Taxes in Switzerland table: These are the tax rates you need to know (2026)

Taxes in Switzerland can be quite complicated - because Different tax rates apply depending on canton, income and assets. That's why you'll find everything you need to know about taxes in this article, as well as a series of clear tax tables with the applicable tax rates for 2026 per canton. Whether you already live in Switzerland or are planning to move there, this guide (including a table of Swiss taxes) provides you with all the important facts and figures at a glance.

How does the tax system work in Switzerland?

The Tax system in Switzerland is complex and differs from the tax system of its neighbouring countries Germany and France. Federalism (organisation of the country into different cantons) also has an impact on the tax system. Covenant taxes, but also the Cantons and Municipalities.

The federal government may only levy taxes to a limited extent: Only where permitted by the Federal Constitution (e.g. federal tax on your taxable income).

The cantons, on the other hand, have more freedom when it comes to taxes. Each canton has its own Own tax lawwhich makes the system so complicated. Assets, income etc. are treated differently from canton to canton. Always make sure that the information relates exactly to your canton when you are dealing with the subject of taxes!

The taxes payable are calculated annually via your Tax return determined. In contrast to Germany, for example, income tax is not withheld directly from your salary. You pay your due taxes retrospectively after submitting your tax return.

However, you do not have to pay the federal, cantonal and communal taxes separately, but pay them collectively to the canton, which then passes the taxes on to the federal and communal governments.

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What taxes are there in Switzerland?

As in every country, there are many different types of tax in Switzerland. The most important ones for you as a private individual are explained below.

Income tax

You pay this to your Taxable income (your income minus authorised expenses such as childcare, pension provision, health insurance).

Income tax is a progressive tax - so you pay more tax as your income rises. Here you can see the tax progression using Zurich as an example:

The taxes payable therefore increase significantly with higher income. We'll take a closer look at the level of income tax in your canton in a moment.

Property tax

The wealth tax, as the name suggests, is levied on Assets due. Your assets include Cash, bank balances, shares, property, cars and much more. Your household effects, personal effects and your assets in the Pillar 3a (the 3b pillar in turn counts as assets) or on the Vested benefits account. You can see how high the wealth tax is in your canton in the table below.

Here, too, there are significant differences from canton to canton, but in most cantons assets are only taxed from around CHF 100,000 to CHF 200,000.

Withholding tax

The withholding tax applies to Non-Swiss nationals without a C permit and those who are not married to a Swiss citizen. In many cases, the Withholding tax more attractive than standard taxation. It is interesting to note that the withholding tax automatically deducted from salary and thus covers all federal, cantonal and municipal taxes.

Important: From an annual income of CHF 120,000, you must complete a "normal" tax return and can no longer be taxed at source. Before that, it can sometimes be smart, to do without it voluntarily. You can see how high the withholding tax is in each canton in our practical table.

Value added tax

You know it from every receipt in the supermarket or restaurant: VAT. Depending on the product or service category, a different tax rate applies (8.1% standard rate, 2.6% reduced rate or 3.8% special rate). Do you want to calculate the VAT for a product? Then use our practical tax calculator!

Withholding tax

Unfortunately Interest income and Dividendsthat you receive as an equity investor are not tax-free - they are subject to withholding tax. This amounts to 35% and is paid directly to from the bank deducted from your earnings. It is also known as security tax because it is there to prevent tax evasion.

You can declare the withholding tax paid in your annual tax return and pay it in full. be credited. Your dividends and other income are then still subject to income tax, but at a lower rate depending on your income.

Inheritance and gift tax

Last but not least: inheritance and gift tax. If you inherit or receive large sums or assets (e.g. property) as a gift, these are subject to tax. Each canton handles these taxes differently. In principle, the following applies: Married couples always inherit tax-free.

Property gains tax

If you sell a property at a profit, property gains tax is payable. It is regulated at cantonal level and is progressive. In the canton of Zurich, for example, the rate is between 10 % and 40 %, with discounts of up to 70 % depending on the length of ownership. → Calculate property gains tax Zurich

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How much tax do you pay in Switzerland?

You have already learnt that each canton levies different taxes. To make the comparison easier for you, we have summarised the income and wealth tax per canton in a table.

Taxes Switzerland Table: Income tax

What are the income tax rates in Switzerland? For a better overview, you will find the top tax rates in the table below, broken down by canton.

The average Top tax rate of all 26 cantons is 32,75%. You can see how your canton performs in detail here:

Canton	Taxes at the main location [%]	Maximum load [%]	Lowest load [%]
Train	22,2	Neuheim 23.3	Baar 22.1
Schwyz	23,6	Miscellaneous 24.7	Freienbach 19.6
Appenzell Innerrhoden	23,7	Oberegg 26.9	Appenzell 23.7
Obwalden	24,3	Lungern 26.8	Sarnen 24.3
Nidwalden	25,3	Wolfenschiessen 25.7	Hergiswil 22.5
Uri	25,3	Sisikon 26.8	Seedorf 25.0
Schaffhausen	27,8	Miscellaneous 30.9	Stetten 25.4
Lucerne	29,2	Miscellaneous 34.0	Meggen 25.5
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	30,7	Trogen 31.8	Teufen 26.8
Glarus	31,2	Miscellaneous 32.4	Glarus 31.2
Grisons	31,6	Miscellaneous 35.2	Rongellen 25.3
Thurgau	31,7	Arbon (Stachen) 34.9	Warth-Weiningen 26.9
St. Gallen	32,2	Wartau 32.7	Balgach 25.6
Solothurn	33,7	Bolken 37.6	Chamber tube 29.2
Aargau	34,3	Mellikon 37.7	Oberwil-Lieli 29.0
Freiburg	35,3	Jaun 38.0	Greng 28.8
Wallis⁴	36,5	Leukerbad 40.0	Miscellaneous 35.5
Neuchâtel	37,7	Miscellaneous 39.6	Miscellaneous 37.4
Law	39,0	Miscellaneous 41.6	Les Breuleux 35.5
Ticino	39,5	Miscellaneous 40.5	Castel San Pietro 34.0
Zurich	39,7	Maschwanden 41.1	Kilchberg 33.6
Basel-Stadt	39,8	Basel 39.8	Bettingen 36.2
Bern	40,9	Scolding 45.1	Deisswil b. M. 36.6
Vaud	41,5	Cantonal standard rate 41.5	Cantonal standard rate 41.5
Basel-Landschaft	42,2	Waldenburg 43.1	Miscellaneous 38.5
Geneva	43,2	Miscellaneous 44.2	Genthod 39.5
average	33,2	- –	- –

In addition, the following graph from 2024 clearly shows which cantons are above the Swiss average (32.73%) (coloured dark on the left) and which are below the Swiss average (32.78%) (coloured light blue on the right):

Schwyz (22.59%), Zug (22.67%) and Nidwalden (24.30%) have the lowest tax rates on the income of natural persons (this includes employees and the self-employed). On the contrary, Geneva (43.33%), Vaud (41.5%) and Bern (41.07%) are the cantons with the highest top rates.

Taxes Switzerland Table: Wealth tax

Below you can see which wealth taxes are due per canton for assets of CHF 1,000,000, CHF 3,000,000 and CHF 5,000,000:

Canton	1 million assets		3 million assets		5 million assets
Aarau	2,521.00 CHF	0,25%	11,109.00 CHF	0,37%	19,845.00 CHF	0,40%
Appenzell	2,052.00 CHF	0,21%	6,612.00 CHF	0,22%	11,172.00 CHF	0,22%
Herisau	3,367.00 CHF	0,34%	11,507.00 CHF	0,38%	19,647.00 CHF	0,39%
Bern	3,973.00 CHF	0,40%	15,670.00 CHF	0,52%	27,825.00 CHF	0,56%
Liestal	3,799.00 CHF	0,38%	14,678.00 CHF	0,49%	25,568.00 CHF	0,51%
Basel	4,725.00 CHF	0,47%	20,035.00 CHF	0,67%	35,835.00 CHF	0,72%
Fribourg	4,932.00 CHF	0,49%	15,660.00 CHF	0,52%	26,100.00 CHF	0,52%
Geneva	4,785.00 CHF	0,48%	23,182.00 CHF	0,77%	43,186.00 CHF	0,86%
Glarus	2,927.00 CHF	0,29%	9,839.00 CHF	0,33%	16,751.00 CHF	0,34%
Chur	2,706.00 CHF	0,27%	8,928.00 CHF	0,30%	15,150.00 CHF	0,30%
Delémont	3,791.00 CHF	0,38%	14,851.00 CHF	0,50%	26,251.00 CHF	0,53%
Lucerne	2,133.00 CHF	0,21%	7,008.00 CHF	0,23%	11,883.00 CHF	0,24%
Neuchâtel	6,840.00 CHF	0,68%	20,520.00 CHF	0,68%	34,200.00 CHF	0,68%
Stans	1,165.00 CHF	0,12%	3,670.00 CHF	0,12%	6,175.00 CHF	0,12%
Sarnen	1,370.00 CHF	0,14%	4,254.00 CHF	0,14%	7,138.00 CHF	0,14%
St. Gallen	3,511.00 CHF	0,35%	11,773.00 CHF	0,39%	20,035.00 CHF	0,40%
Schaffhausen	2,595.00 CHF	0,26%	11,406.00 CHF	0,38%	19,272.00 CHF	0,39%
Solothurn	1,899.00 CHF	0,19%	7,913.00 CHF	0,26%	13,441.00 CHF	0,27%
Schwyz	1,463.00 CHF	0,15%	5,363.00 CHF	0,18%	9,263.00 CHF	0,19%
Frauenfeld	2,226.00 CHF	0,22%	7,791.00 CHF	0,26%	13,358.00 CHF	0,27%
Bellinzona	4,047.00 CHF	0,40%	13,965.00 CHF	0,47%	23,465.00 CHF	0,47%
Altdorf	1,543.00 CHF	0,15%	5,443.00 CHF	0,18%	9,343.00 CHF	0,19%
Lausanne	6,437.00 CHF	0,64%	22,269.00 CHF	0,74%	38,100.00 CHF	0,76%
Sion	4,935.00 CHF	0,49%	18,522.00 CHF	0,62%	31,122.00 CHF	0,62%
Train	599,00 CHF	0,06%	5,073.00 CHF	0,17%	9,633.00 CHF	0,19%
Zurich	1,834.00 CHF	0,18%	10,839.00 CHF	0,36%	23,599.00 CHF	0,47%

Wealth tax: allowances per canton

There are a few cantons with exempt amounts for wealth tax, e.g. Bern, where assets of up to CHF 97,000 are not taxed. Basel-Land is at CHF 10,000 and Zurich at CHF 80,000 for single people and CHF 159,000 for married couples.
Check with the tax authorities in your canton to find out whether there are any allowances and how high they are.

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Taxes in Switzerland for newcomers

If you're thinking about moving to Switzerland, it makes sense to familiarise yourself with the tax system in advance. Let's take a look at what is important for newcomers in terms of tax and what you absolutely need to know!

Withholding tax vs. income tax: What's the difference?

In Switzerland, in addition to income tax, there is also the Withholding tax.

The withholding tax applies to new arrivals who no C permit have, less than CHF 120,000 annual income and are not comparable with a Swiss or Swiss woman married are. If this applies to you, then you have the option of being taxed at source or voluntarily completing a tax return.

A tax return must you fill in if:

You earn more than CHF 120,000 per year
In some cantons there may be further rules. For example, if your assets are greater than CHF 100,000 and you generate more than CHF 2,000 in cash flow (e.g. in the form of dividends) per year
You have a C permit
You are married to a Swiss national.

Important: Once you have completed a tax return, you have to do it every year from now on. There are no way back to withholding taxonce you have decided against it.

The Advantages of withholding tax lie in the partly very low taxation and Simplicity of the statement, as your taxes are deducted directly from your salary each month. The major disadvantage? You cannot claim 3a payments or pension fund purchases for tax purposes.

You should therefore carefully weigh up the decision as to whether or not to remain subject to withholding tax and, above all, calculate it step by step. This is the only way to see what is most worthwhile for your income tax across Switzerland. We have compiled more information on this topic here.

Withholding tax Tax rates (table)

Below you can see the Swiss withholding tax rate table using the example of an annual salary of CHF 96,000 per canton:

Canton	Withholding tax rate for an annual salary of CHF 96,000
GE	14.86%
VD	13.81%
FR	14.68%
NE	15.67%
VS	13.1%
BE	14.3%
SO	14.43%
JU	15.51%
TI	13.1%
BS	13.27%
BL	13.2%
AG	10.9%
ZH	9.1%
SH	11.84%
TG	11.5%
LU	11.47%
OW	10.9%
NW	9.44%
ZG	4.5%
SZ	6.51%
UR	10.01%
GL	11.44%
SG	12.34%
AI	10.27%
AR	12.12%
GR	11.03%

Please note: Withholding tax is also subject to progression and increases with higher income. No guarantee of up-to-dateness.

Excursus: Taxes in Switzerland vs. taxes in Germany

The biggest differences between the tax system in Switzerland and that in Germany are as follows:

withholding tax: This concept does not exist in Germany
Federalism: Even though Germany is also divided into federal states (analogous to cantons), the federal states have significantly less tax freedom than the cantons in Switzerland. The cantonal tax comparison shows the differences. Taxes such as income tax, inheritance tax and capital gains tax are regulated at federal level.
Amount of the levies: Taxes in Germany generally higher than in Switzerland
Pay taxes: Monthly direct deduction from wages in Germany vs. advance payments, or annual settlement after submission of the tax return with possible additional payment or repayment for Swiss citizens.

Taxes for German cross-border commuters in Switzerland

People who live in Germany and work in Switzerland, for example, are considered cross-border commuters. The double taxation agreement between Germany and Switzerland stipulates how your income is taxed:

Your wages are Taxable in Germany
Switzerland retains a Withholding tax of 4.5% This will be taken into account and credited in your annual tax return
You need a Certificate of residence from the tax office to confirm your cross-border commuter status and avoid tax obligations in Switzerland
If you spend a lot of time Home Office your cross-border commuter status may be cancelled. To avoid this, you must travel to Switzerland at least once a week or at least 5 days a month.

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Taxes Switzerland Table: Conclusion

As you can see, the Swiss tax system is complex. The Tax rates vary throughout Switzerland depending on the canton The differences are sometimes considerable, which is why it is worth taking a closer look. While some cantons score points with low income and wealth taxes, the taxes in other regions are significantly higher. Also There are special regulations for newcomers and cross-border commutersthat you should know and take into account.

And if you are preparing your tax return - remember that there is often potential for savings! Take advantage of all (legal) opportunities to save on taxes and find out about deductions and allowances early on. If you would like to find out more about this topic, take a look at our article on the Tax saving tips in Switzerlandz an.

FAQ

What is the top tax rate in Switzerland?

The average top income tax rate in Switzerland is 32.73%. Geneva leads the ranking of the highest income tax rates with 43.33%.

How much tax on an income of CHF 100,000?

As each canton calculates taxes differently, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Use the Tax calculator of the tax administrationto calculate your own tax burden in just a few clicks.

What is the Swiss tax rate for income?

The Swiss income tax rate averages 33.2% across all cantons. This total tax burden is made up of direct federal tax as well as cantonal and communal taxes. However, due to the federalist system, Switzerland's tax rates vary considerably depending on the canton of residence, with cantons such as Zug, Schwyz or Nidwalden having significantly lower tax rates than Geneva or Basel-Stadt, for example. The different tax rates in Switzerland lead to tax competition between the cantons.

Are there cantonal differences in the tax burden?

A detailed tax comparison of the Swiss cantons shows clear differences in the tax burden. While taxes are relatively low in some Swiss cantons (such as Zug or Schwyz), residents of other cantons pay almost twice as much for the same income. Swiss cantonal taxes differ not only in terms of tax rates, but also in terms of deductions and allowances. Depending on the place of residence, the Swiss tax percentage can amount to between around 22% and 45% of the total tax burden for an average family, which emphasises the importance of the place of residence for personal tax planning.

Note: The tax rates stated may vary. This article does not constitute tax advice and does not claim to be complete or up-to-date.

2 responses

Müller Walter says:

25. April 2025 at 16:48

How much can I earn as a retiree in the canton of St.Gallen with a part-time job, tax-free and supplementary benefit per year?

Reply
Lars says:

27. March 2025 at 13:17

To make things even more confusing: The withholding tax on dividends is also partially declared as withholding tax. Of course, this is not the withholding tax paid by persons with a permanent residence permit. The withholding tax on dividends varies depending on the country of origin. For my US stocks, 30% withholding tax is deducted from each dividend payment directly at Swissquote. These are then declared again in the tax return under withholding tax.

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Taxes in Switzerland table: These are the tax rates you need to know (2026)

Table of contents

How does the tax system work in Switzerland?

Top recommendations for 2026

What taxes are there in Switzerland?

Income tax

Property tax

Withholding tax

Value added tax

Withholding tax

Inheritance and gift tax

Property gains tax

Our financial tips for 2026

How much tax do you pay in Switzerland?

Taxes Switzerland Table: Income tax

Taxes Switzerland Table: Wealth tax

Wealth tax: allowances per canton

Our financial tips for 2026

Taxes in Switzerland for newcomers

Withholding tax vs. income tax: What's the difference?

Withholding tax Tax rates (table)

Excursus: Taxes in Switzerland vs. taxes in Germany

Taxes for German cross-border commuters in Switzerland

Our financial tips for 2026

Taxes Switzerland Table: Conclusion

FAQ

What is the top tax rate in Switzerland?

How much tax on an income of CHF 100,000?

What is the Swiss tax rate for income?

Are there cantonal differences in the tax burden?

Start here

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