A self-possessed adult woman in a clean, high-end editorial setting for After-Tax Return.

25 / 25 · After-Tax Return

She does not stop at the headline return. She asks what is left after the costs and taxes that actually apply to her.

The money that compounds is the money left after tax, fees and other frictions. Tax timing is therefore part of the investment mechanism—not a line to consider only at the end.

The lesson

€10,000 can become €100,627 at 8% gross—or €51,276 at 5.6%.

This deliberately simple illustration converts an 8% gross annual return into 5.6% by applying a 30% levy to each year's gain. Over thirty years, €10,000 reaches €100,627 at 8% and €51,276 at 5.6%.

The €49,351 gap does not describe a real tax system. Tax may be applied at sale, annually, on income, on gains, differently across account types, or not at all in a particular circumstance.

That variation is exactly the lesson. Before comparing returns, identify the return that can remain invested after the rules that apply to you.

€100,6278% GROSS

€51,2765.6% SIMPLIFIED NET

€49,351ILLUSTRATED GAP

See the net rate

Change the return and time.

A generic compound-growth illustration. It is not a tax calculator; enter only a net return you have independently established for a hypothetical comparison.

See the curve

The tax drag is small
each year and large at the end.

€10,000 compounded at 8% gross versus a simplified 5.6% net annual rate.

8% gross5.6% simplified net

The tax drag is small each year and large at the end.
TIME	8% gross	5.6% simplified net
Start	10000	10000
Year 5	14693	13132
Year 10	21589	17244
Year 15	31722	22644
Year 20	46610	29736
Year 25	68485	39048
Year 30	100627	51276

Starting amount

Illustrative net annual return

Years

Illustrated value

Illustrative growth

Value after first 10 years

Continue with any AI assistant

Ask better after-tax-return questions

Help me create questions for a qualified local tax professional about an investment or account. Ask for my tax residence, account type, asset type, expected holding period, whether gains or income are taxed, timing of tax, fees, losses, allowances and the objective of the investment. Do not calculate my tax or recommend a product.

Assumptions

The illustration represents tax only as a constant lower annual rate, which real tax systems do not generally use.
It excludes fees, inflation, gains and losses, tax allowances, tax timing, account rules, residence and changes in law.
Use qualified local tax advice for an actual financial decision.