Calculator Methodology
A calculator is a transparent formula over country data and your inputs — not a tax-filing engine. Each calculator names its methodology on the page and states what it excludes. Estimates are screening tools: useful for comparing jurisdictions, never a substitute for advice on your specific situation.
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Quick answer
Calculators apply documented formulas to typed country data plus your inputs; they return headline estimates only and each one publishes the exclusions that separate the estimate from your effective figure.
What the calculators do
Tax and cost calculators read the relevant statutory rate or cost from the country dataset, apply the documented formula to your entered amount, and show the result with the source data dated. Where a calculator has no published methodology yet, the page renders a preview that returns no numbers rather than guessing.
What they deliberately exclude
Headline calculators exclude deductions, loss carry-forward, incentives, local and municipal surtaxes, treaty relief, and personal circumstances. Personal-tax and payroll calculators model verified jurisdictions only and state the social-charge categories and caps they include. The exclusions are not omissions — they are the boundary between a comparable estimate and your effective figure.
| Calculator family | Uses | Excludes |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | Headline statutory rate × profit | Deductions, incentives, local surtaxes, timing |
| VAT | Standard rate × net amount | Reduced/zero rates, thresholds, exemptions |
| Formation / founder cost | Statutory cost + documented baselines | Provider variation, entity-type differences |
| Personal / payroll | Verified bands + social charges | Reliefs, regional bands, sub-regimes |
Estimate vs effective — what to add yourself
Calculators & methodology status
| Calculator | Documented methodology |
|---|---|
| Corporate tax calculator | Apply the country-level corporate income tax rate to the entered profit, with country-specific adjustments documented per jurisdiction. |
| VAT calculator | Apply the standard VAT rate of the selected jurisdiction; reduced rates are not modeled in v1. |
| Company formation cost calculator | Combine country-level statutory formation cost with an optional advisor-fee assumption documented per jurisdiction. |
| Founder cost calculator | Combine formation cost, accounting baseline, and payroll-side employer overhead per jurisdiction. Methodology will be published before this calculator returns numbers. |
| Salary calculator | Apply the country's progressive income tax structure plus employee-side social charges (with caps where applicable) to compute net take-home and effective tax rate. |
| Payroll calculator (employer cost) | Apply the country's employer-side social security contribution rates (with contribution-base caps where applicable) on top of the gross salary to compute the total employer cost. |
| Freelancer tax calculator | Apply the country's personal income tax structure plus the combined employee + employer social charges to estimate the total burden a self-employed founder pays. |
| SaaS profitability calculator | Compute gross profit (ARR × gross margin), subtract fixed annual cost, then apply the country's corporate tax rate to the resulting profit (capped at zero on losses). |
| Tax burden calculator | Apply the country's headline corporate, dividend withholding, and standard VAT rates to the entered amounts. Simplified estimate only. |
| Founder runway calculator | Monthly burn from user-entered costs; one-time formation defaults to the dataset's statutory formation cost. Runway = floor((cash − formation) ÷ burn). |
| SaaS margin calculator | Gross profit = MRR × gross margin; operating profit nets fixed/marketing/team; annualised and taxed at the country's corporate rate (no tax on losses). |
| Effective tax rate calculator | Effective rate = (tax paid + optional dividend tax) ÷ profit before tax, benchmarked against the country's headline corporate income tax rate only. |
From headline estimate to your effective figure
Read the country data
The calculator reads the relevant statutory rate or cost from the typed country dataset.Apply the documented formula
It applies the published formula to your entered amount — nothing hidden, no extra assumptions.Show the headline estimate
The result is a headline estimate with the data's last-updated date and the exclusions stated.You add the exclusions
Your effective figure adds deductions, incentives, timing, and local taxes the headline formula deliberately excludes — model these with an adviser.
Methodology notes
- Every calculator surfaces its methodology and the data's last-updated date on the page; numbers are never shown without provenance.
- Calculators without a published methodology render an explicit preview rather than returning a fabricated figure.
Data limitations
- Corporate tax estimates apply the headline statutory rate only — they exclude deductions and local surtaxes.
- VAT figures are standard rates only; reduced rates and thresholds are not modelled.
- Personal income tax is modelled for verified jurisdictions only.
FAQ
- Why does the calculator's number differ from my actual tax?
- Because it is a headline estimate. Your effective figure reflects deductions, incentives, timing, and local taxes the headline formula deliberately excludes. Use the estimate to compare jurisdictions, not to file.
- Why do some calculators show no result?
- If a calculator's methodology has not been published, it renders a preview without numbers rather than returning a guess.
Related
Sources
- OECD — OECD — economic and tax statistics (accessed ; reviewed )Covers: Comparable corporate tax, statutory rate, and economic indicators across member and partner economies.Does not cover: Effective tax rates, deductions and incentives, local surtaxes, and personal residency rules.Why it matters: Used as a cross-country baseline to sanity-check rates against primary tax-authority figures.Review cadence: Annual, plus on major statutory changes.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed ; reviewed )Covers: Corporate income tax, VAT, and dividend withholding rates across most covered jurisdictions.Does not cover: Your specific effective rate, bespoke incentives, rulings, or transactions requiring professional advice.Why it matters: Used to triangulate rates against primary tax-authority sources, not as the sole authority.Review cadence: Updated by the publisher per tax year; re-checked each data review.
- Eurostat — Eurostat — official statistics of the European Union (accessed ; reviewed )Covers: EU-harmonised VAT rates and economic statistics for EU/EEA member states.Why it matters: Used for EU VAT and member-state economic figures where an EU-harmonised series is preferable.
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