In Switzerland, you are taxed on the type of vehicle you drive, in order to help maintain the roads and system of motorways. Once you have registered a car in Switzerland, or have imported a vehicle, your local traffic office will begin to charge you vehicle tax, annually in January, or in the month you registered the vehicle.
Different cantons calculate road tax differently, with some basing the tax on the size of your vehicle, while others calculate it based on the vehicle’s horsepower and carbon emissions.
Everyone who owns a vehicle in Switzerland has to pay vehicle tax. The tax goes to the government, which uses the funds to support the maintenance of roads and motorways. The tax, which applies to all motor vehicles, is charged as a lump sum when you first register your car and each subsequent year. Electric and hybrid cars are not entirely exempt from vehicle taxes.
The way that vehicle tax is calculated depends on the canton where you have registered the vehicle. The factors taken into consideration range from horsepower output to weight and cubic size. Below are the criteria that the different cantons use.
The majority of cantons use a combination of cubic capacity and horsepower in order to calculate road tax. Cubic capacity is defined as the cubic centimetres that the vehicle takes up. The tax is also calculated based on the vehicle's horsepower. This system is used to impose higher taxes on vehicles that are larger and more powerful, which consequently means they expel more carbon emissions.
The cantons that use this system are:
Some cantons use the weight of a vehicle in order to calculate the rate of tax. These taxes are based on the weight of the vehicle between the four or two axles, meaning the larger the vehicle, the more tax you pay.
The cantons that use this system are:
Some cantons use the total horsepower of the vehicle to calculate the level of tax. This is based on the idea that, the higher the horsepower of the car, the more valuable the car is. It is also used to dissuade people from buying cars that emit a large amount of carbon dioxide.
Currently, only Canton Geneva taxes vehicles in this way.
Some cantons instead use carbon emissions to calculate car taxes. Under this model, cars are taxed according to the amount of carbon emissions they expel. While few cantons use this as the basis for the tax, many counties reward low emission vehicles with tax exemptions.
Neuchâtel is currently the only canton that uses this system.
Many counties use a hybrid system of taxation, combining some or all of these methods to calculate the amount of tax they charge. These are:
If you have purchased a hybrid or electric vehicle, you may be allowed to apply for tax credits or some form of relief from taxes in Switzerland. Many cantons offer incentives to buy electric and hybrid cars.
Some of the more urban cantons, such as Zurich, Bern and Basel, offer discounts on your tax bill if you own an electric or hybrid vehicle. Bear in mind that these benefits are limited to the canton where you have registered your vehicle, with over half of the cantons not offering any discounts. Please check with your local traffic office for more information.
You start paying taxes on your new car from the moment you register it in Switzerland. When you are due to pay your vehicle tax for the first time, your local traffic office will contact you and will request the following:
Depending on the canton, this information can either be found on your registration form or by contacting your dealer or car insurance provider. Once this application form is completed, your local traffic office will use this to calculate all taxes on the vehicle in the future.
Swiss vehicle tax is set by individual canton. The rate is decided upon depending on the county's needs when it comes to funding domestic road systems. Typically, the rate is around 200 to 1.000 Swiss francs a year for a car and 100 to 800 francs for a motorbike.