Taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland
Iceland: Taxes on income, profits and capital gains was 47.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of total taxes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland is 47.2%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 52 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and up 19.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland peaked at 47.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 1985.
Iceland ranks 39th of 153 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of total taxes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 19.8% | — |
| 1973 | 20.6% | +3.9% |
| 1974 | 14.1% | -31.5% |
| 1975 | 10.5% | -25.5% |
| 1976 | 10.8% | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 9.3% | -13.4% |
| 1978 | 11.7% | +25.1% |
| 1979 | 14.7% | +25.6% |
| 1980 | 12.7% | -13.3% |
| 1981 | 12.3% | -3.3% |
| 1982 | 13.1% | +6.4% |
| 1983 | 12.9% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 11.4% | -11.7% |
| 1985 | 9.3% | -18.8% |
| 1986 | 12.4% | +33.8% |
| 1987 | 10.6% | -15.0% |
| 1988 | 14.4% | +36.0% |
| 1989 | 20.1% | +40.2% |
| 1990 | 23.6% | +17.4% |
| 1991 | 25.4% | +7.3% |
| 1992 | 26.1% | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 26.0% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 27.8% | +6.6% |
| 1995 | 28.9% | +3.9% |
| 1996 | 30.3% | +4.8% |
| 1997 | 27.7% | -8.3% |
| 1998 | 28.6% | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 30.8% | +7.6% |
| 2000 | 32.4% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 35.1% | +8.5% |
| 2002 | 34.5% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 35.4% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 34.8% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 36.6% | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 38.9% | +6.3% |
| 2007 | 39.8% | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 43.5% | +9.1% |
| 2009 | 40.8% | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 39.1% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 38.6% | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 37.3% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 39.5% | +5.7% |
| 2014 | 40.0% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 40.2% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 25.5% | -36.5% |
| 2017 | 43.4% | +70.4% |
| 2018 | 43.0% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 43.5% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 43.8% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 42.1% | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 45.7% | +8.6% |
| 2023 | 47.2% | +3.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 47.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 43.9%, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 47.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 39.4%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | +70.4% | 25.5% | 43.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.9% | 9.3% | 20.6% | 8 |
| 1980s | 12.9% | 9.3% | 20.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.5% | 23.6% | 30.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.2% | 32.4% | 43.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.0% | 25.5% | 43.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.7% | 42.1% | 47.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More public sector data for Iceland
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Democracy 7 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland?
- Taxes on income, profits and capital gains in Iceland was 47.2% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest taxes on income, profits and capital gains recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 47.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest taxes on income, profits and capital gains recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 1985.
- How does Iceland rank for taxes on income, profits and capital gains?
- Iceland ranks 39th out of 153 countries with data for 2023.
- Is taxes on income, profits and capital gains rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of total taxes). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Taxes on income, profits, and capital gains are taxes payable on the actual or presumed incomes, profits and capital gains. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of total taxes which includes all compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units.