Relocating to Bern: tax, health premiums, rent and naturalisation

Tax

Income and wealth tax in Bern

Total federal, cantonal and communal tax per year for each tracked commune in Bern, tax year 2026, computed with the official ESTV calculator. No church tax is included.

Standard profiles: gross employment income with the calculator's standard deductions. Single: one adult aged 35. Married: couple aged 40 and 38, one earner, two children aged 10 and 8. The asset profile adds net taxable wealth to the married profile.

Health insurance

Health insurance premiums in Bern

Federal Office of Public Health, premium year 2027: adult aged 26 or over, accident cover included, standard model, CHF 300 deductible, CHF per month.

Housing and safety

Rent and safety in Bern

Rent: Federal Statistical Office structural survey, 2024, net rent excluding service and heating charges. Safety: police crime statistics, 2025; rates in cantons with large city centres reflect visitors and commuters as well as residents.

Cantonal rules

Inheritance, lump-sum taxation, schools and family in Bern

Inheritance tax for children

Bern: children are exempt from inheritance tax.
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Inheritance tax for spouses

Bern: the spouse is exempt from inheritance tax.
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Gift tax

Bern: gift tax: levied; spouse, registered partner, descendants, step and foster children exempt; transfers between persons otherwise taxed at multiples of the tariff.
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Lump-sum taxation

Bern allows expenditure-based taxation for foreign nationals who take up residence for the first time or after at least ten years abroad and do not work in Switzerland.
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Lump-sum minimum tax base

Bern income minimum base for expenditure-based taxation is the highest of CHF 400,000, seven times annual rent or rental value, or three times the annual board-and-lodging price.
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Wealth tax

Bern simple wealth tax ranges up to 1.35 per mille in the top table bracket, then 1.25 per mille on any further wealth; no tax if rate-determining wealth is below CHF 100,000.
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International schools

International School of Berne in Gümligen describes itself as an IB World School.
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Family allowance per child

Bern monthly child allowance per child: CHF 250.
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Naturalisation

Becoming Swiss in Bern

Federal law sets the national minimum. The canton and the commune add their own residence periods, language levels and tests, and they decide on cantonal and communal citizenship.

Residence in the commune

Applicants must show residence of more than two years in the commune where they file, and the commune may not set a different period.
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Spoken language

Bern requires oral competence at B1 in the language of the applicant's administrative district.
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Written language

Bern requires written competence at A2 in the language of the applicant's administrative district.
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Knowledge test

Bern requires a written naturalisation test of 90 minutes that is passed with at least 60 percent correct, with a target cost of CHF 260 to 390 borne by the applicant.
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Interview

In Bern the integration criteria for foreign applicants are checked from the documents and in a conversation between the applicant and the naturalisation commune.
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Who decides

The whole municipal council must promise communal citizenship, after which the Sicherheitsdirektion grants cantonal citizenship once the federal permit is issued.
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Cantonal and communal fees

The cantonal fee is CHF 1,150 for an individual and CHF 1,725 for a couple, CHF 575 for a minor applying alone, and it is also charged on refusal; communal fees are set by each commune.
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Social assistance

Bern treats social assistance received now or in the ten years before filing as a general obstacle to naturalisation unless the amount is repaid in full, which is stricter than the federal three years.
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All 26 cantonal requirements compared

Move comparisons

Moves to and from Bern

Back to all 26 cantons · Methodology and sources

Questions

Living in Bern: common questions