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 proportional wealth tax: 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 and ≈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)
Assets: CHF 1,000,000 (listed securities & cash)
Liabilities: none
Allowance: CHF 62,500 (single; wealth tax allowance)

Net wealth	CHF 1,000,000
Less allowance	− CHF 62,500
Taxable net wealth	CHF 937,500
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 703
Steuereinheiten (Lucerne city)	≈ 3.25
Wealth tax due	≈ CHF 2,285
Effective rate	≈ 0.23% of total net wealth

Observation: 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)
Assets: CHF 3,000,000 (family home + portfolios)
Liabilities: CHF 1,000,000 mortgage
Allowances: CHF 125,000 (married) + CHF 25,000 (two children) = CHF 150,000

Net wealth	CHF 2,000,000
Less allowances	− CHF 150,000
Taxable wealth	CHF 1,850,000
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 1,388
Steuereinheiten (Emmen)	≈ 3.75
Estimated wealth tax	≈ CHF 5,200
Effective rate	≈ 0.26% of net wealth

Planning angle: The flat Lucerne tariff means that debt (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)
Unlisted shares: CHF 4,000,000 (valued under practitioner method)
Other assets: CHF 1,000,000 (cash & listed portfolios)
Liabilities: CHF 1,500,000 (business and private loans)
Filing status: Married, no children (allowance CHF 125,000)

Net wealth	CHF 3,500,000
Less allowance	− CHF 125,000
Taxable wealth	CHF 3,375,000
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 2,531
Steuereinheiten (Meggen)	≈ 2.68
Total wealth tax	≈ CHF 6,800
Effective rate	≈ 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.

Planning angle: 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
Property value: CHF 1,200,000 (wealth-tax value)
Mortgage: CHF 800,000 (loan economically tied to the property)
Commune: Horw (Steuereinheiten ≈ 3.05, confessionless)
Other Swiss assets: none
Allowance: single allowance CHF 62,500 applied to Swiss-situs wealth (simplified)

Swiss-situs net wealth	CHF 400,000
Less allowance	− CHF 62,500
Taxable Swiss-situs wealth	CHF 337,500
Tax per unit (0.75‰)	≈ CHF 253
Steuereinheiten (Horw)	≈ 3.05
Estimated wealth tax	≈ CHF 770
Effective rate on Swiss-situs wealth	≈ 0.19%

Tip: 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

Single taxpayer with CHF 2,000,000 taxable net wealth (after allowances and debts)

	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
Total wealth tax	≈ CHF 4,875	≈ CHF 5,625	≈ CHF 4,030
Effective rate (on taxable wealth)	≈ 0.24%	≈ 0.28%	≈ 0.20%
Annual difference	Spread of roughly CHF 1,600 per year between Emmen and Meggen at identical taxable wealth

Note: 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.

Key Takeaways

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.