Swiss tax deductions by canton: what changes and what does not (2025)

Key takeaways

• Federal deduction limits are the same in all 26 cantons. The commuting cap is CHF 3,300, insurance premiums CHF 3,700 married, childcare CHF 25,800. Your canton cannot change these.
• Cantonal limits vary enormously. The insurance-premium deduction runs from CHF 3,300 in Obwalden to CHF 10,900 in Ticino, a factor of 3.3.
• Childcare is where your canton is usually worse: 20 of the 26 allow less than the federal cap, and Schwyz under a quarter of it.
• Commuting spreads by a factor of 24, from Geneva's CHF 534 to Uri's CHF 13,000, while federal tax still allows CHF 3,300 on the same commute.
• A higher cantonal cap does not cut your federal tax. The two are assessed separately on the same return.

Why there are two sets of numbers

Direct federal tax (direkte Bundessteuer) is governed by one act, the DBGDBGThe federal income tax actFRLIFDBundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer: the act that governs federal income tax for the whole country. Almost every federal rule a guide cites comes from here, which is why the abbreviation appears so often beside an article number.Where you see itIn citations, as DBG Art. 33 or similar. French and Italian sources call the same act LIFD.Open in the glossary →, applied the same way from Geneva to Appenzell. Cantonal and communal tax is governed by 26 cantonal tax acts, harmonised only loosely by the StHGStHGThe cantonal tax harmonisation actFRLHIDITLAIDSteuerharmonisierungsgesetz: the act that tells all 26 cantons which taxes they must levy and how the rules must be shaped. It sets the frame; each canton still fixes its own rates and many of its own deduction ceilings inside it.Where you see itIn citations as StHG Art. 13 or similar, usually beside the DBG article covering the same point federally.Open in the glossary →.

The StHG tells cantons which deductions must exist. It does not tell them how much. That single fact produces most of the confusion in Swiss tax filing: an amount someone quotes confidently is often correct for their canton and wrong for yours.

• CHF 7,258Pillar 3a, with a pension fundThe single most-quoted Swiss tax figure
• CHF 36,288Pillar 3a, no pension fund20% of earned income, capped
• CHF 3,200Meals, no canteen contributionPer year, employed
• CHF 1,600Meals, employer contributesHalved when the employer pays part

These are the figures you can safely read on any Swiss forum without checking which canton the writer lives in.

Insurance premiums: the widest cantonal spread

The figures below are for a married couple and a single person who pay into a pension fund or pillar 3a. Someone who pays into neither gets a higher allowance in many cantons, and most cantons add an amount for each child. Each canton's page lists both.

Canton	Married	Single	Against federal
Vaud (VD)	13,200	6,600	3.6×
Fribourg (FR)	11,420	5,710	3.1×
Ticino (TI)	10,900	5,500	2.9×
Graubünden (GR)	9,200	4,600	2.5×
Basel-Stadt (BS)	8,400	4,200	2.3×
Schaffhausen (SH)	7,500	3,750	2.0×
Valais (VS)	7,240	3,620	2.0×
Aargau (AG)	7,200	3,600	1.9×
Thurgau (TG)	7,000	3,500	1.9×
Zug (ZG)	7,000	3,500	1.9×
Jura (JU)	6,800	3,400	1.8×
St. Gallen (SG)	6,800	3,400	1.8×
Schwyz (SZ)	6,400	3,200	1.7×
Glarus (GL)	6,200	3,100	1.7×
Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI)	5,800	2,900	1.6×
Zurich (ZH)	5,800	2,900	1.6×
Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR)	5,400	2,700	1.5×
Lucerne (LU)	5,200	2,600	1.4×
Solothurn (SO)	5,000	2,500	1.4×
Bern (BE)	4,900	2,450	1.3×
Neuchâtel (NE)	4,900	2,500	1.3×
Basel-Landschaft (BL)	4,000	2,000	1.1×
Nidwalden (NW)	3,700	1,800	1.0×
Uri (UR)	3,700	1,800	1.0×
Obwalden (OW)	3,300	1,700	0.9×
Federal (DBG)	3,700	1,800	—

One canton allows less than the federal figure: Obwalden, with CHF 3,300. Two more, Nidwalden and Uri, match it exactly. Vaud, Fribourg and Geneva build the deduction differently from the German-speaking cantons. Vaud's CHF 13,200 is CHF 9,900 for premiums plus CHF 3,300 for savings interest. Fribourg's CHF 11,420 is a flat CHF 9,620 for health and accident premiums plus CHF 1,500 for life insurance and CHF 300 for savings interest. Geneva is left out of the ranking: its CHF 3,518 covers only life insurance and savings interest, and health premiums are deducted separately, up to twice the average premium for your age.

You almost certainly pay more in premiums than any of these numbers. In most cantons the cap is not a reimbursement; it is the most you may subtract. Aargau, and Bern for a filer with a pension fund or pillar 3a, grant a flat amount whatever your premiums.

Childcare: the one where your canton is usually worse

Canton	Cantonal cap	Against federal 25,800
St. Gallen (SG)	26,700	1.03×
Geneva (GE)	26,320	1.02×
Ticino (TI)	26,200	1.02×
Basel-Stadt (BS)	26,000	1.01×
Glarus (GL) · Uri (UR)	25,800	1.00×
Zug (ZG)	25,400	0.98×
Aargau · Appenzell A. · Solothurn · Zurich	25,000	0.97×
Neuchâtel (NE)	20,400	0.79×
Lucerne (LU) · Appenzell I. (AI)	18,000	0.70×
Bern (BE)	16,000	0.62×
Vaud (VD)	15,200	0.59×
Fribourg (FR)	12,000	0.47×
Graubünden (GR)	10,900	0.42×
Jura (JU)	10,600	0.41×
Thurgau (TG)	10,100	0.39×
Basel-Landschaft · Obwalden · Valais	10,000	0.39×
Schaffhausen (SH)	9,400	0.36×
Nidwalden (NW)	8,100	0.31×
Schwyz (SZ)	6,000	0.23×

Twenty of the 26 cantons allow less than the federal CHF 25,800; two match it and four exceed it. In Schwyz the cantonal cap is under a quarter of it.

Commuting: a factor of 24 between cantons

Federal law caps the commuting deduction at CHF 3,300. Cantons that publish their own flat cap:

Cantonal cap	Cantons
13,000	Uri
12,000	Fribourg
10,000	Obwalden
8,000	St. Gallen · Schwyz
7,000	Aargau · Bern · Solothurn
6,500	Lucerne
6,000	Appenzell A. · Basel-Land. · Nidwalden · Schaffhausen · Thurgau · Zug
5,200	Zurich
4,080	Vaud
3,200	Basel-Stadt
534	Geneva

Geneva's CHF 534 is not a misprint. The cap covers car, bike and public transport alike, while direct federal tax still allows CHF 3,300 on the same commute.

Seven cantons (Appenzell I., Glarus, Graubünden, Jura, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais) set no annual maximum at all: the federal dataset prints unbegrenzt / illimité for them rather than a figure. Vaud is printed that way too, but its own Instructions générales cap the deduction at the price of the most expensive second-class annual travel pass — CHF 4,080 for 2025 — and allow more only against justified actual costs, so the canton's own document is the one quoted above. Your actual cost is the limit, so the factor of 24 above is the spread between the cantons that do cap it. A per-kilometre rate still applies, and several of these cantons lower it above a mileage threshold, so check your canton's own filing guide (WegleitungWegleitungOfficial filing instructionsFRinstructionsITistruzioniThe canton's own guide to completing the return, published each tax year. Authoritative and, in Zurich, German only.Where you see itPublished on zh.ch alongside the year's forms.Open in the glossary →).

The second-earner deduction

Where both spouses work, federal law allows up to CHF 14,100. Cantonal figures are much smaller and vary from CHF 500 (Fribourg, St. Gallen, Appenzell I.) to CHF 10,300 (Glarus). Zurich allows CHF 6,100, Ticino CHF 8,100, Bern CHF 9,500, Geneva CHF 1,051.

Same in every canton

• Pillar 3a maximum (CHF 7,258)
• Meal deductions (CHF 3,200 / 1,600)
• All federal deduction limits
• The 30-day objection deadline

Check your own canton

• Insurance premium cap
• Childcare cap
• Commuting cap
• Second-earner deduction

A number quoted without a canton is only reliable if it sits in the left column.

Common questions

Which deductions are identical in every canton?

Pillar 3a (CHF 7,258 with a pension fund, CHF 36,288 without) and the meal deductions (CHF 3,200, or CHF 1,600 where the employer contributes). Pillar 3a is fixed by federal ordinance rather than by cantonal law, which is why it does not vary.

Does my canton's higher cap reduce my federal tax?

No. The two are assessed separately on the same return. A canton allowing CHF 10,900 for insurance premiums does not change the CHF 3,700 you may deduct for direct federal tax.

Sources

The sources below support the tax figures and rules discussed in this guide. Follow the links to check the original guidance and its scope.

1. ESTVESTVThe Federal Tax AdministrationFRAFCEidgenössische Steuerverwaltung: the federal tax authority. It publishes the forms, leaflets and price lists the cantons and your tax software work from, but it is not the office that assesses you: that is your canton.Where you see itNamed as the publisher on federal forms, leaflets and the Kursliste.Open in the glossary → — Steuermäppchen, the federal government's own nationwide comparison of income and wealth-tax deductions by canton. Used here as the federal comparison only: the cantonal figures in this guide are read from each canton's own filing guide, named on that canton's page under /learn/cantons — estv.admin.ch
2. ESTV — the federal tax calculator's deductions dataset, tax year 2025, retrieved 25 April 2026. Used for the federal figures only. It returns the same federal defaults for every canton rather than cantonal caps, so it cannot be the source for a per-canton comparison — Steuerfüsse, Abzüge und Tarife der Schweiz
3. DBG (SR 642.11) Art. 26 (professional expenses, commuting), Art. 33 (insurance premiums and interest), Art. 33 para 3 (third-party childcare), Art. 33 para 2 (second-earner deduction) — fedlex.admin.ch
4. StHG (SR 642.14) Art. 9 — the list of deductions cantons must allow, without fixing their amounts — fedlex.admin.ch
5. BVV 3BVV 3The pillar 3a ordinanceFROPP 3The federal ordinance that sets the pillar 3a rules: who may pay in, the annual maximum for people with and without a pension fund, and when the money may come out.Where you see itIn citations as BVV 3 Art. 7, wherever a 3a maximum or a withdrawal condition is quoted.Open in the glossary → (SR 831.461.3) Art. 7 para 1 — the pillar 3a maximum, set federally and therefore identical in every canton — fedlex.admin.ch
6. Canton Geneva — GeTax 2025 filing guide, travel expenses limited to CHF 534 regardless of transport used, and excluded where the employer contributes — getax.ch
7. Canton Zurich — Wegleitung zur SteuererklärungSteuererklärungTax returnFRdéclaration d'impôtITdichiarazione d'impostaThe return itself: the whole set of forms you complete and submit for one tax year. What the canton sends you, and what its software fills in.Where you see itThe title on the letter the canton sends, and the name of the cantonal app.Open in the glossary → 2025, cantonal caps for commuting, insurance premiums and childcare — zh.ch