Salary and tax in Latvia

Where the money goes

Of €17,544 gross, income tax (Iedzīvotāju ienākuma nodoklis) takes €2,321 and employee contributions (Valsts sociālās apdrošināšanas obligātās iemaksas (VSAOI)) take €1,842. That leaves €13,381 a year, or €1,115 a month on average.

The employer pays another €4,143 in charges on top, 23,6% of the salary. The whole job costs €21,687 a year.

How the income tax works

The income tax (Iedzīvotāju ienākuma nodoklis) rises through 2 bands, from 25,5% to 33%. The top rate applies from €105,300 of taxable income. That threshold is 6 times the reference salary of €17,544, so only high earners reach the top rate.

The bands apply to taxable income: what is left after allowances and deductible contributions. That is why the rates bite later than the gross salary suggests.

How the rates rise with the salary

Income tax starts at a gross salary of about €7,410 a year.

At €17,544, 23,7% of pay goes to income tax and employee contributions. Of the next 100 earned, 67 reach the employee, a marginal rate of 33,3%.

At twice that salary, €35,088, the average rate is 28,5% and the marginal rate 33,3%.

Average and marginal rates, with worked examples:
Pay rise: How much more take-home pay? (Latvia)

Among 50 countries

At the same €17,544 a year, converted into each local currency, an employee in Latvia takes home 76,3%, rank 38 of 50.

The same salary leaves the most in Belgium (103,2%) and the least in Switzerland (58,4%).

Above 100%, refundable credits for low earners pay out more than income tax and contributions take, so net pay exceeds gross: Belgium.

Every country is calculated for the same single employee without children, with the salary converted at the exchange rates of 2 October 2026. A salary that is typical in one country is high in another, so progressive systems look heavier where wages are lower. The ranking says nothing about purchasing power or about what the contributions pay for, such as pensions and health cover. Where the newer rules are not final, a country is calculated with its latest enacted year: Belgium (2025), Norway (2025) and Romania (2025).

Beyond the payslip

The statutory rules in Latvia on notice, unemployment, sick pay, parental leave and unpaid wages.

• Notice and dismissal

  Darba likums — 101., 103., 112. un 122. pants

  10 days / 1 month

  Employer notice

  Notice depends on the dismissal ground, not on length of service: 10 days for specified conduct grounds and one month for redundancy, liquidation or insufficient skills; some grounds allow immediate termination.

• Unemployment benefit

  Bezdarbnieka pabalsts — likums "Par apdrošināšanu bezdarba gadījumam"

  12 of 16 months

  Contribution record

  Unemployment-insurance contributions for at least 12 months in the 16 months before unemployed status, plus an insurance record of at least one year.

• Sick pay

  Slimības nauda (darbnespējas lapa A) / Slimības pabalsts (darbnespējas lapa B)

  Days 2–9

  Employer sick pay

  The first day is unpaid; the employer pays at least 75% of average earnings for days two and three and at least 80% for days four to nine.

• Parental leave

  Maternitātes pabalsts / Paternitātes pabalsts / Vecāku pabalsts; Darba likums 154.–156. pants

  112 days at 80%

  Maternity benefit

  56 days before and 56 after birth, extended by 14 days for early medical registration and by 14 for complications or multiple births, up to 140 days.

• Unpaid wages

  Darbinieku prasījumu garantiju fonds — likums "Par darbinieku aizsardzību darba devēja maksātnespējas gadījumā"

  2 years

  Wage-claim limitation

  Claims arising from employment expire after two years; if the employer never issued the required written settlement, the period is three years from the date it was due.

Method and sources

Official sources

• Valsts ieņēmumu dienests · Iedzīvotāju ienākuma nodoklis
• Likumi.lv · Par iedzīvotāju ienākuma nodokli
• Euro reference exchange rates, 2 October 2026 (ECB)