Twenty-one of the 153 countries TaxPilot covers have an exit tax in 2026, and Portugal adds a crypto-only version. Canada, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Moldova, Botswana, Nepal and Sri Lanka treat you as selling most of your assets at market value when you stop being resident, while Germany (1% shareholdings), France (shares over €800,000), Japan (¥100 million of securities), Spain (shareholdings over €4 million) and Norway (gains above NOK 3 million) only catch bigger holdings.
An exit tax charges gains you haven't banked. You sell nothing, but the country treats you as if you had, on the day your residence ends, and taxes the gain built up while you lived there.
This guide lists every country with an exit tax under 2026 rules: what's treated as sold, who it applies to, the thresholds and whether you can pay later. It finishes with the traps to check before you move.
What's changed: Belgium's new 10% capital gains tax applies from 1 January 2026, and leaving Belgium counts as a sale of your financial assets. Botswana's Income Tax Act, 2026 replaced the old Act from 1 July 2026, with an exit charge on foreign assets in section 112(5). Germany's exit tax has also reached large fund holdings for anyone leaving after 31 December 2024. In the US, the 2026 covered expatriate test uses an average annual net income tax above US$211,000, and the first US$910,000 of gain is excluded.
📋 Countries with an exit tax in 2026
Country | Treated as sold when you leave | Who or how much | Paying later |
|---|---|---|---|
Worldwide assets except taxable Australian property | Anyone who stops being resident | You can choose to defer; assets stay in Australian CGT | |
Unrealised gains on shares, funds and crypto | Anyone moving abroad | Deferral on application for shares and funds (EU/EEA moves) | |
Financial assets under the 10% capital gains tax | Anyone leaving; only gains from 1 January 2026 | Generally due only if you sell within two years | |
Assets other than Botswana assets | Anyone who stops being resident | No deferral noted | |
Most property: shares, funds, crypto, property abroad | Anyone who stops being resident (short-stay relief) | Defer until you sell, no interest; security above C$16,500 | |
Shares worth DKK 100,000 or more; crypto | 7 years of full liability (shares) | Deferral; no security within the EU or Nordic region | |
Business assets only | Residents who become non-resident | Can be waived if you plan to return and give security | |
Unrealised gains on shares | Over €800,000 or a 50% stake; 6 of 10 years resident | No deferral noted | |
Shareholdings of 1% or more; large fund holdings | 7 of the last 12 years fully taxable | 7 yearly instalments, no interest | |
Your assets, treated as sold the day before | Anyone who stops being resident | Payment can wait until you sell | |
Securities and similar assets | ¥100 million or more; over 5 of 10 years resident | 5 years, up to 10, with a tax agent and security | |
All property except real estate | Anyone who stops being resident | No deferral noted | |
Assets other than land and buildings in Nepal | Anyone who becomes non-resident | No deferral noted | |
Pensions, annuities and substantial shareholdings | Anyone emigrating with them | Protective assessment: tax put on hold | |
Shares, funds, options, some foreign pension accounts | Net gains above NOK 3 million | Instalments or deferral over 12 years | |
Unrealised gains on substantial assets such as shares | Moving abroad; 19% (or 3%) | No deferral noted | |
Crypto only | Coins held under 365 days (28%) | No deferral noted | |
Assets except South African immovable property | Anyone who stops being resident | No deferral noted | |
Shares in Korean companies | Large shareholders, 5 of 10 years resident | No deferral noted | |
Shareholdings | Over €4 million (or €1 million with 25%+); 10 years resident | No deferral noted | |
All assets other than Sri Lankan assets | Anyone who stops being resident | No deferral noted | |
Everything; first US$910,000 of gain excluded | Long-term green card holders who are covered expatriates | No deferral noted |
The graphic shows eight of the best-known exit taxes in 2026: Canada and South Africa treat most assets as sold, Australia treats worldwide assets other than Australian property as sold, Germany catches shareholdings of 1% or more, France shares worth over €800,000, Norway share gains above NOK 3 million, Japan securities of ¥100 million or more, and the USA long-term green card holders who are covered expatriates.
What counts as an exit tax in this guide?
We include a country when its law treats you as selling assets, or puts a tax bill on hold, because you stop being resident. That covers a full deemed sale of your assets, a charge on shares or funds only, the Dutch protective assessment, and narrower rules such as Eswatini's on business assets and Portugal's on crypto.
We don't include rules that only keep you resident for longer after you leave, such as Norway's three-year rule, Germany's 10-year extended liability for German nationals, or the extra four years for Spanish and Portuguese nationals who move to a listed tax haven. Those are covered in our guide to the hardest countries to stop being tax resident.
TaxPilot mentions exit tax in its country guides but doesn't score it. Our ratings compare the yearly all-in cost of living somewhere, under 2026 rules, across all 153 countries. The investment income rating, for example, uses a US$1m portfolio earning 4% income and 4% realised gains a year: Excellent if untaxed (health contributions count as a cost), Good at 15% or less, Moderate above 15% and up to 30%, and Poor above 30%. Each band includes its upper limit, so Canada at exactly 15.0% is Good. A one-off charge on leaving depends on your gains and how long you stay, so it sits alongside the rating rather than inside it. That goes for crypto too: Canada's departure tax reaches crypto, but its crypto rating stays Good.
👉 Hardest countries to stop being tax resident
Which countries treat you as selling everything?
These eight countries apply a general deemed sale when your residence ends. No minimum holding is mentioned, so ordinary portfolios, crypto and property abroad can all be caught.
Canada
Canada treats you as selling most of your property at market value on the day you stop being resident. It catches shares, funds, crypto and property outside Canada, including a home abroad, and half of each gain is added to your income. Canadian real estate, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, pension plans and Canadian business property are left out. If you were resident for 60 months or less in the 10 years before leaving, property you owned when you last arrived is also excluded.
You report the deemed sale on Form T1243 and list your property on Form T1161 if it's worth more than C$25,000. You can elect on Form T1244, by 30 April of the year after you leave, to defer the tax with no interest until you sell. If the federal tax deferred is more than C$16,500, the CRA will want security.
👉 Canada Revenue Agency: dispositions of property when you leave Canada
Australia
When you stop being an Australian resident, you're treated as having sold your worldwide assets other than taxable Australian property (CGT event I2). You can choose to defer this, but those assets then stay inside the Australian capital gains tax net until you sell them. Leaving can also be hard in the first place, because the domicile test can keep you resident while you travel.
👉 ATO: how changing residency affects CGT
South Africa
You tell SARS the date you stop being resident through the RAV01 form on eFiling. From that date, a deemed disposal for capital gains tax applies: you're treated as selling your assets at market value. Immovable property in South Africa is excluded, because it stays taxable when you sell it later. Retirement annuities and preservation funds can only be withdrawn once you've been non-resident for an uninterrupted three years.
👉 SARS: cease to be an SA tax resident
👉 South Africa expat tax guide
Israel
Under section 100A, when you stop being resident your assets are treated as sold the day before. You can choose to defer paying the tax until you actually sell, but the tax charge itself isn't deferred. Residence only ends when your centre of life moves abroad, and the 425-day count can keep the presumption alive for a year or two after you go.
Moldova
When you stop being resident, Moldova treats you as if you had sold all your property, except real estate, at its market value on that date, and any gain is taxed in the usual way. There's a matching rule on arrival: you can have the market value of your property fixed when you become resident, so gains made before you moved aren't taxed. How the exit tax fits with the rule that foreign citizens aren't taxed on foreign investment income isn't spelled out in the law, so check before you leave if you hold large gains.
Botswana
Under section 112(5) of the Income Tax Act, 2026, if you stop being resident you're treated as selling your assets other than Botswana assets at market value on that date. That's an exit charge on foreign shares, funds, property and, on our reading, crypto. Residence ends on your last day in Botswana if you won't be resident the following year, and that's the date the charge applies. When you arrive, your foreign assets are treated as bought at market value, so only gains made while you're resident are taxed.
👉 BURS: Income Tax Act, 2026 (Act No. 13 of 2026), full text
Nepal
Under sections 40 and 41 of the Income Tax Act, just before you become non-resident you're treated as having sold your assets, other than land and buildings in Nepal, at market value. Gains on shares and other interests in companies up to that point can be taxed even though you haven't sold anything. Residence uses 183 days in any rolling 365 days, so it can carry on into the next income year after you go.
👉 Inland Revenue Department: Income Tax Act 2058, as amended by the Finance Act 2082 (in Nepali)
Sri Lanka
When you stop being resident, the Inland Revenue Act treats you as having sold all your assets, other than Sri Lankan assets, at market value just before you leave, so gains built up while you lived there can be taxed. Because residence looks back over 12-month periods, the year you leave is often still a full resident year.
Which countries tax shares and investments when you leave?
These 11 countries aim their exit tax at shares, funds and similar investments. Several only bite above a threshold or after years of residence, so many movers aren't affected.
Germany
If you've been fully taxable in Germany for seven of the last twelve years and held 1% or more of a company, German or foreign, in the last five years, leaving counts as a sale of those shares at market value. 60% of the gain is taxed at your normal income tax rate. Listed shareholdings below 1% aren't caught. If you leave after 31 December 2024, it also reaches fund units where you held at least 1% or that cost you at least €500,000.
You can pay in seven equal yearly instalments, without interest, usually against security, and you confirm your address to the tax office by 31 July each year. If you return within seven years without selling, the tax falls away. A double tax treaty doesn't stop the exit tax.
👉 Foreign Tax Act section 6: the exit tax (in German)
France
If you've been resident for at least six of the ten years before you leave, unrealised gains on your shares are taxed when you go if they're worth more than €800,000 in total, or you own at least 50% of a company's profits. Leaving France also takes care, because you stay resident while any one of the three residence tests is met.
👉 Légifrance: article 167 bis of the tax code, the exit tax (in French)
Spain
People leaving Spain after at least ten years of residence can face exit tax on shareholdings worth over €4 million, or over €1 million where they own more than 25% of a company. Spanish nationals who move to a listed tax haven also stay resident for the year they leave and the next four.
Norway
Norway's exit tax covers shares in Norwegian and foreign companies, fund units, share savings accounts, employee options and similar assets, including some foreign pension accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s. For moves from 20 March 2024, the first NOK 3 million of net gains is deducted and only the excess is taxed.
You can pay at once, in instalments over 12 years, or defer the whole amount for 12 years. Moving back within 12 years cancels it. If you defer and receive dividends, 70% of each dividend goes towards the tax. After 10 years of residence, the three-year rule can also keep you taxable for the year you move and three more.
👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: exit tax
Japan
If you leave holding ¥100 million or more in securities and similar assets, and you lived in Japan for more than five of the last 10 years, unrealised gains are taxed as if you'd sold. You can defer the tax for five years, or up to 10, if you appoint a tax agent and give security.
👉 National Tax Agency: exit tax on departure (in Japanese)
Denmark
If you've been fully liable to Danish tax for at least 7 years in total and hold shares worth DKK 100,000 or more, the gains are taxed as if you'd sold them when you leave. You can defer the tax, without security if you move within the EU or the Nordic region. Crypto is also treated as sold at market value on the day you leave. Full liability generally only ends when you give up your Danish home.
👉 Danish Tax Agency: when you leave Denmark
Austria
When you move abroad, Austria can tax the unrealised gains on your shares, funds and crypto as if you'd sold them. If you move within the EU or EEA, you can apply to defer the tax on shares and funds until you actually sell them. Gains are normally taxed at the flat 27.5% on capital income.
Netherlands
If you have a Dutch pension, an annuity or a substantial shareholding in a company, the tax authority issues a protective assessment when you emigrate: a tax bill put on hold rather than collected straight away. For pensions and annuities, you get up to 10 years to pay, automatically if you move within the EU or EEA, and after 10 years the tax can be waived. For substantial shareholdings there's no waiver: the tax falls due if you sell the shares or the company stops trading.
👉 Belastingdienst: am I emigrating if I am moving abroad?
Belgium
Belgium's new capital gains tax taxes gains on financial assets, including shares, bonds, funds and crypto, at 10% from 1 January 2026, with the first €10,000 a year exempt. If you leave Belgium, you're treated as selling your assets, but the tax is generally only due if you sell within two years of leaving. Gains made before 1 January 2026 aren't taxed, and if you move to Belgium the value of your assets when you arrive counts as their cost.
Poland
Poland has an exit tax on unrealised gains. It can apply when you move abroad with substantial assets, such as shares, at 19%, or 3% where the asset's tax value isn't known. Residence also only ends once you move your centre of interests abroad, so keep evidence such as a foreign certificate of residence.
👉 Ministry of Finance: PIT rates and limits (in Polish)
South Korea
Large shareholders in Korean companies who lived in Korea for five of the last 10 years pay a departure tax on those shares. If you must file a return and you're leaving for good, file before the day you depart. There's no day count for leaving, and keeping a home or family in Korea can keep you resident.
Exit taxes that hit specific people or assets
USA: long-term green card holders
If you've held a green card in at least 8 of the last 15 tax years, you're a long-term resident, and giving it up brings the expatriation tax rules. You're a covered expatriate if your average annual net income tax over five years is above US$211,000 (2026), your net worth is US$2 million or more, or you can't certify five years of compliance on Form 8854. You're then taxed as if you sold everything the day before leaving, with the first US$910,000 of gain excluded in 2026.
A long-term green card holder who claims treaty residence elsewhere is treated as ending long-term residence, which can trigger the exit tax. People who are resident only through the day count stop once their weighted days fall below 183.
👉 IRS: expatriation tax for long-term residents
Eswatini: business assets
Leaving Eswatini is simple for most people, because only Eswatini income is taxed. The exception is business assets: under the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023, a resident who becomes non-resident is treated as selling them at market value. The Eswatini Revenue Service can waive this if you plan to come back and give security for the tax. Personal investments aren't caught. The Act comes into force on a date the Minister sets by notice, so check the position before you leave.
👉 ERS: Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (scanned copy)
Portugal: crypto only
There's no general exit tax for individuals in Portugal, but leaving counts as a disposal of any crypto you hold. Crypto held for 365 days or more is exempt by law, so the charge falls on coins held for less than 365 days, at 28%. Portugal is still rated Excellent for crypto gains.
👉 Portal das Finanças: cryptoassets, tax concept and taxation (in Portuguese)
How do exit tax countries rate for investors?
Because exit tax isn't scored, a country can rate well for investment income and still charge you on the way out. Israel, Moldova, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Eswatini are rated Excellent, at 0% on our US$1m portfolio example, while Canada, South Africa and the USA are rated Good. Japan is Moderate at 15.1% because we count its non-permanent resident rule, which covers your first five years there; its exit tax only reaches people resident for more than five of the last 10 years. If you're planning a long stay with a growing portfolio, read the rating and the exit rule together.
☑️ All 22 countries by type of exit tax, with their investment income rating
Country | Type of exit tax | Investment income rating (all-in) |
|---|---|---|
Most assets treated as sold | Moderate (16.1%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Moderate (20.8%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Good (15.0%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Excellent (0%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Excellent (0%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Moderate (15.4%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Good (12.0%) | |
Most assets treated as sold | Excellent (0%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Moderate (27.5%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Moderate (18.2%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Poor (39.8%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Poor (31.4%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Moderate (26.0%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Moderate (15.1%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Moderate (25.2%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Poor (42.0%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Moderate (19.0%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Excellent (0%) | |
Shares, funds and investments | Poor (Moderate in Madrid or Andalucía) (21.4%) | |
All assets, covered expatriates only | Good (2.7%) | |
Business assets only | Excellent (0%) | |
Crypto only | Moderate (28.0%) |
Traps and what to check before you leave
The charge date is the day residence ends. If leaving is sticky, as in Canada (ties), Denmark (your home), Israel (the 425-day presumption) or Norway (the three-year rule), the date can move.
Don't rely on a treaty. In Germany, for example, a double tax treaty doesn't stop the exit tax.
Crypto is often caught. Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Portugal say so expressly, and Botswana does on our reading of the Act.
Pensions can be caught. The Netherlands puts tax on Dutch pensions on hold, and Norway's exit tax includes some foreign pension accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s. Canada leaves RRSPs, TFSAs and pensions out.
Deferral isn't forgiveness. Selling the shares usually makes deferred tax due at once. Canada wants security if the deferred federal tax is over C$16,500, Germany usually does, and Japan's deferral needs security too.
Your new country may tax the same gain. Belgium, Botswana, Moldova and Sri Lanka give newcomers a market-value starting cost, but not every country does. Check your destination before you sell.
Paperwork has deadlines. Canada uses Forms T1243, T1161 and T1244, South Africa the RAV01 form, the USA Form 8854, Japan needs a tax agent, and Korea wants your return before you depart.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries have an exit tax?
Under 2026 rules, 21 of the 153 countries TaxPilot covers have one: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Denmark, Eswatini, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Moldova, Nepal, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka and the USA. Portugal also treats leaving as a disposal of crypto.
What is an exit tax?
It is a tax on gains you haven't realised, charged because you stop being resident. The country treats you as selling some or all of your assets at market value on the day your residence ends, and taxes the gain.
How does Canada's departure tax work?
When you stop being resident, most of your property is treated as sold at market value and half of each gain is taxed. Canadian real estate, RRSPs, TFSAs and pensions are excluded, and you can elect to defer the tax with no interest until you sell. Canada expat tax guide
Does Germany have an exit tax?
Yes. If you've been fully taxable for seven of the last twelve years and own 1% or more of a company, leaving counts as selling the shares. Since 2025 it can also reach large fund holdings, and you can pay in seven yearly instalments. Germany expat tax guide
Is crypto caught by exit taxes?
Often. Austria, Belgium, Canada and Denmark include crypto, Portugal taxes crypto held under 365 days when you leave, and the general deemed sale rules in countries such as Botswana can reach it too.
Can I defer an exit tax?
In many countries, yes. Canada, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Japan, Norway and Germany all let you pay later or in instalments, and Austria does for EU and EEA moves. Selling the assets usually makes the deferred tax due.
Does exit tax change TaxPilot's ratings?
No. Exit tax is mentioned in the country guides but not scored, because our ratings compare the yearly all-in cost of living in a country under 2026 rules.
Where to go next
👉 Hardest countries to stop being tax resident
👉 Best countries for investors
👉 Best countries for crypto tax
Important information
This article is general information and does not constitute tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and does not create a client relationship. Tax outcomes depend on travel history, income sources, treaty status and the law applying to the relevant year. Rates, thresholds and regimes change, and some measures described may be proposed rather than enacted; this article reflects our understanding as at the date of publication. Obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional before acting or refraining from action.
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