WageVoyage

Freelancer Net Income Comparison: 5 Countries (2026)

As of 2026, an established freelancer billing $60,000 with $3,000 of expenses keeps about $56,400 in Georgia (1% regime), $56,100 in Dubai, $54,800 in Singapore, $38,500 in Spain and $37,900 in Portugal — an $18,500-a-year spread from geography alone, before cost of living.

The link reproduces your exact inputs.

How this comparison works

Every row is produced by the same calculation engine that powers our single-country tools — the exact rules, thresholds and caps documented and source-cited on each country page — not by headline rates. Your income is converted into each country’s currency at official reference rates (ECB, National Bank of Georgia, the dirham’s dollar peg, as of 2026-07-17), run through that country’s freelancer regime, and converted back.

The standard profile is a single, resident, professional-services freelancer with no dependents: Portugal’s simplified regime with the 0.75 coefficient and 21.4% social security, Spain’s autónomo system with the income-based cuota, Georgia’s 1% small business status, Dubai’s zero income tax with the rent-linked housing fee (rent assumed at 30% of gross), and Singapore’s resident scale with no CPF for foreigners. Expenses are handled the way each system actually handles them — fully deductible in Spain and Singapore, relevant only to Portugal’s 15% rule, and irrelevant to Georgia’s turnover tax and Dubai.

What the table deliberately does not include: cost of living, rent levels, visa costs, healthcare, schooling — and, most importantly, your current country’s claim on you. The ranking answers exactly one question: if you were a tax resident there, what would that system take?

The five regimes at a glance

Country Regime modeled Sharpest caveat
🇬🇪 Georgia 1% of turnover (small business status) Consulting excluded; residency does the heavy lifting
🇦🇪 Dubai 0% income tax + 5% housing fee on rent Cost of living sits outside every tax table
🇸🇬 Singapore Resident scale 0–24% on profit, no CPF First 183 days can be taxed as non-resident
🇪🇸 Spain IRPF + income-based cuota (autónomo) Region moves the IRPF half of the scale
🇵🇹 Portugal Simplified regime + 21.4% social security Year-one arithmetic is not year-three arithmetic

Each country name links to a full calculator with every rule documented: Georgia, Dubai, Portugal and Spain.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Georgia beat even Dubai’s 0% here?

Because Dubai’s zero income tax still comes with a recurring cost linked to living there — the 5% municipality housing fee on rent — while Georgia’s entire bill is 1% of turnover. At moderate incomes that 1% is smaller than 5% of a Dubai rent. The gap is small, and it reverses for high earners with modest rents. Both places carry non-tax caveats this table cannot price: Georgia excludes consulting and everything depends on where you are actually tax-resident; Dubai’s cost of living does not appear in any tax table.

Why isn’t my home country in the comparison?

Because the tool compares what each country charges its own tax residents — and becoming one is the hard part. If you keep your tax residency at home (183-day rules, permanent home, centre of vital interests), your home country can tax your worldwide income no matter where your clients or your company sit, and the numbers above stop applying. Treat this table as the destination menu, not as a loophole: the move only works if you genuinely relocate your tax residency.

How are the different currencies handled?

Your input is converted into each country's currency at official reference rates — ECB rates for EUR and SGD, the National Bank of Georgia for GEL, and the dirham's fixed peg of 3.6725 per US dollar — computed under each country's rules, then converted back. Rates are as of 2026-07-17 and refreshed with our quarterly data cycle; a few percent of FX drift shifts the exact figures but rarely the ranking.

What does the first-year toggle change?

It applies each country’s startup regime where one exists. Portugal halves its taxable coefficient and charges no social security for the first twelve months; Spain swaps the income-based cuota for the €88.64/month tarifa plana and adds a 20% reduction to taxable income. Georgia, Dubai and Singapore treat year one like any other. The reshuffle is dramatic — Portugal typically jumps from last place to the middle of the pack.

How reliable are these numbers?

Each country’s figures come from the same calculation engines behind our single-country tools, which are built from primary sources — tax codes, official gazettes and revenue-authority guidance — each cited with a verification date on the country pages. The comparison inherits their assumptions: single resident, professional services, no dependents. It is a planning estimate, not advice; the country pages document every rule in detail.

Data sources & verification