Methodology and data sources
Short version: every tax figure on this site is computed by the ESTV federal tax calculator, not by our own tax formulas. We feed it a household profile and a commune, and show what it returns. The map data are checked against the official ESTV tax burden export: 0 differences above CHF 2 in 260 capital comparisons.
Data sources
- ESTV tax calculator API (swisstaxcalculator.estv.admin.ch): the engine behind the simulator, Compare and Ask. It returns federal, cantonal, communal, church and personal tax for a commune, tax year and household.
- ESTV Steuerbelastung (tax burden) export: the official total tax per commune for standard profiles, published in the calculator's burden view. The map data (2,110 communes, tax year 2026) are built from it and re-checked against the calculator.
- Federal tariff and deductions 2026: ESTV circular 2-215-D-2025 (cold progression, Art. 36 DBG). Used for the explainer text, the tariff table and the chart. The full source list is in the Info section.
- Commune boundaries for the map are those of 2023. Communes that merged since then may show "no data".
Tax years and update schedule
The simulator offers tax years 2026, 2025, 2024 and 2023. The map, the canton table and the explainers cover 2026 (data computed 4 November 2026). The map data is rebuilt when ESTV publishes new figures; the date shown on the page is the date the data were computed.
Household profiles on the map
| Profile | Definition |
|---|---|
| Single, CHF 80k / 150k / 300k | Single person, no children, age 35, employed, gross salary as stated, no church tax. |
| Married, 2 kids, CHF 150k | Married, one earner, gross salary CHF 150,000, two children aged 3 and 10, age 35, no church tax. |
| Wealth tax, CHF 500k / 1M / 2M / 5M | Single person, no income, net wealth as stated, no church tax. |
Map values are the total tax (federal, cantonal, communal and personal tax) per year in CHF, and as a share of income or wealth.
Assumptions
- Gross mode: when you enter a gross salary, the ESTV calculator deducts social security contributions and applies its standard deductions (professional expenses, insurance premiums, child deductions). No cantonal-specific or itemised deductions are added. In "taxable income" mode you enter the taxable income yourself.
- Children: unless you enter ages, the calculator uses the ESTV model ages: one child 3; two children 3 and 10; three children 3, 10 and 16; further children 6, 13, 8, 12, 5, 14, 9. Ages matter for childcare and child deductions in some cantons.
- Church tax is off by default. It is only added when you select a confession. Map and canton-table figures exclude it.
- Pillar 3a: when selected, the maximum for employees with a pension fund is deducted: CHF 7,258 in 2025 and 2026, CHF 7,056 in 2023 and 2024.
- Residence: the commune where you live on 31 December. The default age is 35.
- Canton table in the Info section: canton capital, single person; the income columns are computed on taxable income (no deductions) and on a gross salary of CHF 100,000; wealth columns on taxable wealth with no allowance. The column headers say which.
Validation
We compare our results with the official ESTV figures with an automated script (see the generated report in the project repository, docs/validation.md), run on 4 November 2026 for tax year 2026 unless noted:
- Canton capitals: 10 household cases x 26 capitals = 260 comparisons, all within CHF 2 of the official ESTV figure, 0 off.
- Map data: every commune and profile checked against the official ESTV burden export, 0 gaps.
- Spot checks: 78 of 78 results (random communes plus selected ones) within CHF 2 of the calculator.
- Zurich was also compared with the cantonal tax office of Zurich: within CHF 0.6 to 4.5; the gap is rounding of the simple tax to whole francs.
Limitations
- Estimates, not tax advice. Your assessment by the cantonal tax office is binding.
- Not modelled: withholding tax (Quellensteuer), expense-based (lump-sum) taxation, self-employment income, cantonal-specific deductions, cross-border situations, capital benefits other than the pension payout estimate, and the effects of individual taxation (approved on 8 March 2026, no start date announced).
- Standard deductions only; real deductions (mortgage interest, itemised costs, donations) change the result.
- Tax rules, multipliers and deductions change each year. Figures are valid for the tax year shown.
- Ask is an AI assistant: its tax figures come from the calculator tools, but its explanations can be wrong. Check important facts with the sources.
- Some communes that merged after 2023 have no map data.
Reproduce a number
Pick a commune and profile in the simulator, then enter the same inputs in the ESTV tax calculator (model ages as above, no church tax). The totals should agree within CHF 2. The map data can be downloaded as JSON.
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