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

Tax

Income and wealth tax in Zurich

Total federal, cantonal and communal tax per year for each tracked commune in Zurich, 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 Zurich

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 Zurich

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 Zurich

Inheritance tax for children

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

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

Zurich: gift tax: levied; spouse, registered partner and descendants exempt; customary occasional gifts up to CHF 5,000 exempt.
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Lump-sum taxation

Zurich abolished lump-sum (expenditure-based) taxation for cantonal and communal taxes by popular vote on 8 February 2009; federal direct tax still allows it.
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Wealth tax

Zurich wealth tax basic tariff rises in half-per-mille steps to a top rate of 3 per mille on wealth above CHF 3,158,000 (existing thresholds).
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Bilingual public schooling

Zurich moved the German/French bilingual Matura from pilot to regular operation from 2015/16, run by Kantonsschulen Freudenberg and Zürich Nord, and open to all cantonal Kantonsschulen.
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International schools

Zurich International School runs campuses in Wädenswil (ages 3 to 11) and Adliswil (ages 11 to 18) and lists IB among its affiliations.
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Childcare fees

City of Zurich subsidised Kita: parents pay at least CHF 12 and at most CHF 120 per full day; the maximum applies when the determining amount reaches CHF 100,000.
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Family allowance per child

Zurich monthly child allowance per child: CHF 215 up to age 12, 268 over 12.
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Naturalisation

Becoming Swiss in Zurich

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 canton

Applicants who file before their 25th birthday need only two years of residence in the canton of Zurich instead of two years in one commune; the federal double-counting rule does not apply to this period.
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Residence in the commune

Applicants must have lived in the same Zurich commune for at least two years immediately before filing; time abroad of up to six months with intent to return does not interrupt it.
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Spoken language

Zurich requires oral German at B1 (listening and speaking), which matches the federal level.
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Written language

Zurich requires written German at A2 (reading and writing), which matches the federal level.
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Knowledge test

The Zurich Grundkenntnistest is a digital test that draws 50 questions at random from a bank of 350 and is passed with 30 correct (60 percent); the canton provides the test to communes free of charge.
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Interview

Holding a naturalisation interview is at the commune's discretion in Zurich, and the commune may skip it if the documents suffice.
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Who decides

Each Zurich commune assigns the decision on communal citizenship to its executive, assembly, parliament or a citizenship commission, and ballot votes are not allowed.
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Cantonal and communal fees

The cantonal fee is CHF 500 for an adult (CHF 250 if under 25, none if under 20), the federal fee is CHF 100 (CHF 150 for a couple, CHF 50 for under 18s), and communal fees are cost-covering and set by each commune.
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Social assistance

Zurich applies the federal three-year look-back for social assistance and does not set a longer period.
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All 26 cantonal requirements compared

Move comparisons

Moves to and from Zurich

Back to all 26 cantons · Methodology and sources

Questions

Living in Zurich: common questions