Understanding wealth tax in the canton of Vaud in 2023

Updated on January, 4th 2023.

I have a first piece of good news to announce to you, we have set up a very simple way to make your tax return in the canton of Vaud, so do not hesitate to entrust it to us!

When it comes to the wealth tax, I have both good and bad news. 

Which one should I start with? 

The good one! 

The Confederation does not tax your wealth. 

The bad one? 

The cantons and communes do. 

We first have to determine your net wealth, which equals to the sum of your real estate and movable assets, minus all your debts (mortgages loans for instance). 

Each canton agrees to overlook part of your wealth, which will not be imposed. For instance, in the canton of Vaud, below 56,000 CHF for a single person, no taxes will be required. If your wealth is higher than 56,000 CHF, you will have to pay wealth tax. For a married couple the amount is simply doubled, so if together you wealth is higher than CHF 112’000, you will have to pay wealth tax as well.

First step: refer to the unified scale.

The first step is to determine your basic tax. To do this, we need to refer to the tax scale above. In our example, with a net wealth of 100,000 CHF, the corresponding tax is 80.80 CHF.

Then, you just have to apply the rates of your canton and commune of residence to find out your wealth tax. 

As we have seen in the calculation of the income tax, you have to find the cantonal and communal rates and apply them to your base tax. 

Using my example of 100,000 CHF, which gives me a basic tax of 80.80 CHF, and assuming that I live in Lausanne, the rates will be the following: 

• 78.5% at the commune, which gives me 0.785 x 80.80 CHF = 63.45 CHF
• 155% at the canton, which gives me 1.55 x 80.80 CHF = 125.25 CHF

By adding up these two amounts, I end up with the final amount of my wealth tax. 

63.45 + 125.25 = 188.70 CHF in wealth taxes to pay to my commune and canton. 

Do you want to estimate how much you will pay in taxes? Then you should go check out our taxation calculator!

You don’t live in the canton of Vaud? Don’t worry, we have the equivalent articles for wealth tax in Geneva, and wealth tax in Valais!

By the way, we can also fill your tax return in Geneva and in the canton of Valais. 😉