Switzerland has no federal inheritance tax. Inheritance and gift taxes belong to the 26 cantons: 24 of them tax inheritances, while Schwyz and Obwalden tax neither inheritances nor gifts, according to the Federal Department of Finance. Spouses, registered partners and direct descendants are normally exempt, says ch.ch, the official portal of the Swiss authorities, although a few cantons tax children lightly and heirs outside the family can lose a third or more of what they receive.
A federal tax on very large estates was rejected in a vote on 30 November 2025. Facts below are as of 19 October 2026.
Who levies inheritance tax in Switzerland?
Each canton has its own law, and in some the communes share the revenue or add a tax. According to the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), 24 cantons levy an inheritance tax and 23 also levy a gift tax; Lucerne taxes inheritances but not gifts.
In most cantons the tax falls on each heir’s share, not on the estate as a whole, and the heir pays it. The rate depends on how closely the heir was related to the deceased and on how much they receive. Close relatives pay less, and unrelated heirs pay significantly more, ch.ch says.
Which canton taxes? The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) explains that movable assets, such as bank accounts and shares, are taxed by the canton where the deceased last lived. Real estate is taxed by the canton where it lies. A gift is taxed by the canton where the giver lives at the time, except a gift of real estate, which is taxed where the property lies.
Which cantons have no inheritance tax?
Two: Schwyz and Obwalden. ch.ch, the FDF’s page of 30 November 2025 and the FTA’s cantonal tables for tax period 2025 (dated 26 November 2025) all name the same pair. A flat in Geneva owned by a Schwyz resident is still taxed by Geneva.
Do children pay inheritance tax in Switzerland?
In most cantons, no. Zurich, for example, exempts the spouse, the registered partner and descendants entirely, according to its tax office. The FTA’s tables for tax period 2025 show the exceptions:
- Vaud taxes the direct line at low progressive rates, after a deduction that the table puts at CHF 1 million per family branch, shrinking for larger shares. Gifts to a child are exempt up to CHF 300,000 within a calendar year; above that, the whole gift is taxed.
- Neuchâtel taxes children at 3%, after a deduction of CHF 50,000.
- Appenzell Innerrhoden taxes descendants at 1%, after a deduction of CHF 300,000 each.
- Lucerne exempts descendants from the cantonal tax, but its communes may tax what descendants inherit, at a base rate of at most 1%.
- Solothurn exempts descendants but charges a separate levy on the estate (Nachlasstaxe) of 0.8% to 1.2% of the net estate.
Geneva exempts the spouse and direct-line relatives, with one exception for some foreigners, explained below.
How much do other heirs pay? Zurich and Geneva
Zurich. The tax office’s leaflet sets a basic scale from 2% on the first CHF 30,000 to 7% on the top band, and a flat 6% of the whole amount above CHF 1.5 million. That basic tax is multiplied by relationship: once for parents, three times for siblings, six times for other heirs and non-relatives. On our arithmetic, a friend who inherits CHF 100,000 pays CHF 16,800 (16.8%), and a friend who inherits more than CHF 1.5 million pays 36% of the whole amount. Non-relatives get no general allowance; a partner who shared the household for at least five years can deduct CHF 50,000.
Geneva. The cantonal tax office (page updated 20 April 2026) puts heirs with no family tie in its top category: 50% to 55%, including a cantonal surcharge that adds 110% to the basic duty. Siblings pay 18% to 23%.
How are gifts taxed?
Lifetime gifts fall under the same cantonal laws, and the recipient pays. Without a gift tax, the FTA notes, people could avoid inheritance tax by giving assets away before death. In Zurich the exemption for the spouse, registered partner and descendants covers gifts too.
What did Swiss voters decide in 2025?
On 30 November 2025, voters rejected the Young Socialists’ (JUSO) “Initiative for a Future”. It proposed a federal tax of 50% on estates and gifts above a one-time allowance of CHF 50 million, with the money earmarked for fighting climate change. According to the FDF, 78.3% voted no and 21.7% yes, on a turnout of 42.9%. It was not the first attempt: an earlier national inheritance tax initiative was rejected on 14 June 2015 by more than 70% of voters.
Who must inherit: forced heirship after the 2023 reform
The revised law of succession, in force since 1 January 2023, lets people dispose freely of a larger part of their estate, according to the Federal Council. ch.ch now lists two groups of protected heirs: the spouse or registered partner, and children or their descendants. Each is entitled to half of their statutory share, the share they would get without a will. Siblings and cousins are not protected.
Without a will, a married person with children leaves half to the spouse and half to the children. The protected shares are a quarter each, so on our reading the other half can be left freely. An unmarried partner inherits only if named in a will or contract of succession, and in Zurich then pays the non-relative rate.
How do foreigners and lump-sum taxation fit in?
The rules turn on residence, not nationality. A foreigner’s estate is taxed by the canton of last residence in Switzerland, and Swiss real estate is taxed where it lies even if the owner lived abroad. The home country may tax too; Switzerland has double taxation agreements with a number of countries, ch.ch notes.
Lump-sum (expenditure-based) taxation assesses income and wealth tax for foreign nationals who settle in Switzerland and do not work there, the FDF explains. It is not an inheritance tax regime, and in Geneva it can raise the inheritance bill: the exemption for the spouse and direct-line relatives does not apply if the deceased was taxed on expenditure in any of their last three tax assessments. Zurich, Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen and Appenzell Ausserrhoden have abolished lump-sum taxation.
What it means for a family office
- The canton matters more than the country. For a spouse and children, Geneva and Schwyz look alike; for a niece or a long-time partner they are far apart.
- Watch the heirs outside the core family. Nephews and nieces pay far more than children, and unmarried partners and long-serving staff can face the top rates.
- Map the real estate. Property in several cantons brings several tax laws.
- Structures do not change the heirs. Shares in a family holding company pass to the same people, taxed by their relationship; see holding structures in plain English.
For licensing, company tax and residence, see our Switzerland family office guide.
How does Switzerland compare?
Among the 37 places in our inheritance tax comparison, Singapore removed estate duty for deaths from 15 February 2008 and Hong Kong for deaths from 11 February 2006, and the UAE’s official list of taxes includes none. The UK charges 40% above a GBP 325,000 nil-rate band; the US federal estate and gift tax tops out at 40%, with USD 15 million per person exempt in 2026 for citizens and residents. Switzerland sits in between: no national tax, and cantonal taxes that rarely touch spouses and children but can be heavy for everyone else.
A fair caveat
Cantonal laws change. The FTA’s detailed tables cover tax period 2025, its general brochure reflects the law as of 1 January 2020, and the Zurich leaflet is the December 2025 edition; the worked figures are our own arithmetic. ch.ch also says the law of succession is under review, to give people more freedom over their assets, without saying what will change or when. Check the current law of the canton concerned.
Questions to bring to your advisors
Which cantons would tax our estate and our real estate? Which intended heirs are exempt, and who would pay the top rates? If a family member is taxed on expenditure in Geneva, what happens to the exemption for the spouse and children? Do our wills respect the protected shares under the 2023 rules, and does another country also claim the estate? These are questions to bring to your lawyers and tax advisors, not advice.
