The residence-by-investment programme continues on 2025 terms.
Spain closes its golden visa
The investor residence route — the €500,000 property door included — ends by organic law. Permits already granted keep running.
Latvia raises the tax on capital
The 2025 reform lifted the rate on capital income and capital gains from 20% to 25.5% — the investment account still defers it until withdrawals overtake contributions.
Hungary taxes early exits from the five-year account
A 13% social charge now hits money pulled early from a TBSZ account opened since 2025 — but the deal that drops to 0% after five full years survives, social charge and all.
Germany extends its exit tax to funds
The exit tax reaches ordinary funds and ETFs, not just company stakes — it can bite when a single fund position cost €500,000 or more.
The direction of travel
Across Europe, the direction of travel is toward taxing more, not less — 2026 kept the trend. Model your exit with margin: treat today's rate as a starting point a budget cycle can move, not a constant. And treat every newcomer deal as weather, not climate — confirm it in writing, close to the move.
The standings
Derived live from the same verified rows as the country pages — these lists can't drift from the atlas.
by whole-economy price level, EU-27 = 100
25
25 of the atlas's countries charge nothing yearly for simply holding
The method
Every figure on every country page restates a rule checked against official sources — national tax authorities, and reputable professional summaries where they're clearer — on a schedule. Each page carries its own last-verified date, the changelog records every change since, and the next full sweep runs in November. Nothing on the atlas is crowd-sourced, scraped or guessed.
Country details last checked: July 2026.
I live on this map — that's why it stays current. If something here moves your plan, follow it to the country page and the source before you act.
— Pablo
Education, not advice. Rules compress and change; verify anything you'd act on with the official source in your country, ideally with a licensed adviser.
Bring me a challenge.
The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.