Lucerne Wealth Tax Cases

Lucerne Wealth Tax: Cases & Worked Examples

Illustrative computations showing how the canton of Lucerne’s proportional 0.75‰ wealth tax and municipal Steuereinheiten play out in communes such as Lucerne, Emmen, Kriens, Horw and Meggen.

Lucerne (Luzern) uses a proportionale Vermögenssteuer: the tax on taxable net wealth is a flat 0.75‰ per Steuereinheit. Each year, the canton and every commune set their number of Steuereinheiten, so the total burden is:

Wealth tax = taxable net wealth × 0.75‰ × Steuereinheiten of canton & commune (excl. churches).

Typical Steuereinheiten (confessionless, 2024-style) are around 3.25 in Lucerne city, 3.75 in Emmen, 3.50 in Kriens, 3.05 in Horw und ≈2.68 in Meggen. This translates into effective wealth tax rates mostly in the 0.20–0.30% range at common planning levels.

All numbers rounded; church tax ignored. Allowances and Steuereinheiten are indicative. For exact figures, use the cantonal tables and the Lucerne Wealth Tax Calculator.

Case A — Single Professional in the City of Lucerne

Commune: Lucerne (city; Steuereinheiten ≈ 3.25, confessionless)
Vermögen: CHF 1.000.000 (börsennotierte Wertpapiere und Bargeld)
Passiva: keine
Allowance: CHF 62,500 (single; wealth tax allowance)

Nettovermögen	CHF 1.000.000
Abzüglich Zulage	− CHF 62,500
Steuerpflichtiges Nettovermögen	CHF 937,500
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 703
Steuereinheiten (Lucerne city)	≈ 3.25
Fällige Vermögenssteuer	≈ CHF 2,285
Effektiver Satz	≈ 0.23% of total net wealth

Beobachtung: For a CHF 1m portfolio, Lucerne’s flat 0.75‰ tariff combined with ~3.25 units results in a moderate burden — clearly below high-tax cantons like Geneva or Basel-Stadt, but above the very lowest central-Swiss competitors.

Case B — Married Couple with Two Children in Emmen

Commune: Emmen (Steuereinheiten ≈ 3.75, confessionless)
Vermögen: CHF 3'000'000 (Einfamilienhaus + Portfolios)
Passiva: CHF 1'000'000 Hypothek
Allowances: CHF 125,000 (married) + CHF 25,000 (two children) = CHF 150,000

Nettovermögen	CHF 2.000.000
Abzüglich Zulagen	- 150.000 CHF
Steuerpflichtiges Vermögen	CHF 1,850,000
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 1,388
Steuereinheiten (Emmen)	≈ 3.75
Geschätzte Vermögenssteuer	≈ CHF 5,200
Effektiver Satz	≈ 0,26% des Nettovermögens

Planungswinkel: The flat Lucerne tariff means that Schulden (mortgage) and the chosen commune’s Steuereinheiten are the main levers. Moving from a high-unit commune like Emmen to a lower-unit commune could save several hundred francs per year at this wealth level.

Case C — Entrepreneur Holding Private Company (Meggen)

Commune: Meggen (low-tax; Steuereinheiten ≈ 2.68, confessionless)
Nicht kotierte Aktien: CHF 4.000.000 (bewertet nach der Praktiker-Methode)
Andere Vermögenswerte: CHF 1'000'000 (Bargeld und kotierte Portfolios)
Passiva: CHF 1'500'000 (Geschäfts- und Privatkredite)
Filing status: Married, no children (allowance CHF 125,000)

Nettovermögen	3.500.000 CHF
Abzüglich Zulage	− CHF 125,000
Steuerpflichtiges Vermögen	CHF 3,375,000
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 2,531
Steuereinheiten (Meggen)	≈ 2.68
Vermögenssteuer insgesamt	≈ CHF 6.800
Effektiver Satz	≈ 0.19% of net wealth

Assumes consistent practitioner-method valuation for the private company and no special relief beyond standard Lucerne practice for business participations.

Planungswinkel: For entrepreneurs, Meggen’s low Steuereinheiten compress the effective wealth tax rate. With a flat 0.75‰ tariff, the two main variables are the size of taxable net wealth and the commune’s units — valuation and residence decisions therefore have a direct, linear impact.

Case D — Nonresident Owning an Apartment in Horw

Tax nexus: Nonresident with Lucerne property only
Wert der Immobilie: CHF 1'200'000 (Vermögenssteuerwert)
Hypothek: CHF 800'000 (Darlehen wirtschaftlich an die Immobilie gebunden)
Commune: Horw (Steuereinheiten ≈ 3.05, confessionless)
Andere Schweizer Vermögenswerte: keine
Allowance: single allowance CHF 62,500 applied to Swiss-situs wealth (simplified)

Schweizer Nettovermögen	400.000 CHF
Abzüglich Zulage	− CHF 62,500
Steuerbares Schweizer Vermögen	CHF 337,500
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 253
Steuereinheiten (Horw)	≈ 3.05
Geschätzte Vermögenssteuer	≈ CHF 770
Effektivzins auf Schweizer Vermögen	≈ 0,19%

Tipp: For nonresidents, Lucerne taxes only Swiss-situs wealth. Debt is deductible only to the extent it is economically linked to the Lucerne property; global assets and liabilities remain relevant mainly in the country of residence.

Case E — Comparison: Lucerne City vs. Emmen vs. Meggen

Alleinstehender Steuerpflichtiger mit CHF 2'000'000 steuerbarem Nettovermögen (nach Freibeträgen und Schulden)

	Lucerne City (3.25)	Emmen (3.75)	Meggen (2.68)
Tax per unit (0.75‰ of CHF 2,000,000)	CHF 1,500
Steuereinheiten (confessionless)	≈ 3.25	≈ 3.75	≈ 2.68
Vermögenssteuer insgesamt	≈ CHF 4,875	≈ CHF 5,625	≈ CHF 4,030
Effektiver Satz (auf steuerpflichtiges Vermögen)	≈ 0,24%	≈ 0,28%	≈ 0.20%
Jährliche Differenz	Spread of roughly CHF 1,600 per year between Emmen and Meggen at identical taxable wealth

Anmerkung: Because Lucerne’s wealth tax is strictly proportional, intra-canton planning is mostly about choosing a commune with lower Steuereinheiten and managing the size of taxable net wealth via debt, asset allocation and valuation.

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

Lucerne is a proportional wealth tax canton: 0.75‰ of taxable wealth per Steuereinheit, with no progression.
Effective rates for most households fall in the 0.20–0.30% range of net wealth, depending primarily on the commune’s units.
Low-unit communes such as Meggen are significantly lighter than higher-unit communes such as Emmen or rural municipalities.
Standard allowances (e.g. CHF 62,500 for singles, CHF 125,000 for married couples plus CHF 12,500 per child) keep modest wealth lightly taxed.
Mortgages and other deductible liabilities reduce taxable net wealth in a strictly linear way, which makes leverage an important planning lever for property owners and entrepreneurs.
Nonresidents are taxed only on Lucerne-situs wealth; careful allocation of debt to Swiss properties can materially affect the Swiss wealth tax base.

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