The decision in brief

On 8 March 2026 the Swiss electorate adopted the Federal Act on Individual Taxation with 54.23% yes. The Act requires the Confederation, the cantons and the communes to abandon the joint assessment of spouses and registered partners and to tax each person irrespective of marital status.

The Federal Council could have brought the Act into force earlier. It chose not to. By setting 1 January 2032 it gives the cantons the longest possible period for political and technical implementation. The Conference of Cantonal Finance Directors welcomed that choice in the consultation.

That is consistent with the scale of the change. This is not a form update. It is a redesign of tariffs, social deductions, IT systems, guidance notes — and, in some cantons, popular votes.

What changes in the system

Swiss tax law currently treats marriage as an economic unit. Spouses’ income and wealth are aggregated regardless of the marital property regime. That produces the so-called “marriage penalty”: two unmarried people with the same combined income often pay less direct federal tax than a married couple.

From 2032 that aggregation ends. Each taxpayer files a separate return, is liable only for their own tax, and exercises procedural rights and duties alone. Mutual access to a spouse’s tax file disappears.

At federal level the framework is already set:

• A single tariff instead of a married-couple tariff

• Tax-free amount in the tariff raised from CHF 15,200 to CHF 20,000

• Lower rates for low and middle incomes, a slight increase for very high incomes

• Child deduction raised from CHF 6,800 to CHF 12,000 per child (split in cases of shared custody)

• Abolition of the dual-earner deduction

Estimated annual revenue loss on direct federal tax is around CHF 630 million. Cantons bear part of that through their share of federal tax. The larger unknown sits at cantonal and communal level: the federal act requires the system change; it does not prescribe how cantons redesign their own tariffs and deductions.

Who tends to gain — and who does not

As a rule of thumb: dual-earner couples with similar incomes are often relieved at federal level. Single-earner couples and couples with a highly unequal income split tend to pay more. High incomes without children can also face a higher federal bill.

A frequently cited illustration: a dual-earner couple with two children and CHF 100,000 each pays substantially less direct federal tax after the reform than today. The same CHF 200,000 as a single income tends to cost more. The real outcome, however, depends on children, deductions, pension contributions — and, decisively, on the still-unknown cantonal tariff.

Planning points that already matter:

• Pillar 3a and pension buy-ins: The tax saving will follow each partner’s individual marginal rate, not the household tariff. Unequal incomes can change the overall effect materially.

• Child and childcare deductions: The higher federal deduction is split. Cantonal rules may differ.

• Liability and procedure: Joint and several liability for a spouse’s tax debt ends. Separate files, separate deadlines, separate objections.

• Lump-sum taxation: Couples where both spouses are taxed on expenditure will face two minimum tax bases.

The initiative of 29 November 2026 does not automatically unwind this
On 29 November 2026 voters will decide on the popular initiative “Yes to fair federal taxes also for married couples — finally abolish discrimination against marriage.” It pursues a different model (fair federal taxation of married couples, not necessarily individual taxation at every level of government).

The Federal Council is explicit: even if that initiative is accepted, the Federal Act on Individual Taxation remains in force. The cantons’ obligation to introduce individual taxation would lapse only if Parliament amends the Act again and that amendment enters into force by 2032. Planning in 2026 should therefore assume the current Act and the 1 January 2032 start date — and treat the November vote as political risk, not as an automatic reset.

What cantons and communes must do now

Cantons must adapt their tax laws. In particular:

1. Review and redesign tariffs

2. Adjust social deductions (children, insurance, support, third-party childcare)

3. Procedure and assessment practice

4. IT, forms and interfaces with communes

5. Cantonal referendums where required
   For taxpayers in the Canton of Zug — as in every other canton — federal tax is only part of the bill. Whether the reform reduces or increases the total load will only be clear once the canton publishes its tariff.

What private clients and SME owners should do now

2032 sounds distant. For tax planning it is not.

• Review how income is split in the household. The self-employed and anyone who can steer salary, dividends and pension contributions should model scenarios well before 2031.

• Rethink pension contributions. 3a payments and occupational pension buy-ins will work individually. The leverage changes when incomes are unequal.

• Separate the paperwork. Separate assessment means separate evidence, accounts and records. Households that still run everything “in one envelope” should start disentangling the structure.

• Watch the cantonal drafts. As soon as tariff and deduction proposals appear, simulate the full stack: Confederation + canton + commune.

• Do not restructure solely because of 2032. Marriage, marital property, residence and holding structures have many non-tax reasons. Tax numbers become reliable only with concrete cantonal figures.

Our take

The Federal Council gave the cantons time — not taxpayers a holiday. The federal marriage penalty ends in 2032. Who benefits depends on income split, children, pension planning and a cantonal tariff that does not yet exist.

Libertas supports private individuals and SMEs with tax returns, year-end accounts and forward-looking planning. If you want to see how the reform lands on your household or company, we will run the scenarios — calmly, on the record, and before the canton sets the facts.

Source: Federal Council, press release of 19 August 2026, “Individualbesteuerung tritt 2032 in Kraft”: admin.ch