Residence · Company · Self-employed
The 29 Schengen countries compared for a pilot or owner weighing where to move tax residence and how to invoice — as a sole trader or through a company: taxes, special regimes, banking, and time to incorporate and settle.
Before you compare
Spain also applies the centre of economic interests and the presumption through spouse and minor children. Without a tax-residence certificate from another country, the tax authority still treats you as resident. Choosing a country means real ties there and dismantling those at home.
Many treaties tax crew salary in international traffic where the operator's place of effective management is. In 2025 the TEAC applied it to a pilot resident in France working for a Spanish company. Check the treaty with the operator's country before moving.
For crew, EU Regulations 883/2004 and 465/2012 tie social security to the base country, not to your residence nor to your company's country.
Invoicing the operator through a company when the relationship is really employment gets recharacterized (false self-employment and interposed company). A single-member company is resident where it is managed: residence and company should sit in the same country.
| Country | Income tax | Corporate | Dividend | Co.+div. | Banking | Company | Residence | Setup | Compare |
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Indicative overall score: combines corporate+dividend load (40%), top marginal income tax (20%) and the banking, company and residence ease ratings (40%). It does not factor in special regimes, treaties or the article 15.3 rule, which can change the result entirely for a pilot. Figures marked "verify" could not be confirmed in a primary source. Always confirm with a tax adviser in the destination country.
How Flyxchain helps
The table is a starting map, not advice. Flyxchain designs the residence, company and invoicing structure for crew and aircraft owners end to end — checking the operator's treaty, the home-base social-security rule and the substance each country demands — independently and always on your side.
Request a ConsultationGeneral information, current as of 2026. Not legal, tax or financial advice; all requirements must be confirmed with the registry and qualified local advisors.