Stay in Europe

Europe: the frame if you will not move to Dubai

Five jurisdictions between Prague and Tbilisi where a freelancer can aim for 1% to 8% effective tax on revenue. Four are in the EU. Two hours from your mum’s house.

This frame comes from Alex @ HispanicNomad’s thread (@hispanicnomad), 26 October 2026. Liberty Stack rewrites it for the life / company stack: not another country sheet, a reading order for staying on the continent.

The problem this page cuts

A lot of content pushes the Gulf or Latin America. Fine if you will change continents. Less useful if you want the time zone, the family, and a weekend flight home.

The question here is narrow: where to invoice (and maybe live) in Europe without Western European brackets — while accepting that EU social contributions often sit on top of the “tax” rate people quote.

The detailed sheets stay elsewhere. This page ties the frame to the start a company and settle here pages already live.

Five countries on the continent

• Czechia UE · ≈ 6% effective (60% deemed costs, 15% on the rest) or a monthly lump sum Trade licence, light expense paperwork. A strong city (Prague) two hours from Western Europe.
• Poland UE · Ryczałt 12% (IT) or 15% (consulting / marketing) on revenue; 19% flat as an alternative Three sole-trader tracks. The hidden cost is ZUS. Warsaw and Kraków carry the lifestyle.
• Hungary UE · ≈ 8% effective today (45% deemed costs, 15% on the rest); KATA floated for 2027 A moving target. Budapest is still the best big-city-for-the-money deal. Watch 2027 — it is not law yet.
• Bulgaria UE · 10% flat, automatic 25% freelancer deduction → ≈ 7.5% on gross Best EU deal on paper. Euro and Schengen since 2026. Heavy socials on a capped base.
• Georgia Outside EU · 1% of turnover (Small Business Status), cap around GEL 500,000 Outside the EU: different safety net, different rules. Long visa-free stays for many Western passports. Income flag, not always the residence flag.

Cyprus, optional

Not the mainland. An EU island with a European time zone, non-dom rules, and business / residence sheets already on the site. Keep it as a pressure valve when the continent is not enough and Dubai still feels too far.

• South Cyprus (Non-Dom) Optional · EU island · Non-dom: dividends / interest free of SDC; companies 15% in 2026; IP box available EU island, European time zone, flights back to the mainland. Not “staying on the continent” geographically — hence the optional call-out.

How to choose without rereading everything

• EU + strong city — Czechia or Poland.
• Euro + rising volume — Bulgaria (capped social base).
• Outside the EU, income flag — Georgia; residence may sit elsewhere.
• Watch list — Hungary if KATA really returns in 2027.
• Island option — Cyprus non-dom when the time zone and the EU matter more than the mainland.

From the source thread: contributions (ZUS, Bulgaria’s social base, and so on) change the real bill. A “7.5%” line without socials is not a total cost. Where you are tax resident can also crush a friendly regime through CFC or tying rules.

What this page does not replace

No personalised tax advice. No file-by-file check of 2026 rates. Czechia and Hungary sit in Ranking and in the cost bands, without a dedicated MVP country sheet yet — hence the Ranking link.

All countries Open Ranking EU holding

Angle and ballpark figures: Alex @ HispanicNomad, @hispanicnomad, 26 October 2026. Map: original Liberty Stack illustration.