Have your tax return for the Canton of Vaud completed

Vaud first calculates a cantonal basic tax (impôt cantonal de base). The canton then applies its annual coefficient to this – 155 per cent in tax year 2025, unchanged since 2021. In addition, each of the 300 communes levies its own coefficient as a percentage of the same basic tax.

The range is wide: in 2025 it extends from 46 per cent (Eclépens) to 83 per cent (La Praz); Lausanne is at 78.5, Nyon at 61 per cent. A special feature for employees: the Canton of Vaud levies no church tax on natural persons – the recognised churches are financed from the cantonal budget.

Instead of a fixed child deduction, Vaud divides the taxable income by family shares to determine the rate: 1.0 for single persons, 1.8 for married couples, 1.3 for single parents – plus 0.5 per child. A married couple with two children is thus taxed at the rate for 2.8 shares, which significantly breaks the progression.

On top of this come a family deduction of CHF 1'000 per child (phased out depending on income), third-party childcare costs up to CHF 15'200 per child and a cantonal housing cost deduction of up to CHF 6'800 – a combination that exists nowhere else and that needs to be recorded correctly.

In practice, we see the same points again and again: the housing cost deduction is forgotten because hardly any other canton has it. For the travel expenses deduction, the federal maximum is used unnecessarily, even though the canton allows more. And the health insurance deduction (up to CHF 5'000 per person, CHF 9'900 for couples, plus CHF 1'300 per child) is not fully used.

The tax shield (bouclier fiscal), which caps cantonal and communal taxes at 60 per cent of net income, is also often overlooked by wealthy private individuals. A specialist checks every item individually before the return is filed.