On March 8th Swiss voters will decide whether to replace joint taxation of married couples with individual taxation. The reform aims to abolish the so-called marriage penalty, whereby spouses are taxed on their combined income rather than separately.
Married couples are most directly affected, but the change would reshape federal direct tax for many households. A calculator published by RTS illustrates the likely effects.
Consider two married couples with children and identical total incomes. If the reform passes, one would pay several thousand francs less in federal direct tax than today; the other several thousand more. The difference lies not in how much they earn, but in how that income is divided. In one household both spouses work; in the other a single earner brings in the full sum. Any tax overhaul produces winners and losers. This one is no exception.
Dual earners gain; single earners lose
Under individual taxation, couples in which both spouses earn similar salaries generally benefit. Traditional single-breadwinner households—especially at higher income levels—would often pay more.
Take a married couple with two children and a combined income of CHF 200,000. If both spouses earn equal amounts, they would pay about CHF 2,258 in federal direct tax—CHF 3,688 less than under the current system.
An unmarried couple with the same income split would pay the same CHF 2,258, around CHF 362 less than today. Eliminating this disparity between married and cohabiting couples is the reform’s stated aim.
But if the same CHF 200,000 is earned by one spouse alone, the tax bill would exceed CHF 10,800—roughly CHF 2,800 more than at present, and far higher than if the income were divided evenly.
Part-time complications
The effects become more nuanced when incomes are uneven but both partners work. Suppose one spouse earns CHF 170,000 and the other CHF 30,000. That household would be nearly CHF 1,400 worse off under the reform.
The distributional impact thus no longer depends on marital status but on how income is shared within the household. The new system would ease the burden on second full-time earners but penalise families reliant on a dominant income, including some with modest part-time second salaries.
Federal taxes only part of the picture
Federal direct tax accounts for only a fraction of most households’ overall tax burden. Cantonal and municipal levies typically weigh more heavily. The reform’s full impact therefore remains uncertain.
If approved, the change would oblige cantons to introduce individual taxation as well, removing formal differences between married and unmarried couples. Yet as the calculator suggests, substantial disparities between household types would persist.
The reform promises greater neutrality between married and unmarried couples. It would, however, redistribute the burden within them—favouring dual earners with similar incomes and weighing on households with large income gaps.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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