The 8 March 2026 vote
Switzerland voted on the popular initiative for Individualbesteuerung ("individual taxation") on 8 March 2026. Result: 54.23 % Yes. Every adult taxpayer — single, married, divorced, widowed — will eventually file their own return on their own income. Joint filing for married couples (the system since 1944) ends.
What changes for married couples
Today (until ~2032):
- Married couples file one joint return.
- Both spouses' income is summed.
- The summed income is taxed on a married scale (or a splitting-adjusted single scale, depending on canton).
- Federal law and most cantonal laws partially offset the higher tax band the couple lands in via "splitting" (divisor 1.7–2.0 typically).
- Splitting is incomplete — dual-earner couples with similar incomes still pay a "marriage penalty" of CHF 4–12 k/year.
After Individualbesteuerung (effective by 2032 at latest):
- Each spouse files separately on their own income.
- Each gets their own progressive scale and own deductions.
- The "marriage penalty" disappears for dual-earners.
- The "marriage bonus" disappears for single-earner couples (one spouse loses the rate-reduction benefit).
Who wins, who loses
Three archetypes of married couple in 2026:
- Two equal earners (e.g. each CHF 120 k). Today they pay the marriage penalty, often CHF 6–12 k/year extra. After 2032 they save that whole amount. Winner.
- Big earner + small earner (e.g. CHF 250 k + CHF 20 k). Today the smaller spouse benefits from splitting; combined tax is lower than two singles. After 2032 they'll pay more. Loser.
- Single-earner household (one spouse not working). Today the non-working spouse's "zero bracket" softens the working spouse's tax. After 2032 the working spouse pays single rates on the whole family income. Big loser.
The proposal's compromise: each canton can introduce a newpartner-deduction to soften the blow for single-earner households. The exact amount is being negotiated cantonally.
Timeline to 2032
- 20 June 2025 — Parliament passed the Federal Act on Individual Taxation.
- 8 March 2026 — The public vote confirms it, 54.23% Yes.
- 2026–31 — Federal and cantonal implementation. Cantons must also update their own tax law (via the federal Tax Harmonisation Act) to switch to individual taxation — this isn't optional, and it takes effect on the same date as federal tax, not on each canton's own schedule. Tax brackets get re-indexed for inflation before the switch, so the exact new rates aren't published yet.
- 2032 (at latest) — Individualbesteuerung effective Switzerland-wide, for federal, cantonal, and communal tax together. The Federal Council can only move this date earlier, never later — there's no staggered, canton-by-canton rollout.
Cantons keep their usual freedom to set their own tax brackets and deductions — including any cantonal measure to soften the impact on single-earner households — but not whether or when to switch to individual taxation itself. That part is the same law, the same date, everywhere.
What you should do today
Nothing legally required yet — joint filing continues until the law takes effect (by 2032 at the latest; the Federal Council could set an earlier date, but hasn't yet). But:
- Run the couples calculator to see where you stand. If you're in a marriage-penalty bracket, the fix is real money in your pocket once it takes effect.
- Plan pension allocations as separate columns now. When joint filing ends, each spouse's 3a / LPP situation becomes their own — there's no transfer.
- Watch for updates. The exact new tax brackets aren't published yet — Optiqo will update its calculators as soon as they are.