Perspectives
Individual taxation: what changes now that it has passed
On 8 March 2026 Switzerland voted for individual taxation. What it actually means, who will tend to pay less or more, and when it takes effect.
Updated on 31.08.2026 · 4 min read
On 8 March 2026 Switzerland voted for individual taxation, with 54.23 % in favour on a turnout of 55.6 %. That makes it one of the biggest changes to the Swiss tax system in years. It isn't in force yet, but it's coming.
I read the reform text because I needed to know what it does to the tax logic I build. The mechanical part is quick to state. One assessment per household becomes two, and two separate returns mean double the form work, for the couple and for every piece of software, mine included. What the reform does to the tax bill itself is a different question, and the answer sits with how a household earns.
What it is about
Today, married couples in Switzerland are taxed jointly: their incomes are added together and assessed as one. Unmarried couples, by contrast, each file their own tax return. In some cases this unequal treatment produces the so-called "marriage penalty", where a married couple is taxed more heavily through joint assessment than two unmarried people with the same income.
Individual taxation removes that difference. In future, each person declares their own income and assets in a separate tax return, regardless of marital status.
What could change for your household
How the reform affects you depends heavily on how income is distributed within the household. The overview below shows the tendency. It is not a calculation for your specific situation.
| Household | Today | Under individual taxation | Tendency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married, two similar incomes | assessed jointly, combined progression | each files own return, progression per income | tends to pay less |
| Married, one main income | assessed jointly, married-couple rate | each files own return, no married-couple rate | tends to pay more, partly offset by the higher child deduction |
| Married with children | joint assessment | federal child deduction rises from CHF 6'800 to CHF 12'000 per child, split between the parents | mixed, depending on income split |
| Unmarried, low to middle income | already individual | individual, new rate | tends to pay less |
| Unmarried, high income | already individual | individual, new rate | tends to pay more |
The idea behind it: when two people each declare their own income, progression applies twice at a lower level instead of once on the combined amount. That relieves households with two similar incomes. Where only one person earns, the previous married-couple rate falls away, which tends to lead to a higher burden. At federal level the child deduction rises under the reform from CHF 6'800 to CHF 12'000 per child and is split between the parents.
Worth checking: The amounts stated are guide figures at federal level under the adopted reform. The cantons implement individual taxation in their own tax laws and set their own rates. The figure that applies to you may therefore differ and should be checked when the reform takes effect.
When it takes effect
The Federal Council set the entry into force on 19.08.2026: 1 January 2032, the latest date the law allows. Until then the current rules apply unchanged: married couples continue to be assessed jointly. In the meantime the Confederation and cantons adapt their tax laws, forms and rates.
For you this means there is nothing to do right now. You still complete your next tax return under the current rules. I can't say yet which canton will switch first or when, so checking the cantonal rules for your situation is worth doing once the reform is genuinely close.
What this means for TaxWize
Until the reform applies, TaxWize keeps calculating on the current rules, so your return is built on the law that actually governs that tax year. Software that adopts a new law early produces wrong numbers for exactly the year you are filing.
Once individual taxation takes effect in a canton, I reset that canton's rates and deductions and prepare each person's separate return under the rules that then apply. I take new figures only after the canton has published them.
Sources
- Federal Department of Finance, media release "Individualbesteuerung tritt 2032 in Kraft" of 19.08.2026 (entry into force 01.01.2032, the latest date the law permits, to give the cantons time for political and technical implementation): efd.admin.ch, retrieved 31.08.2026
- Federal Department of Finance, individual-taxation vote dossier (result of 08.03.2026: 54.23 % in favour on a 55.6 % turnout; federal child deduction rising from CHF 6'800 to CHF 12'000 per child): efd.admin.ch, retrieved 31.08.2026
- Individual taxation entering into force on 01.01.2032, Federal Council decision of 19.08.2026: srf.ch, retrieved 31.08.2026
- The same decision, independently reported: watson.ch, retrieved 31.08.2026
Frequently asked questions
- When does individual taxation take effect?
- On 1 January 2032. The Federal Council fixed that date on 19.08.2026 and chose the latest one the law allows, so the cantons have time to adapt their tax laws, rates and deductions. Until then the current rules apply and married couples are still assessed jointly.
- Will I, as a married person, have to file my own tax return in future?
- Yes. After the reform each person declares their own income and assets in a separate tax return, regardless of marital status. Today married couples are still assessed jointly.
- Does everyone benefit from individual taxation?
- No, the effect depends on your situation. Married couples with two similar incomes tend to pay less, married couples with a single income tend to pay more. The federal child deduction rises under the reform from CHF 6'800 to CHF 12'000 per child. The exact effect depends on income, canton and family situation.
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