Five countries currently impose a broad, recurring tax on individual net wealth: Switzerland, Norway, and Spain in Europe, and Colombia and Argentina in Latin America. A handful of others tax narrower slices of wealth rather than total net worth, including France (real estate only), Italy (foreign-held real estate and financial assets), Belgium (large securities accounts), Uruguay, Tunisia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Pakistan. Dozens of countries used to have one and don’t anymore.
The systems that remain look very different from one another. Some tax worldwide assets; others reach only domestic holdings. Thresholds run from the equivalent of a few hundred thousand dollars up to several million euros. Rates start at a fraction of a percent and top out at 3.5% in Spain. If you have cross-border assets or are considering a move, the details matter far more than the headline.
Switzerland
Switzerland has no federal wealth tax. Instead, each of its 26 cantons sets its own rates and exemptions, which means the bill in Geneva looks nothing like the one in Zurich. Every canton taxes residents on worldwide net assets (gross assets minus debts), and cantonal rates generally run from about 0.13% to 0.9%.1Worldwide Tax Summaries. Switzerland – Individual – Other Taxes
The taxable base covers bank accounts, investment portfolios, real estate, vehicles, and other property, valued at fair market prices. Mortgages and other verified debts are subtracted before the rate applies.2ch.ch. Tax Return – Declaring Your Assets Wealthy foreigners who don’t work in Switzerland can sometimes negotiate a lump-sum arrangement called forfait taxation, where the tax base is calculated from living expenses rather than actual assets.
Norway
Norway’s formuesskatt splits revenue between municipalities and the central government. For 2026, it starts once your net wealth exceeds NOK 1,900,000, roughly $170,000, a notably low floor by international standards. The municipal portion is 0.35% on everything above that. The state adds 0.65% on wealth between NOK 1,900,001 and NOK 21,500,000, and 0.75% above NOK 21,500,000. Combined, that comes to 1.0% for most people who owe the tax, rising to 1.1% at the top bracket.3The Norwegian Tax Administration. Net Wealth Tax and Valuation Discounts
Spouses and registered partners assessed jointly get double the threshold. Because the entry point is so low, Norway’s wealth tax reaches far further down the wealth distribution than its European peers, catching many ordinary homeowners whose property values have risen. A notable number of wealthy Norwegians have relocated abroad in recent years to escape the combined burden of wealth and income taxes.
Spain
Spain operates two overlapping levies. The traditional Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio, governed by Law 19/1991, is administered by the country’s autonomous communities, which have wide latitude to adjust rates and exemptions.4Tax Agency. Tax Classes Madrid has historically offered a full rebate that effectively zeroed out the regional wealth tax. Other regions apply rates scaling up to 3.5% on the largest fortunes. Residents file separately from their income tax using Form 714.5Tax Agency. Form 714 – Wealth Tax – Tax Return and Income Document
Layered on top is the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes, introduced in 2022 and extended through at least 2026. It applies nationally to net wealth above €3,000,000 regardless of region, at rates of 1.7% (€3 million to €5.3 million), 2.1% (€5.3 million to €10.7 million), and 3.5% (above €10.7 million). Any regional wealth tax already paid is credited against the Solidarity Tax, so in practice it catches wealthy residents in regions that had reduced or eliminated their own version.
Spain also imposes an exit tax on long-term residents (at least 10 of the past 15 years) who leave with substantial shareholdings, targeting unrealized capital gains on the final return.
Colombia
Colombia made its wealth tax permanent under Law 2277 of 2022. The Impuesto al Patrimonio applies to individuals, and certain nonresident entities holding Colombian wealth, whose net worth on January 1 of each year exceeds a threshold denominated in Tax Value Units (UVT). For 2026, one UVT equals COP 52,374, and the threshold adjusts each year with inflation. Progressive rates apply above the floor: 0.5% on the first tier, 1.0% on the next, and 1.5% at the top. The 1.5% top rate is scheduled to drop to 1.0% starting in 2027. The national tax authority, DIAN, oversees collection.
Argentina
Argentina’s Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales, originally codified under Law 23,966, historically applied rates from 0.5% up to 1.75% on domestic assets and as high as 2.25% on assets held abroad.6Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina. Ley 27667 – Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales That structure changed in June 2024, when Congress passed Law 27,743 and substantially reduced rates. For 2026 onward, the range has been compressed to roughly 0.50% to 0.75%.
The same law created a voluntary advance-payment program known as REIBP that lets qualifying taxpayers make a single upfront payment and skip annual wealth tax filings through the 2027 fiscal year. Primary residences remain exempt up to a set value.7Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos. Argentina Code 23966 – Impuesto sobre los Bienes Personales Penalties are severe: fines for failing to file can reach millions of pesos, and deliberate evasion involving fraudulent concealment of assets above ARS 100 million can carry two to six years in prison.
Countries That Tax Only Part of Wealth
Several countries have narrower systems that don’t reach total net worth. France taxes only real estate, through the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière, on holdings above €1,300,000.8Service Public. Property Wealth Tax (IFI) – Declaration and Payment Italy taxes real estate and financial assets held outside the country. Belgium taxes securities accounts above €1 million. Uruguay, Tunisia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Pakistan each impose their own variants at different rates and against different asset categories. If your assets don’t fall into the specific slice a country targets, these narrower taxes may not apply to you at all.
What Actually Gets Taxed
In the countries with a broad wealth tax, the taxable base covers most of what you own, minus what you owe. Real estate is usually the largest component: primary home, vacation and rental properties, undeveloped land. Financial assets come next: bank accounts, brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, valued at current market prices. High-value personal property like luxury vehicles, boats, art, and jewelry typically has to be included.
Verifiable debts reduce the total. Mortgages and personal loans are subtracted from gross assets to arrive at net wealth, which is the figure the rate applies to. Someone with $5 million in real estate but $3 million in mortgage debt has $2 million in taxable net wealth.
Private businesses and illiquid assets are the hardest to value. A publicly traded stock has a clear market price, but a family-owned company or a stake in a private fund requires a formal appraisal. Several jurisdictions allow valuation discounts for illiquid or closely held business interests, and that is where most wealth tax disputes with authorities actually occur.
Thresholds and Who Counts as a Resident
Every wealth tax has a floor below which no tax is owed, and the floors vary enormously. Norway’s kicks in at about $170,000.3The Norwegian Tax Administration. Net Wealth Tax and Valuation Discounts Spain’s Solidarity Tax doesn’t start until net wealth exceeds €3,000,000. Switzerland’s thresholds vary by canton but generally fall in the low hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs.
Residency determines whose wealth gets taxed and how far the tax reaches. Residents in wealth-tax countries are almost universally taxed on worldwide assets, wherever the account or property sits. Nonresidents are typically taxed only on assets located within the country’s borders. How residency itself is determined depends on the jurisdiction; most use some combination of physical presence (often a 183-day threshold), the location of your permanent home, and where your closest personal and economic ties are. Tax treaties provide tiebreaker rules when someone qualifies as a resident of two places at once.
Leaving doesn’t always end the obligation. Spain’s exit tax targets long-term residents who leave with large unrealized gains on shareholdings. If you relocate mid-year, some jurisdictions split the tax year into resident and nonresident portions.
If You’re a U.S. Taxpayer Living in One of These Countries
Americans in a wealth-tax country face a specific problem: the IRS Foreign Tax Credit generally does not apply to wealth taxes. The credit is limited to income taxes or taxes paid in lieu of income taxes.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 856 – Foreign Tax Credit A wealth tax is based on what you own, not what you earned, and fails that test. A U.S. citizen living in Norway or Switzerland cannot offset their American income tax bill with the wealth tax paid to the host country. It is simply an added cost of living there.
U.S. citizens and green card holders also have to report worldwide financial accounts above $10,000 through FBAR filings and may need to file Form 8938 under FATCA. Those obligations exist independently of any foreign wealth tax, but together they can produce a heavy compliance load for Americans with significant assets abroad.
One boundary worth stating plainly: the United States itself does not have a federal wealth tax. Proposals surface periodically at the federal and state level, but nothing has been enacted. If you are a U.S. resident with no foreign assets or residency, none of the systems described here reach you.