Wealth Tax by Country in 2026: Norway, France, Switzerland, Spain, and Whether a US Annuity Is Taxed
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: in 2026 Norway taxes net wealth above NOK 1.9 million per person (NOK 3.8 million for a jointly assessed couple) at 1.0%, France taxes only real estate above EUR 1.3 million per household (IFI), Switzerland taxes wealth in every canton (roughly 0.1% to 1.0%), and Spain taxes residents above EUR 700,000 per person plus a EUR 300,000 home allowance. A life annuity from a US insurer never licensed in Norway is not taxable wealth there (Skatte-ABC F-24-2.1), Switzerland likely leaves an annuity with no surrender value out (confirm per canton), and in Spain and the Netherlands an annuity stays in the base.
Free guide: Moving abroad on a fixed income
Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
A wealth tax charges you every year on what you own, not on what you earn. For Americans with real savings who move to a wealth-tax country, it can quietly cost thousands a year on money that sits in the bank. My parents learned this while planning their move from the US to Norway: once you are tax resident, cash in the bank on December 31 is counted for wealth tax, and banks rarely mention it.
This page answers two questions: which countries have a wealth tax in 2026 (with the thresholds for a single person and a couple), and does turning some savings into a life-only US immediate annuity (SPIA) shrink it? The second answer depends entirely on the country.
Wealth tax by country: the 2026 table
USD at USD/NOK 9.6494 (Norges Bank, 2 October 2026) and EUR 1 = USD 1.17 (a planning rate; the ECB reference rate was $1.1225 on 2 October 2026, so these dollar figures include about 4% of headroom).
| Country | Wealth tax? | Threshold: single | Threshold: couple | Rate | US life annuity in payout in the base? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Yes | NOK 1.9M (about $197,000) | NOK 3.8M if assessed jointly (about $394,000) | 1.0% (0.35% municipal + 0.65% state); 1.1% above NOK 21.5M | No, if the insurer has never been licensed in Norway (Skatte-ABC F-24-2.1) |
| France | Real estate only (IFI) | EUR 1.3M net real estate (about $1.52M) | Same EUR 1.3M for the whole household (married, PACS or cohabiting couples are taxed together) | 0.5% to 1.5% (from EUR 800,000 once over the threshold) | No: IFI does not reach cash, securities or annuities |
| Switzerland | Yes, every canton | Set by the canton | Spouses’ wealth added together (StHG art. 3(3)); allowances set by the canton | Roughly 0.1% to 1.0% combined | Likely no with no surrender value; confirm per canton |
| Spain | Yes (residents on worldwide assets) | EUR 700,000 plus up to EUR 300,000 for the main home (about $819,000 + $351,000); regions can change it | Each spouse is taxed separately with their own allowance; common property is split half and half | 0.2% to 3.5% state scale; regional relief in Madrid and Andalusia; solidarity tax above EUR 3M | Yes: valued at the insurer’s reserve (Ley 19/1991 art. 17) |
| Netherlands | Box 3 (deemed return) | EUR 59,357 allowance (2026, about $69,000) | EUR 118,714 for fiscal partners (about $139,000) | 36% of a deemed return (2026) | Yes: a Box 3 asset at economic value |
| Colombia | Yes | From 72,000 UVT | Confirm locally | 0.5% to 1.5% | Confirm with a local tax adviser |
| Italy | No general wealth tax | IVAFE 0.2% applies to foreign financial assets | 0.2% | Confirm with an Italian adviser how IVAFE treats an annuity in payout | |
| Belgium | Securities-account tax only | Accounts over EUR 1M average | 0.15% | An insurance contract is generally not a securities account, but Belgium charges a premium tax on life premiums; confirm locally | |
| Argentina | Yes, on worldwide assets | Confirm current figures locally | Confirm locally | Unknown; assume yes | |
| Uruguay | Uruguay-situs assets only | Confirm locally | Confirm locally | No: a US policy is outside the base | |
No general net wealth tax: Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Greece, Luxembourg (individuals), Ireland, the UK, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama. India abolished its wealth tax in 2015.
Single or married: how couples are counted
- Norway: spouses and registered partners assessed jointly get twice the single thresholds, so a couple pays nothing on the first NOK 3.8M.
- France: one EUR 1.3M threshold for the whole household. Married couples, PACS partners and couples in a stable cohabitation are taxed together, so a couple does not get two thresholds.
- Spain: each spouse is a separate taxpayer with their own EUR 700,000 allowance and own share of the home allowance; property held in common is attributed half to each.
- Switzerland: the wealth of spouses living together is added together; the canton sets the allowances.
- Netherlands: fiscal partners together have a EUR 118,714 allowance in Box 3 (2026).
Norway wealth tax 2026: why the US annuity is the best option there
Norway is the cleanest case I found, and it rests on the text of the law, not an interpretation:
- Skatteloven § 4-2(1)(c) excludes a time-limited right to periodic payments from taxable wealth.
- § 4-2(2) pulls annuity insurance back into the base only if the insurer "has or has had" a license to do insurance business in Norway.
- Skatteetaten’s own handbook, Skatte-ABC F-24-2.1, says it outright: an annuity from an insurer that has never been licensed in Norway is not taxable wealth. The reason given: such annuities are fully taxable when paid out.
The flip side is fair to state once: Norway taxes the gross payment from a US annuity at 22%, including your own returned premium. A Norwegian-licensed annuity is taxed more gently on payments but is wealth-taxed at its surrender value, and a contractual "no surrender" clause is ignored (§ 4-16).
Why I write about this. My mom is Norwegian, my dad is American, and they’re planning the move from the US to Norway. My mom is the sponsor (the host, or “reference person” in UDI’s words), so Norway’s income test falls on her income, not my dad’s. UDI told us in writing that money in an account does not count as income, and only lifelong income does. Their savings were not the problem; the paperwork wanted a monthly number in the host’s name. The rules in Norway are different, but the problem is the same one many retirees hit: the income test, not the net worth. I’m writing this to help others in the same boat as my parents. Read how we worked through the Norway income requirement.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
Example: a 62-year-old American moving to Norway
2026 Norwegian rules, NOK 5M (about $518,000) of savings. Annuity payouts are life-only averages per $100,000 at 62 from the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com survey: man $603 a month, woman $582. Illustrative, not quotes.
| Household | Keep it all in the bank | Move part into a US life-only SPIA before moving |
|---|---|---|
| Single man, 62 | (5.0M - 1.9M) x 1.0% = about NOK 31,000 (about $3,200) a year | NOK 3.1M (about $321,000) in a SPIA: bank wealth at the threshold, wealth tax NOK 0; about $1,940 a month for life |
| Single woman, 62 | The same NOK 31,000 a year | The same NOK 3.1M: wealth tax NOK 0; about $1,870 a month for life |
| Couple, both 62, assessed jointly | (5.0M - 3.8M) x 1.0% = about NOK 12,000 (about $1,240) a year | NOK 2M (about $207,000) in a SPIA: wealth tax NOK 0; about $1,250 a month on his life or $1,210 on hers |
In Norway the annuity also does a second job: it creates the kind of lifetime income UDI counts for family immigration, while "own funds (money in an account)" do not count. Social Security (which can start at 62) reduces how much income you need to buy. A joint and survivor annuity for a couple pays less per dollar than single life; get a quote. See Norway wealth tax for Americans and what income counts for UDI.
France wealth tax (IFI) 2026: real estate only
France replaced its old general wealth tax with the IFI (impôt sur la fortune immobilière). It applies when net real estate is worth more than EUR 1.3 million on 1 January, at rates from 0.5% to 1.5%, and the whole household is counted together. French residents count real estate worldwide; non-residents only French real estate. Cash, securities and a US annuity are outside it, so an annuity neither helps nor hurts with French wealth tax. How France taxes the annuity payments is a separate question, covered in how Europe taxes a US annuity.
Switzerland wealth tax: likely outside, but confirm with the canton
Swiss wealth tax is cantonal and based on market value. Cantonal practice values life and annuity insurance at its surrender value, so an annuity already paying out with no surrender value generally has no wealth-tax value. That is the common practice, not a rule I could confirm for every canton, so get the canton’s answer before you plan on it. On income, the 2025 reform taxes foreign life annuities only on a yield share. More in Switzerland: retiree permit, wealth tax and annuities.
Spain wealth tax: no wealth-tax win, but a strong income-tax win
Spanish law values life insurance at surrender value, and where you have no surrender right, at the insurer’s mathematical reserve, charged to the policyholder (Ley 19/1991 art. 17). So a no-surrender annuity stays in the base, shrinking only as payments run down the reserve. Each resident gets a EUR 700,000 allowance plus up to EUR 300,000 for the main home, regions such as Madrid and Andalusia grant their own relief, and a separate solidarity tax applies above EUR 3 million. Where Spain is generous is income tax: only 24% of each payment is taxable if payments start at 60 to 65 (so at 62), 20% at 66 to 69 and 8% at 70+. And the non-lucrative visa names life annuities as qualifying income. See Spain’s non-lucrative visa income requirement.
Which annuity counts
The wealth-tax logic depends on there being no cash value: a life-only SPIA or a joint and survivor SPIA, or an existing deferred annuity or MYGA converted to lifetime payments. Period-certain annuities, income riders where an account value can still be cashed out, and annuities still accumulating read as savings and are generally valued at their surrender value. In Norway that question only matters for a Norwegian-licensed insurer; for a US insurer never licensed there the annuity is outside the base either way, but UDI counts only lifelong income, not time-limited annuities.
Practical points
- Buy while you still have a US address. US insurers sell where licensed, so this is a before-you-move decision.
- Life-only, no cash-out rider. That keeps the income permanent and, outside Norway, keeps a surrender value out of the base.
- The trade-off: the premium is gone for good in exchange for lifetime income, and payments are level unless you add a cost-of-living rider.
- Get it in writing. In Norway, Skatteetaten offers a binding advance ruling (bindende forhåndsuttalelse) if you want certainty on a large amount.
If you are facing a wealth tax and a high income bar at the same time, that is exactly the situation my parents are in. Run your numbers with the calculator on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for Norway. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the Norway requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Moving abroad on a fixed income: hub
- Norway wealth tax for Americans and the US annuity exception
- Formuesskatt og livrente fra utenlandsk forsikringsselskap
- Switzerland: retiree permit, wealth tax and annuities
- Spain non-lucrative visa income requirement
- How European countries tax a US annuity
Sources
- Skatteloven chapter 4 (sections 4-2 and 4-16), Lovdata
- Skatteetaten, Skatte-ABC F-24-2.1 Livrenteforsikring, formue
- Skatteetaten: wealth tax rates 2026 (thresholds doubled for jointly assessed spouses)
- Service-Public.fr: Impot sur la fortune immobiliere (IFI)
- impots.gouv.fr: Personnes imposables a l'IFI
- Spain Ley 19/1991 del Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio (BOE), arts. 4, 7, 17, 28
- Belastingdienst: heffingsvrij vermogen box 3
- Netherlands Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 (Box 3)
- Swiss StHG (tax harmonization act), arts. 3, 13, 14
- Swiss DBG (federal direct tax act), art. 22
- Norges Bank USD/NOK exchange rate
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: net wealth tax rates by country (secondary)
- ImmediateAnnuities.com: immediate annuity rates by age (survey of September 9, 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.