At a glance
- Canton Zürich cut its Steuerfuss from 98 to 95 — biggest cut in 20 years.
- Pillar 3a max rose CHF 7 056 → CHF 7 258 (employees) and now allows 10-year retroactive buy-back.
- Individualbesteuerung approved with 54.23% Yes on 8 March 2026 — joint filing ends by 2032.
- Eigenmietwert abolished by 57.7% Yes vote (28 Sept 2025) — effective 1 January 2029.
- 13th AHV pension first payment December 2026.
Rule changes
Federal — Pillar 3a max
Maximum employee 3a deduction increased CHF 7 056 → CHF 7 258 (employed). Self-employed without 2nd pillar: up to 20% of net income, capped at CHF 36 288.
Source: BSV →Pillar 3a — retroactive buy-back
From tax year 2026 anyone with AHV income can retroactively fill 3a gaps from 2025 onward, up to 10 years back, after maxing the current year's contribution. Fully tax-deductible.
Source: BSV →Federal — BVG coordination
BVG coordination deduction adjusts annually. New 2026 values: entry threshold CHF 22 680, max insurable salary CHF 90 720, minimum interest rate 1.25%.
Source: BSV →Individualbesteuerung
On 8 March 2026 Swiss voters approved switching from joint-couple to individual taxation with 54.23% Yes. Implementation runs through 2032; cantons will phase in cantonal individual filing alongside.
Source: admin.ch / EFD →AHV — 13th pension
First 13th OASI pension lands in December 2026. Federal Council proposes raising standard VAT from 8.1% to 8.8% to cover the CHF 4.2 bn annual cost.
Source: BSV →Federal income tax — brackets
Federal direct tax brackets and deductions adjusted by 0.1% inflation for tax year 2026 (effective in the 2027 filing for 2026 income). Modest indexation, lower than 2024-25 due to subdued CPI.
Source: ESTV →Eigenmietwert / imputed rent
Swiss voters scrapped the Eigenmietwert with 57.7% Yes on 28 Sept 2025. Transition runs through 2028; system switch on 1 January 2029. Most mortgage interest deductions also disappear.
Source: EFD →Cantonal changes
Canton Zürich
ZH's biggest tax cut in 20 years. Kantonsrat lowered the Steuerfuss for 2026-27, returning CHF 492 million to residents over two years. City of Zürich commune unchanged at 119%.
Source: Tages-Anzeiger →A note on commune-level changes
Optiqo's atlas re-publishes each year's commune Steuerfuss values as cantonal authorities release them (October — December). Most communes don't change Steuerfuss year-to-year; budget cuts and growth surprises are the main reasons they do.
We're working on a programmatic year-over-year diff view that highlights any commune that moved by ≥ 2 percentage points. It requires storing a snapshot of the prior year's dataset (currently we only bundle the current year). Coming in the next data refresh.
In the meantime: browse your commune in the atlas and see its current Steuerfuss with the source attribution.