The tax wedge isn’t one number per country — it depends on your household. Most OECD tax-benefit systems lighten the load on families with children, and the OECD’s one-earner married couple with two children benchmark captures it.
The average family discount
For 2023, the OECD-average tax wedge is:
- Single, no children: 34.9%
- One-earner couple, two children: 25.7%
That’s a roughly 9-point reduction, driven by child benefits and family tax reliefs that the OECD nets off.
Where the discount is biggest
Some countries pour a lot of support through the tax-benefit system. The gap between the single and family wedge (2023):
| Country | Single wedge | Family wedge | Family discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovak Republic | 41.6% | 15.7% | 25.9 pts |
| Luxembourg | 41.3% | 21.3% | 20.0 pts |
| Poland | 34.3% | 15.8% | 18.5 pts |
| Czechia | 40.2% | 23.5% | 16.7 pts |
| Belgium | 52.7% | 37.3% | 15.4 pts |
| Germany | 47.9% | 33.1% | 14.8 pts |
In Slovakia a single worker faces one of Europe’s heavier wedges, but a one-earner family with two kids enjoys one of the lightest — a striking example of family-targeted policy.
Where it barely moves
Not every country gives a big family discount. In a few, the gap is small: the United Kingdom moves only modestly (31.3% single to 27.0% family) and Mexico shows essentially no change (about 20.0% for both in the model). At the other extreme, Colombia’s family wedge turns slightly negative (about −4.9%), meaning an average-wage one-earner family receives more in cash benefits than it pays in taxes and contributions.
Why it matters
If you’re comparing countries as a single person, you’ll see one ranking; as a parent, the order can shift dramatically. Always check the family column on a country page — the single-worker headline can understate how generous (or not) a system is to households with children.
Related reading
- What is the tax wedge?
- Tax wedge vs take-home pay
- Compare family figures in our country comparisons.
Figures from OECD Taxing Wages (2023 data year), CC BY 4.0. Modelled averages for a representative household — not personal tax advice.