Questions, short answers

Free atlas of every Swiss commune's tax multiplier + free calculators for the most common situations. A paid CHF 49 plan adds personalised multi-lever tax optimisation, document upload + extraction, and a year-long dashboard.

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No. We're a computational planning tool. We apply published cantonal and federal tax scales to your inputs and surface opportunities. We do not file your return for you and we are not a licensed fiduciary. Always verify against your cantonal Steuerverwaltung before acting on a Optiqo output.

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Commune Steuerfuss values come from 25 of 26 cantonal authorities directly (CSV / XLS / PDF). Cantonal tax scales are transcribed from the ESTV Kantonsblätter 2026 for all 26 cantons. The federal scale is from the ESTV Kreisschreiben. Two cantons (BL formula, NE married coefficient) use approximations clearly labelled in the UI.

→ Per-canton data sources

Free atlas / calculator use: we store nothing about you. Paid use: profile encrypted at field level; uploaded documents AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest with the master key only in process memory; auto-purged after 30 days. We never store AHV numbers, IBANs, or addresses.

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Yes. If Optiqo doesn't surface tax opportunities worth at least the CHF 49 you paid within 30 days, email hello@optiqo.ch for a full refund — no questions asked.

CHF 7 258 if you have a 2nd-pillar pension fund (most salaried employees). CHF 36 288 maximum (or 20% of net income, whichever is lower) if you are self-employed without a pension fund.

Yes — new for 2026. After maxing the current year you can fill gaps from 2025 onward, up to 10 years back. Fully tax-deductible. The catch: you need AHV-relevant income in the gap years.

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Yes — up to 5 accounts is allowed. The reason is purely tax-strategic: lump-sum withdrawal tax is progressive. Splitting CHF 350 k across 5 accounts and withdrawing one per year saves CHF 10-20 k vs a single one-shot draw.

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For lowest fee: True Wealth (0.13% all-in). For maximum equity: Finpension (99%, 0.39%). For polished UX: Frankly. For impact investing: Inyova. For traditional banking integration: UBS key4 pension 3a.

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Only for specific reasons: buying your own primary residence (WEF), going self-employed (full balance), permanent emigration, paying off WEF debt, or full disability. Any other withdrawal triggers the lump-sum tax + breaks the Art. 79b lock-in if you bought in recently.

When you have ≥ 30% marginal tax rate AND buy-in capacity ≥ CHF 20 000 AND no lump-sum withdrawal in the next 3 years (Art. 79b). At lower marginal rates or capacity, the locked-in money costs you opportunity vs liquid 3a investing.

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Get your Vorsorgeausweis, check the 3-year lock-in rule, decide an amount (often spread across multiple years), pay your pension fund via bank transfer before December 31, get the receipt, claim on your tax return next March.

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Capital from a voluntary buy-in cannot be withdrawn as a lump-sum within 3 years. If you do (e.g. partial retirement lump-sum, WEF withdrawal, leaving Switzerland), the tax authority recaptures your earlier deduction.

Caution. An under-funded fund may need restructuring (Sanierung) — your buy-in is not protected. If Deckungsgrad is 95-99%, usually fine. Below 90%, wait for recovery.

Almost always spread. Tax is progressive, so each marginal franc above your top band saves less than a deduction that pushes you down. Spreading CHF 100 k over 3-5 years often saves CHF 8-15 k more total tax than a one-year shot.

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For a single 180k earner in Bern moving to Zug: roughly CHF 21 k/year net (after CHF 15 k one-time moving cost amortized over 5 years). For lower incomes the gap shrinks; for high incomes it grows.

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Tax-wise, almost always. The hidden cost is housing: Zug, Schwyz, and Nidwalden are among the most expensive rental markets in Switzerland. A flat that costs CHF 2 500/mo in Bern often costs CHF 4 000/mo in Zug.

Yes — Pillar 2 (LPP) stays with your employer and is portable across cantons. Pillar 3a is your own account, also portable. Cantonal moves do not touch your accumulated capital, only the rates applied to future income.

Switzerland prorates by months of residence. Moving on December 31 means you pay the old canton for 12 months. Moving on January 1 means new canton for 12 months. For a big drop, move just before year-end so the new tax year starts in the cheaper canton.

Depends on the income split. For dual earners with similar incomes (50/50), marriage typically costs more than two singles (the marriage penalty — often CHF 5-12 k/year). For single-earner couples or very unequal earners, marriage usually saves tax (marriage bonus).

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Swiss voters approved Individualbesteuerung on 8 March 2026 (54.23% Yes). Joint filing ends by 2032 at latest, after which every adult files separately. Dual-earner married couples win; single-earner couples may lose unless their canton introduces a partner-deduction.

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Federal: CHF 6 700 per dependent child in 2026. Cantonal varies — typically CHF 6 000-12 000. Plus you can deduct childcare costs (Drittbetreuung) up to canton-specific caps (CHF 10-20 k typical).

You can't. Switzerland mandates joint filing for married couples (and registered partnerships) until Individualbesteuerung takes effect. The only legal way to file separately is divorce or legal separation — disproportionate for tax reasons alone.

Full Fair Market Value × shares vested = ordinary income in the year of vesting. Taxed at your marginal rate (federal + cantonal + commune). Capital gains on the later sale are tax-free for private persons.

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Exercise. Vesting itself is not a taxable event. The bargain element ((FMV − strike) × shares) at exercise is added to your ordinary income that year.

Yes for natural persons — the capital gain from vest-day FMV to sale price is tax-free under Art. 16 Abs. 3 DBG. Provided you do not qualify as a "quasi-professional securities trader" (high turnover, leverage, very short holding periods).

Cantons may discount the taxable FMV of restricted (locked-up) shares: ~6% per year of remaining lock-up, capped at 10 years (~44% max). ZH and ZG are most generous; SO and JU often apply less.

Capital gains on private crypto holdings are tax-free under Art. 16 Abs. 3 DBG — same rule as private stocks. The catch: if you trade so actively that the tax authority classifies you as a "qualified securities trader," gains become ordinary income.

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Yes. Crypto is taxable as wealth (Vermögenssteuer) on its 31 December market value. ESTV publishes year-end reference prices for the major coins; for smaller tokens, use the most reliable available quote.

Yes — staking rewards, mining rewards, airdrops, and similar are ordinary income at the moment they are credited, valued at the CHF price on that date.

Same rules as fungible crypto for wealth-tax purposes (year-end market value, if determinable). Creator royalties are ordinary income. Capital gains on resale generally tax-free for private collectors.

Depends on the canton. In GE, source tax stays in Switzerland; France credits it. In BE, BS, BL, JU, NE, SO, VD, VS — source tax is transferred to France via the 1983 accord. Net effect varies; in most cases your French-resident liability dominates.

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Only if you elect quasi-resident status (Quasi-Ansässigkeit / quasi-résidence). Requires gross Swiss income above CHF 120 000 typically, and submitting a full Swiss tax return rather than accepting flat source-tax.

If you were already a frontalier in the 20 km border zone before 17 July 2023, you keep the "old" regime: source-tax-only, no Italian taxation on Swiss income. New frontaliers (post-2023) face Italian progressive tax on Swiss income with Swiss tax credited.

If you have no pension fund (no 2nd pillar), the cap is 20% of net income, up to CHF 36 288 in 2026 — about 5× the employee cap. If you have an opt-in pension fund, you use the employee cap (CHF 7 258).

9.4% of net income, vs the 5.3% employee share. There is a sliding-scale relief for low-income self-employed under CHF 60 000.

Often yes — it unlocks LPP buy-in capacity for ongoing high-marginal-rate years. But the 3a cap drops back to CHF 7 258, and you pay both employer + employee BVG contributions yourself. Run the multi-year math before committing.

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Spring 2027. Specific deadline depends on canton: most are 31 March; VD is 15 March; ZG is 30 April. Extensions to 30 September are usually free with a one-click request in your canton's eTax portal.

→ Per-canton portals

If your gross income is below CHF 120 000 (typical threshold, canton-dependent), filing is voluntary. But you usually should file anyway to claim Pillar 3a / LPP buy-in / mortgage interest, which the flat source-tax doesn't account for.

Yes — you file two returns in the year you move (one per canton). Income is pro-rated by months of residence per canton.