Online tax calculator for the Swiss Federal Tax Administration

Tax calculations are highly complex and require knowledge of a huge amount of detail. The previous tax calculator needed to be redesigned and modernized. The printed publication The Tax Burden in Switzerland also needed to be integrated and properly digitalized.

ti&m developed an online tax calculator for the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (EStV). This modern, intuitive online tax calculator allows users to calculate the tax on income, assets, inherited assets, and capital benefits from pensions for all municipalities. Users can also compare different municipalities and calculate the effects of upcoming changes in personal circumstances (marriage, pay rise, etc.) on their tax payments.

An additional module known as “Tax burden statistics” enables different calculation modules to be generated interactively and displayed either as a table for multiple tax years or as a map for the whole of Switzerland. The basic data module includes historical tax data (deductions, tax rates and multipliers), which can be downloaded for study purposes, for instance. The calculator is administered by the EStV via the tax editor backend. Users can log in via the federal e-portal.

The Swiss Federal Tax Administrator (EStV) and ti&m worked together using the agile Scrum approach to enable the client to verify that the planned project goals had been reached after each sprint (every two weeks). Overall progress was mapped on a release burn-up chart and submitted to the steering committee.

Everything at a glance

Tax calculator: Calculate the tax burden on income, assets , inherited assets, gifts, capital benefits from retirement plans, profit and capital – for all municipalities from the year 2014. Tax burden statistics: The additional module enables different calculation modules to be generated interactively and displayed either as a table for multiple tax years and income brackets or as a map for all municipalities across Switzerland. Retrieve basic data: Information about communal tax multipliers, cantonal tax rates and deductions, and historical tax data, which can be downloaded for study purposes, for instance.

All relevant tax types for all municipalities

Users can record key tax data and get a comprehensive tax calculation with just a few clicks. All individual deductions including premium reductions, professional expenses, Pillar 3a payments (private pension contributions) and debt interest can be recorded. General explanatory notes in PDF form and specific information for each field can be accessed by clicking on the relevant buttons. Entries can be stored locally and retrieved whenever necessary.

Simple itemization

Comparison calculations: Users can compare differences in taxes between municipalities and calculate the effects of upcoming changes in personal circumstances (marriage, pay rise, etc.) on their tax payments, displayed side-by-side for comparison. All relevant details for calculations are listed transparently.

Complexity made simple

Differences in the tax burden are displayed clearly on an interactive map. The data can also be displayed as a table and exported for further work. All political municipalities in Switzerland are listed transparently with their individual tax burdens. The “Tax burden” module includes historical periods that can be downloaded for research/analysis purposes, for instance.

“The online tax calculator has over 1,000 users per day – the figures alone tell a clear story. The Swiss Federal Tax Administration also receives a lot of positive feedback from users.”

– Roger Ammann, Swiss Federal Tax Administration

Can be implemented anywhere in Switzerland

Record all key entry data with just a few clicks. Available in multiple languages (DE, FR, IT, ENG). Meets the W3C WCAG 2.0 Level AA accessibility requirements.

Head of eGovernment

Magdalena Koj

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