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Pillar 3a — what it is and why everyone uses it
The third leg of the Swiss pension system. CHF 7 258 deductible per year (2026). The single biggest tax lever for most salaried employees.
ReadLPP buy-in — when the 2nd pillar beats Pillar 3a
Voluntary contributions to your pension fund. Marginal-rate tax saving, optimal-year sequencing, the Art. 79b three-year lock-in.
ReadHow to actually do a 2nd-pillar buy-in
The five concrete steps: get your Vorsorgeausweis, check Art. 79b, decide the amount, pay before Dec 31, claim it on your tax return.
ReadOptiqo → your canton ePortal: what goes where
Optiqo tells you what to enter. Your canton's eTax software still needs you to type it. Form fields, attachments, deadlines per canton.
ReadSteuerfuss explained — what the number really means
The commune-level multiplier on cantonal "simple tax". Why Zug is 50 % and Bern is 154 %. The hidden second multiplier (the canton itself).
ReadIndividualbesteuerung — the end of joint filing
The 8 March 2026 Yes vote (54.23 %), what changes, why dual-earner couples win, what single-earner households lose.
ReadHow Swiss tax federation actually works
Three layers (federal + cantonal + commune), three different scales, three multipliers — and why moving 30 km can change your bill by 30 %.
ReadThe marriage penalty — measured
Why dual-earner married couples pay more than two singles. Mechanics, examples, what the splitting divisor does, the 2032 fix.
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