Income tax calculator Zug 2024: Navigate through the new tax law in the canton of Zug
The canton of Zug is known for its attractive tax system. With the adoption of the new tax law at the end of 2023, the tax burden for individuals and legal entities resident in Zug will be further reduced.
With the help of our tax calculator for the income tax from 2024 onwards, which we are making available to you below, you can already gain an insight into the expected bill from the Zug Cantonal Tax Administration.
Please read our notes on the correct use of the Zug income tax calculator 2024 carefully to ensure that you have correctly entered all deductions to determine your taxable income. All deductions and calculation examples can be found further down in this article.
For a general overview of Zug's tax landscape, we recommend this article, which describes in detail what types of tax exist and at what level this taxation takes place.
How to use of the income tax calculator for the canton of Zug from 2024
The Zug 2024 tax calculator takes into account the changes in the new tax law valid from this year. However, to enable precise calculations, you must note the following.
- The tax calculator does not take into account church tax, which should be added to the calculated tax amount depending on the denomination.
- The Zug 2024 income tax calculator allows you to enter all possible deductions. However, you must determine these individually yourself and enter them cumulatively in the corresponding field.
- The tax calculator calculates the tax burden based on the taxable income, which results from the gross income after all applicable deductions.
- Costs such as interest on debt or commuting costs can be entered cumulatively in the “Other deductions” field.
We hope that this tax calculator will provide you with a good estimate of the expected tax bill for income tax in 2024 and beyond.
* All information provided and results of the calculator without warranty. We are not liable for the results of the calculator and recommend consulting a tax advisor for an exact calculation of the taxes to be paid.
** Please note, that the tax calculator only accepts numbers, for example “100000” and not “100,000”.
How income tax is calculated
Gross income vs. taxable income
First of all, it is important to understand the difference between gross income and taxable income. Gross income is the amount you receive from your employer or pay yourself over the course of a year. Taxable income, on the other hand, is the gross income after all possible deductions. And these deductions can be quite substantial, so that the taxable income is often only a fraction of the gross income. As income tax rates are always based on taxable income, the deductions significantly reduce the income tax burden.
The most important deductions at a glance
The most significant items that make up the difference between gross income and taxable income are:
- AHV costs - 5.3% of your income goes to the 1st pillar of social insurance in Switzerland. These can be deducted in full.
- Personal deductions - CHF 11,600 per person, double for married couples.
- 3rd pillar contributions - contributions to voluntary pension plans can be deducted in full.
- Child deductions - significant deductions, usually between CHF 24,000-37,000 per child per year (exact calculation example below).
- Further education costs - variableDebt interest - interest on loans, mortgages etc. can be deducted in full.
- Other - e.g. travel costs to work
The most important changes in the new tax package for Zug, valid from January 1, 2024
The most essential changes to the tax law concern the following points:
- Changes relevant to income tax, including
- Increase in deductions for childcare
- Increase in personal deductions
- Reduction in income tax rates
- Changes relevant to wealth tax, including:
- Reduction in wealth tax rates
- Increase in tax-free allowances
Tax deductions for childcare in Zug as of 2024
Childcare is very costly in the canton of Zug and in Switzerland in general due to its labor-intensive nature. According to a study on the regional comparison of childcare costs by Credit Suisse from 2021, parents in Zug pay around CHF 130 per child per day, resulting in annual childcare costs of over CHF 32,000 per child for the average family.
The new tax law will significantly reduce these considerable childcare costs for parents. From this year, the maximum childcare deduction will increase to CHF 25,000 per child in third-party care up to the age of 14. This figure was previously CHF 6,000.
Furthermore, the general child deduction increases to CHF 12,400, which also applies to adult children as long as they are still in education.
An additional child deduction of CHF 12,000 can still be claimed if a child of 15 years or older and is still in its education in the respective tax year. This deducible has also doubled and was CHF 6,000 in the past.
From 2024, a maximum of CHF 37,400 per child can therefore be deducted in the canton of Zug, which significantly reduces the parents' taxable income.
Example calculation of childcare deductions
The Lorem family we are looking at in this example has 3 children. Two of the children are under the age of 14, one of whom goes to daycare and one is looked after at home by the mother. The third child is 16 and goes to school.
Child deduction: In general, we can claim the general child deduction of CHF 12,400 per child, equalling CHF 37,200.
Third-party childcare deduction: For the child who goes to daycare, the Lorem family can deduct the entire costs of daycare up to a maximum of CHF 25,000 per year. If the third-party childcare costs are less than CHF 12,000, the can still deducted CHF 12,000 at minimum. The child in our example goes to daycare 3 days a week, which costs CHF 140 per day. The family's third-party care costs are therefore 151 (days) x 140 (daily cost) = CHF 21,140.
Own care deduction: For the Lorem family's youngest daughter, they can deduct CHF 12,000 per year from their gross income.
Additional child deduction: The family can deduct a further CHF 12,000 for the eldest Lorem Junior, who goes to school.
Adding up these deductions, the family can claim total child deductions of CHF 82,340, which significantly reduces their taxable income.
Personal tax deductions from 2024 in the canton of Zug
The personal deductions that every natural person is allowed to make from their gross income last increased during the coronavirus pandemic from CHF 6,500 to CHF 11,600 for single people and CHF 23,200 for married couples. While this increase was only planned as temporary for 2021-2023, this change was decided to maintain for the future with the new tax law voted in favour of on July 6, 2023.
Income tax rates in the canton of Zug from 2024
First of all, it is important to understand that income tax rates in Switzerland are progressive on the one hand, and on the other hand that they are partly taxed at federal level and partly at cantonal level. Accordingly, the changes here are somewhat less severe, as the new tax package only relates to the cantonal tax rates in Zug.
This table provides a good overview of the tax rate at each income level in Zug:
Changes to wealth tax in Zug, Switzerland from 2024
Tax-free allowances in the canton of Zug as of 2024
The tax-free allowances for private individuals in Zug will double from 2024. After remaining largely unchanged for over 20 years, it is now time for a significant increase in the tax-free allowances. As a result, the assets of single persons will now only be taxed from CHF 200,000, the tax-free allowances for married persons will increase to CHF 400,000 and CHF 100,000 per minor child will remain tax-free.
Wealth tax rates in the canton of Zug from 2024
New rates for wealth tax in the canton of Zug will also apply from 2024. From the new tax-free allowance, which has doubled compared to previous years, the next CHF 250,000 of assets will now be taxed at a rate of 0.425‰ (0.00425%). The following CHF 250,000 will be taxed at 0.850‰, the next CHF 250,000 at 1.275‰ and everything above that at a tax rate of 1.7‰ (0.017%).
Overall, the tax rate for calculating wealth tax in Zug has thus been reduced by 15% on a linear basis with effect from January 1, 2024. We are currently working on a tax calculator for calculating wealth tax for residents of the Swiss canton of Zug. As soon as we have completed it, we will link to it here.