On 8 March 2026, Swiss voters approved the Federal Act of 20 June 2025 on individual taxation with 54.23% of the vote. A reform that had been called for for more than forty years has finally been enshrined in Swiss law.
The reform will enter into force on 1 January 2032. By then, the cantons will have to adapt their tax legislation. The direction of travel is, however, already clear from the new provisions of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (nLIFD) and the Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes of the Cantons and Municipalities (nLHID), as introduced by the Individual Taxation Act: each adult will declare his or her own income and wealth, irrespective of marital status.
What this means in practical terms — for married couples, high-income families and families with structured wealth.
The problem: unequal tax treatment
The current system is based on the joint taxation of married couples and registered partners. The spouses’ incomes are aggregated and tax is then levied on the combined amount. Because Swiss tax scales are progressive, a dual-income married couple may pay more tax than an unmarried couple with the same combined income. The cantons have introduced various corrective mechanisms into their legislation to mitigate this progressive effect. At direct federal tax (DFT) level, however, the issue has never been fully resolved.
This is not an issue confined to very high earners. As soon as both spouses earn comparable incomes, progression works to their disadvantage. The Individual Taxation Act will put an end to the difference in tax treatment between married couples/registered partners and unmarried/unregistered couples.
What the reform changes in practice: amendments to the LIFD and LHID under the Federal Act on Individual Taxation
The Federal Act on Individual Taxation abolishes joint taxation. Every taxpayer — whether married, in a registered partnership or single — will file a separate tax return and be subject to the same tax scale (Art. 8a nLIFD and Art. 3 para. 3, para. 3bis, para. 3ter and para. 4 nLHID).
One tax scale for all taxpayers. DFT will apply to each individual’s own income. The “married couple” scale under Art. 36 para. 2 LIFD will be abolished, leaving a recalibrated individual tax scale (Art. 36 para. 1 nLIFD).
Child deductions will increase. For DFT purposes, the deduction will rise from CHF 6,800 to CHF 12,000 per child and will, as a rule, be divided equally between the parents (Art. 35 para. 1 lit. a nLIFD).
Wealth will be allocated according to civil-law ownership rights. Assets will be attributed to each spouse in accordance with the rules already applied to unmarried couples: for real estate, on the basis of rights in rem as recorded in the land register; for liabilities, according to the contract giving rise to the obligation. Under the ordinary matrimonial property regime of participation in acquired property, employment income belongs to the spouse who earns it, while constituting acquired property. Once saved, it is attributed according to the relevant ownership rights.
Individual taxation will apply at federal, cantonal and municipal levels. Federal law establishes the principle, and each canton will have until the end of 2031 to review and, where necessary, revise its tax scales, tariff mechanisms and social deductions. The reform will also affect municipal taxation: municipalities will, where necessary, have to adjust their tax rates to take account of the impact on their revenues.
Income tax: who stands to benefit from the reform — and who needs to recalculate
Dual-income married couples are the principal beneficiaries. Separate taxation prevents the aggregation of the spouses’ incomes from subjecting them to greater progression. The effect is particularly favourable where their incomes are comparable. According to the Federal Council, “the tax relief will primarily benefit married persons whose incomes are distributed more or less equally between the two spouses” (Dispatch of 21 February 2024, Federal Gazette 2024 589).
Single-income couples, or couples whose incomes are very unevenly distributed, will, by contrast, need to revisit the figures. They currently benefit from the more favourable tax scale applicable to married couples. Under individual taxation, the spouse earning most of the household income will be taxed on that income alone under the new individual scale. Where there are children, the effect may be further accentuated by the division of the child deduction between the parents. Such households may therefore see their tax burden increase.
For unmarried couples, the tax advantage associated with separate taxation will disappear as such. Whether married or not, taxpayers will in future be taxed individually.
At DFT level, the reform therefore removes differences in tax treatment based on marital status. At cantonal level, the position is more nuanced: the cantons already apply various mechanisms designed to mitigate the effects of joint taxation, such as income splitting or family quotient systems. These mechanisms will have to be reviewed when the principles of the reform are transposed into cantonal legislation and will warrant analysis in due course. Nevertheless, at cantonal level too, the change of system should be more advantageous for married couples with broadly equivalent incomes than for those whose incomes differ significantly.
Impact on wealth and wealth tax
There is no wealth tax at federal level: wealth taxation is exclusively a matter for the cantons and municipalities. The reform does not alter the structure of wealth tax — it changes the way wealth is attributed between spouses.
Under the new system, each spouse will declare his or her share of the wealth, which will be attributed individually according to civil-law ownership rights or other rights provided for by law. A joint bank account will, in principle, be divided equally; for real estate, the entry in the land register will be determinative.
For families with structured wealth, there are several direct implications:
The way assets are held — sole ownership, co-ownership or through wealth-holding structures — will determine how wealth and the income it generates are attributed between the spouses. Arrangements designed under a joint-taxation regime may therefore warrant review before 2032.
In cantons that apply a tax shield, the mechanism will also have to be adapted to individual taxation. For substantial fortunes generating little income, the interaction between the allocation of wealth, the corresponding income and the tax-shield mechanism will need to be examined carefully. See our article: The Tax Shield in Switzerland
What wealthy families should anticipate before 2032
The reform will enter into force on 1 January 2032, less than six years from now. For families with significant wealth, this deadline should be anticipated rather than simply awaited.
Review the allocation of assets between spouses. Existing ownership structures were organised under a joint-taxation regime. From 2032, wealth will be attributed to each spouse according to ownership rights. The ownership of securities, bank accounts, real estate and shareholdings should therefore be reviewed in advance.
Anticipate the impact on investment income. Dividends, interest, and income from real estate will be attributed according to ownership rights in the assets from which they arise. For families holding substantial shareholdings or a family business, the allocation of capital between spouses may therefore have greater tax significance.
Review wealth and succession planning. Gifts, transfers between spouses and the organisation of asset ownership may alter their future tax attribution. Succession planning should therefore be reviewed in the light of individual taxation, without losing sight of its civil-law, succession, and wealth-planning objectives. [See our article: Succession Without Conflict in Switzerland]
Prepare for the administrative implications. For couples accustomed to filing a joint tax return, the move to two separate returns will represent a practical change. Engagements with fiduciary/tax advisers, tax powers of attorney and reporting systems will need to be adapted.
Timetable and cantonal implementation
| Stage | Date |
| Popular vote (result) | 8 March 2026 |
| Entry into force — federal legislation | 1 January 2032 |
| Deadline for cantonal implementation | Before 31 December 2031 |
The 26 cantons have until the end of 2031 to adapt their legislation to the new requirements of the LHID. This process will not necessarily require a popular vote.
The 2026–2031 window is a period for planning, not waiting.
Your wealth position in light of the 2026 reform
Individual taxation will end differences in tax treatment based on marital status. For many dual-income married couples, particularly where their incomes are comparable, it will result in genuine tax relief.
For families with structured wealth, however, it raises specific questions: how assets should be allocated between spouses, how the attribution of investment income should be anticipated, and how succession planning should be adapted to the new framework. These issues call for a tailored analysis — going beyond a general reading of the reform to a comprehensive review of the family’s wealth position.
Do you have questions about the impact of the reform on your wealth position? MB Projects advises wealthy families on analysing and planning for these transitions. Contact us
Sources and references
The information contained in this article has been checked against the following official and media sources (as at September 2026).
Official sources
— Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA) — Consequences of individual taxation — https://www.estv.admin.ch/fr/consequences-imposition-individuelle
— Federal Department of Finance (FDF) — Vote on individual taxation — official dossier for the vote of 8 March 2026 — https://www.efd.admin.ch/fr/votation-imposition-individuelle https://www.efd.admin.ch/fr/votation-imposition-individuelle
— Federal Council, Federal Council Explanatory Notes — Popular vote of 8 March 2026, section on the Federal Act on Individual Taxation
— Federal Council, Dispatch on the popular initiative “For individual taxation irrespective of marital status (Tax Justice Initiative)” and the indirect counter-proposal (Federal Act on Individual Taxation), 21 February 2024, Federal Gazette 2024 589
— Council of State of the Canton of Vaud, Response to the federal consultation on individual taxation, 2022
— Council of State of the Canton of Geneva, press release of 4 February 2026 on individual taxation.
Legal sources
— Federal Act on Individual Taxation, adopted by the Federal Assembly on 20 June 2025 and approved in the popular vote of 8 March 2026. It amends, in particular, the LIFD and the LHID.
Historic case-law reference
— Federal Supreme Court judgment, BGE 110 Ia 7 (1984), Hegetschweiler, the Federal Supreme Court’s landmark decision concerning unequal tax treatment of married and unmarried couples.
Websites consulted
— RTS, Switzerland adopts individual taxation for married couples with 54.2% of the vote — https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/2026/article/la-suisse-adopte-l-imposition-individuelle-des-couples-maries-a-54-2-29175734.html
Avenir Suisse — Equality through individual taxation — https://www.avenir-suisse.ch/fr/legalite-passe-par-limposition-individuelle/
