Corporate Tax Rates and Tax Rates for Individuals for 2020 in the Cantons Zug, Lucerne, Zurich, and Schwyz

In Switzerland, taxes are levied at federal, cantonal and municipal level. This is, in particular, the case with income and capital taxes for legal entities and income and wealth taxes for individuals. The tax burden between the cantons and also between municipalities within the same canton may vary considerably. With the entry into force of the latest corporate tax reform, many cantons reduced their corporate tax rates as of 2020 tax year.

| Christian Maeder, Benno Hinni

Corporate income and capital taxes

The following corporate tax rates for 2020 tax year include the income taxes on federal, cantonal and communal level. They are considering the fact that taxes are tax-deductible in Switzerland (so-called effective income tax rates). Shown are the capital cities and the municipalities with the lowest income tax rates of the respective cantons:

Canton of Zug

  • City of Zug: Corporate income tax rate 11.9%, capital tax rate 0.07%
  • Municipality of Baar: Corporate income tax rate 11.8%, capital tax rate 0.07%

Canton of Lucerne

  • City of Lucerne: Corporate income tax rate 12.3%, capital tax rate 0.19%
  • Municipality of Meggen: Corporate income tax rate 11.3%, capital tax rate 0.14%

Canton of Zurich

  • City of Zurich: Corporate income tax rate 21.1%, capital tax rate 0.17%
  • Municipality of Kilchberg: Corporate income tax rate 18.6%, capital tax rate 0.14%

Canton of Schwyz

  • Municipality of Schwyz: Corporate income tax rate 14.1%, capital tax rate 0.01%
  • Municipality of Wollerau: Corporate income tax rate 11.8%, capital tax rate 0.01%

Capital taxes are generally imposed on the equity according to the statutory balance sheet. However, depending on the type and structure of the assets the taxable capital may be reduced. For example, in the Canton of Zug, only 2% of the equity in connection with participations, group-internal loans, and patents or similar rights is subject to capital taxes.

Income tax rates for individuals

The income tax rates for individuals in Switzerland are progressive: the higher the income, the higher the applicable tax rate. The following list shows the income tax rates for 2020 tax year in the Cantons of Zug, Lucerne, Zurich, and Schwyz for individuals with a taxable income of CHF 150’000 or CHF 500’000 per year. However, it should be considered that there are different tax rates for married couples and single taxpayers and that there are significant tax deductions available depending on the specific circumstances. Thus, we recommend performing a detailed calculation for each specific case in order to compare the different locations in Switzerland from a tax perspective.

Canton of Zug

  • City of Zug: 11.3% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 21.2% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000
  • Municipality of Baar: 11.1% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 20.9% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000

Canton of Lucerne

  • City of Lucerne: 17.9% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 28.5% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000
  • Municipality of Meggen: 14.4% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 23.9% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000

Canton of Zurich

  • City of Zurich: 17.4% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 32.4% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000
  • Municipality of Kilchberg: 14.6% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 27.6% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000

Canton of Schwyz

  • Municipality of Schwyz: 15.6% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 24.3% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000
  • Municipality of Wollerau: 11.3% in case of a taxable income of CHF 150’000 and 19.3% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000

Net wealth tax rates for individuals

The net wealth taxes are imposed on cantonal and communal level. Usually, the net wealth tax rates are progressive and so the higher the taxable net wealth the higher the applicable tax rate. The following examples refer to the Cantons Zug, Lucerne, Zurich and Schwyz for 2020 tax year.

Canton of Zug

  • City of Zug: 0.14% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.26% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000
  • Municipality of Baar: 0.14% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.25% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000

Canton of Lucerne

  • City of Lucerne: 0.30% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.30% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000
  • Municipality of Meggen: 0.23% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.23% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000

Canton of Zurich

  • City of Zurich: 0.11% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.48% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000
  • Municipality of Kilchberg: 0.09% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.38% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000

Canton of Schwyz

  • Municipality of Schwyz: 0.22% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.22% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000
  • Municipality of Wollerau: 0.14% in case of a taxable income of CHF 500’000 and 0.14% in case of a taxable income of CHF 5’000’000

Our tax advisors and lawyers would be happy to support with any further questions you may have regarding this topic.

Christian Maeder
Attorney at Law, Certified Tax Expert
[email protected]
Benno Hinni
Attorney at law, Certified Tax Expert
[email protected]

More news & Articles