EU Tax Revenue Trends 2024

EU Customs & Tariffs News

Published March 31st, 2026

Detected April 1st, 2026

Summary

DG TAXUD released the 2026 Taxation Trends report showing EU-27 tax revenue reached €7.1 trillion in 2024, a 5.6% increase from 2023. The tax-to-GDP ratio rose slightly from 39.0% to 39.4%. Labour taxes account for 51.5% of total revenue, while consumption taxes (26.8%) and capital taxes (21.6%) saw slight declines.

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What changed

The Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union published its annual Taxation Trends statistical report covering 2024. EU-27 Member States collected €7.1 trillion in taxes, with labour taxes growing 6.6% and now comprising 51.5% of total revenue. Consumption taxes rose 5.0% and capital taxes increased 4.1%. Denmark (45.2%), France (43.5%), and Austria (43.4%) had the highest tax burdens, while Ireland (21.7%), Romania (27.9%), and Malta (28.8%) reported the lowest rates.\n\nThis is a statistical release with no regulatory requirements or compliance obligations for private entities. The report informs the Annual Report on Taxation and the EU Semester cycle. Government agencies and policy analysts may use this data for economic analysis and fiscal planning.

Source document (simplified)

The data cover all EU Member States (including aggregates at EU-27 and euro area level), Iceland, and Norway.

According to the latest release (30 March 2026), EU-27 Member States collected €7.1 trillion in taxes in 2024 , a *5.6% increase** from 2023. However, strong nominal GDP growth (4.4% in 2024) partially offset this rise, leading to only a modest increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio —from 39.0% in 2023 to 39.4% in 2024.

Denmark (45.2%), France (43.5%), and Austria (43.4%) had the highest tax burden in the EU-27, while Ireland (21.7%), Romania (27.9%), and Malta (28.8%) reported the lowest rates.

Tax Revenue Composition in 2024

Labour taxes (including social contributions) grew by 6.6% in nominal terms, driven by rising salaries and a strong labour market.
Consumption taxes increased by 5.0%.
Capital taxes saw slower growth (4.1%), largely due to stagnant property tax revenues. As a result, labour taxes now account for 51.5% of total EU-27 tax revenue (up from 51.1% in 2023), while the shares of consumption taxes (26.8%) and capital taxes (21.6%) declined slightly.

About the Data

The Taxation Trends report is produced annually by the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD), in collaboration with the Expert Group on the Structures of Taxation Systems — a body of national finance ministry experts chaired by DG TAXUD.

The dataset includes statistics on tax revenue by economic function, tax type, government level, and implicit tax rates. It also informs the Annual Report on Taxation (due in June 2026) and the EU Semester cycle.

Total tax revenues (% of GDP) and breakdown by economic base (% total revenue), EU-27, 2014-2024

Breakdown of tax revenues by economic function (% total revenue) EU member states, 2024

More information about the data on taxation trends

*Measured by Indicator 2 of Eurostat National Accounts Working Group, as defined in June 2001: Total receipts from taxes and actual compulsory social contributions, including those for government as an employer. This indicator is consistently used across this report to measure tax revenues (see definition of tax revenue in Tax revenue statistics - Statistics Explained).