Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

A free online tool that calculates income and wealth taxes for all 2’110 Swiss municipalities and compares them on a map and in a ranking. You enter income, wealth, household, children, age and denomination and see what your tax bill would be in each municipality.

All tariffs, tax multipliers, deductions and tax-free allowances are taken from the official tax calculator of the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) for tax year 2026, which also provides them for export under “Retrieve basic data”. The tool replicates its calculation; the data was retrieved on 3 October 2026 and is automatically reconciled with the official exports. How closely the tool matches the FTA tax calculator is described on the “Methodology” page.

No. The calculations are for guidance only. The assessments of the competent tax authorities are authoritative. For binding information, contact the competent tax administration or a tax adviser.

The data applies to tax year 2026, i.e. to income and wealth of that year. Tax multipliers are set by municipalities and cantons in the autumn of the preceding year; the FTA usually includes the new tax year in full in the first quarter. An automatic monthly check detects whether a new tax year is available; it is then added as an additional tax year and can be selected separately. The tax year and the date of the data are shown in the footer and behind the info icon next to the tax year.

Only if the FTA already includes the coming tax year for all cantons; it then appears in the year selector. Before that, the municipal tax multipliers have not yet been set and cannot be stated reliably. For the decision, the current tax year is usually sufficient: the differences between municipalities (often several thousand francs) are far larger than the annual changes in tax multipliers (usually a few percentage points), and the ranking remains largely stable. The detail panel also shows how a municipality’s tax multipliers have changed compared with the previous year.

No. The tool calculates deterministically with verified data tables directly in your browser. The result is exactly reproducible and verifiable, and a complete calculation for all municipalities needs only a fraction of the energy of a single text prompt to an AI assistant (according to Google, a median of 0.24 Wh). The results are checked against the FTA tax calculator; how closely is described on the “Methodology” page.

Cantonal and municipal income tax, church tax (on income and wealth, if a denomination is selected), personal tax (poll tax, only in some cantons), cantonal and municipal wealth tax, and direct federal tax. Not included are tax at source, lump-sum taxation, inheritance and gift tax, real estate capital gains tax and the special rules for the self-employed.

That depends on whether you are assessed under the ordinary procedure. Foreign employees domiciled in Switzerland for tax purposes who do not hold a settlement permit (permit C) – as a rule those with permit B or L, likewise those with permit F, N, S or Ci – pay tax at source (withholding tax) on their salary; the employer deducts it directly. The tax-at-source tariff is set for each canton and applies uniformly throughout the canton: it includes the taxes of the Confederation, the canton and the municipality, with a municipal share that is uniform across the canton, in most cantons also the church tax, and it is calculated with flat-rate deductions. Within a canton, the municipality of residence therefore does not change the deduction, but the canton of residence does. No tax at source is paid by self-employed persons on the income from that activity, by persons who have neither salary nor replacement income, and, apart from exceptions, by employees of an employer without a registered office or permanent establishment in Switzerland; they are assessed under the ordinary procedure, and the municipality of residence counts for them; the ranking, however, is calculated for salary from employment.

The municipality of residence counts as soon as you are assessed under the ordinary procedure: the cantonal tariff and the tax multiplier of your municipality of residence then apply, as shown in the ranking. In a subsequent ordinary assessment, the employer continues to deduct the tax at source; it is credited without interest. Depending on the municipality of residence, wealth and deductions, the ordinary tax turns out higher or lower than the tax-at-source deduction. You are assessed under the ordinary procedure in the following cases:

• You hold a settlement permit (permit C), or you are married to or in a registered partnership with a person who holds Swiss citizenship or permit C and are not separated: you are not subject to tax at source and are assessed under the ordinary procedure. After permit C is granted or after the marriage, the deduction ceases from the following month; the ordinary assessment applies to the whole tax year. If that person lives abroad with a domicile of their own, tax at source continues to apply; after separation or divorce, it applies again from the following month.
• Your gross income from employment amounts to at least CHF 120’000 in a tax year; if you move in during the year, the regular salary is converted to twelve months. The threshold applies per person; the incomes of spouses are not added together. You are then subject to a mandatory subsequent ordinary assessment, spouses jointly, until the end of your liability to tax at source, even if your income later falls below the threshold again.
• You have income that is not subject to tax at source (for example from self-employment, maintenance payments, widow’s or orphan’s pensions, securities or real estate), or wealth that is taxable under cantonal law. Federal law sets no minimum amount for this; some cantons apply de minimis thresholds. You must then request the tax return form by 31 March of the following year and are subject to a mandatory subsequent ordinary assessment.
• You submit a written request for a subsequent ordinary assessment by 31 March of the following year or, if you leave Switzerland, at the latest when you deregister your residence. The request also covers your spouse unless you are separated, cannot be withdrawn and remains effective until the end of your liability to tax at source; in the following years, the assessment is carried out ex officio.

In these cases, the ranking also applies to you. What is said here about spouses also applies to registered partners. If child deductions were granted in the tax-at-source tariff on account of maintenance payments (hardship rule), a subsequent ordinary assessment is made only on request. If none of these cases applies, the ranking shows the ordinary taxes, not your tax-at-source deduction. Anyone who keeps their tax domicile abroad and comes to Switzerland only to work, for instance as a cross-border commuter or weekly resident, is subject to different rules (Art. 91 and 99a DBG); the ranking does not cover this case. Legal basis: Art. 83–89a of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG); Art. 32–33b of the Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes of Cantons and Communes (StHG); Art. 4 and 9–13 of the Ordinance on Tax at Source (QStV); FTA Circular No. 45.

Each canton has a tariff that derives the “simple tax” from taxable income. The canton and the municipality each levy a multiple of it, determined by the tax multiplier: at 100 %, exactly the simple tax is paid; at 130 %, 1.3 times that amount. The tax multipliers of all municipalities are stored in the tool; in the detail panel under “Calculation steps” you can see the simple tax and the tax multipliers applied.

With standard deductions switched on, the tool calculates from gross salary to taxable income in the same way as the FTA tax calculator:

• Social insurance: OASI/DI/IC (AHV/IV/EO) 5.3 %, unemployment insurance (ALV) 1.1 % (up to CHF 148’200), non-occupational accident insurance (NBU) 0.4 % (up to CHF 148’200).
• Occupational pension (BVG): employee contribution by age (3.5 % from age 25, 5 % from 35, 7.5 % from 45, 9 % from 55) on the coordinated salary (coordination deduction CHF 26’460, insured salary up to CHF 90’720) plus 3.5 % on the part of the salary above that, as assumed by the FTA tax calculator.
• Cantonal and federal deductions: professional expenses, insurance deduction, deductions for married persons, two-earner couples, children and other social deductions, each as applied by the FTA tax calculator for the selected canton.

Individual deductions such as actual health insurance premiums, pillar 3a, debt interest, travel costs, further education or property maintenance are not taken into account. These deductions can reduce your taxable income considerably. If you know your taxable income, switch off the standard deductions and enter it directly.

Married couples are taxed jointly. In each canton, the tool uses the tariff for married persons (splitting, double tariff or family quotient, depending on the canton) and, for the federal tax, the tariff for married persons. With “two incomes”, the gross income is split equally between both persons, so that social insurance contributions and professional expenses are taken into account for both persons, as is the two-earner deduction. A different split of income changes the result slightly.

Children give rise to child deductions from income and, for the federal tax, an additional deduction from the tax amount (parental tariff); in some cantons they also lead to a tax reduction (Basel-Landschaft) or a lower tariff (family quotient in Vaud). Single persons with children receive the tariff for married persons. The tool assumes children aged 8; deductions for younger or older children (childcare, education) may differ.

For example, the 12 % reduction of the cantonal tax in Geneva, the rebate on the cantonal coefficient and the cap at 30 % of taxable income in Vaud, the deduction from the tax amount for married persons in Valais, the tax burden cap in Lucerne, wealth-dependent deductions in Schwyz and Bern, the stepwise decreasing tax-free wealth allowance in Fribourg, minimum amounts and personal taxes. Depending on the canton, church tax is assessed on the basis of the simple tax, the cantonal or municipal tax, or directly on income. These rules were derived from the behaviour of the FTA tax calculator and are automatically checked against it.

The marginal tax rate shows how much income tax is due on an additional CHF 1’000 of net salary (canton, municipality, church and federal combined), calculated as in the FTA tax calculator. Deductions that shrink as income rises are taken into account; wealth tax is not. Because the tariffs are progressive, it is usually higher than the average tax rate.

Age determines the rate of the BVG contributions deducted from gross salary. Older employees pay higher contributions and accordingly have a lower taxable income.

The total of all assets (bank balances, securities, real estate at tax value, vehicles) less debts. The tax-free allowances for single persons, married persons and children are stored in the wealth tax tables for each canton and are deducted automatically. If no wealth is entered, no wealth tax is due.

Members of the national churches (Protestant Reformed, Roman Catholic, in some cantons Christian Catholic) pay church tax on income and wealth. In Vaud and Ticino, the state does not levy church tax on private individuals; in Geneva and Neuchâtel it is voluntary but is shown in the tool as in the FTA tax calculator.

After you click “Calculate all municipalities”, the map is coloured by tax burden: green stands for a low burden, red for a high one. Clicking a municipality opens the detail panel with the calculation. “Ranking” switches to a table that can be filtered by canton, searched and downloaded as CSV.

Select your municipality (via the map or the search) and click “Set as home municipality for comparison” in the detail panel. The detail panel and the ranking then show the difference per year for every municipality, and the filters by radius and difference become available.

Yes. The inputs, the selected municipality and the home municipality are contained in the browser’s address bar. Anyone who opens the link sees the same calculation.

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser using data tables provided in advance; your income, age or wealth are neither sent to us nor stored in the process. So that you can share a calculation, the inputs appear in your browser’s address bar. When such a link is opened, it briefly appears in the hosting provider’s server log, like any page address, but it is not analysed. Usage statistics (Google Analytics) are collected only with your consent and never contain your tax inputs.

Yes, the tool is designed for smartphones and tablets. The map and the ranking are clearer on large screens.

In German, French, Italian, English and Romansh. You can switch the language at the top right; number and date formats follow the selected language. For technical terms, the German designations of the FTA tax calculator are authoritative.