Neuchatel Wealth Tax Cases

Neuchâtel Wealth Tax: Cases & Worked Examples

Illustrative computations showing how Neuchâtel’s progressive wealth tax and communal coefficients apply in practice across typical resident and nonresident profiles.

Neuchâtel levies a progressive wealth tax starting from around CHF 50,000 net wealth. The cantonal tariff increases in bands and, at higher levels, the effective rate typically lies in a range of roughly 0.23–0.36% of taxable net wealth for most households.

The final burden combines the cantonal coefficient with each commune’s communal coefficient (e.g. city of Neuchâtel vs. La Chaux-de-Fonds vs. lakeside municipalities such as Boudry / Milvignes). The examples below use indicative 2025-style values for planning illustration. For exact figures, use the official barèmes and the Neuchâtel wealth tax calculator.

All numbers rounded; church tax ignored. Rates and allowances approximate and for planning illustration only.

Case A — Single Professional in the City of Neuchâtel

Commune: Neuchâtel (city; communal coefficient around two-thirds of the cantonal base)
Assets: CHF 1,000,000 (listed securities & cash)
Liabilities: none
Allowance / threshold: CHF 50,000 (single, rounded)

Net wealth	CHF 1,000,000
Less allowance / threshold	− CHF 50,000
Taxable net wealth	CHF 950,000
Cantonal simple wealth tax	≈ 0.16% → ≈ CHF 1,520
Combined cantonal & communal factor	≈ ×1.95
Wealth tax due	≈ CHF 2,960
Effective rate	≈ 0.30% of net wealth

Observation: At CHF 1m of financial wealth, Neuchâtel city’s effective wealth tax is mid-range by Swiss standards: clearly above ultra-low cantons such as Zug or Schwyz, but below high-tax cantons like Basel-Stadt or Geneva.

Case B — Married Couple with Two Children in La Chaux-de-Fonds

Commune: La Chaux-de-Fonds (communal coefficient somewhat higher than Neuchâtel city)
Assets: CHF 2,800,000 (family home + portfolios)
Liabilities: CHF 900,000 mortgage
Allowances: CHF 180,000 (married couple + children add-ons, rounded)

Net wealth	CHF 1,900,000
Less allowances	− CHF 180,000
Taxable wealth	CHF 1,720,000
Cantonal simple wealth tax	≈ 0.17% → ≈ CHF 2,920
Combined cantonal & communal factor	≈ ×2.00
Estimated tax	≈ CHF 5,840
Effective rate	≈ 0.31% of net wealth

Planning angle: The mortgage directly reduces taxable net wealth, and the slightly higher communal coefficient in La Chaux-de-Fonds pushes the effective rate a bit above Neuchâtel city. Over time, this gap compounds for higher-net-worth families.

Case C — Entrepreneur with Private Company Shares in Le Locle

Commune: Le Locle (industrial town with mid-range communal coefficient)
Unlisted shares: CHF 3,000,000 (valued under practitioner method)
Other assets: CHF 900,000 (cash & listed portfolios)
Liabilities: CHF 900,000 (business and private loans)
Filing status: Married, no children (standard married allowance assumed)

Net wealth	CHF 3,000,000
Less allowances	− CHF 160,000
Taxable wealth	CHF 2,840,000
Cantonal simple wealth tax	≈ 0.17% → ≈ CHF 4,830
Combined cantonal & communal factor	≈ ×1.95
Total wealth tax	≈ CHF 9,420
Effective rate	≈ 0.31% of net wealth

Assumes stable practitioner-method valuation for the private company and standard treatment of qualifying participations under Neuchâtel practice.

Planning angle: For entrepreneurs, the main levers are the valuation of private company holdings and the communal coefficient. Small percentage differences translate into several thousand francs per year at higher wealth levels.

Case D — Nonresident Owning a Lakeside Property in Boudry

Tax nexus: Nonresident with Neuchâtel property only
Property value: CHF 1,200,000 (wealth-tax value)
Mortgage: CHF 800,000 (loan economically tied to the property)
Commune: Boudry (lakeside area, communal coefficient similar to Neuchâtel city)
Other Swiss assets: none

Swiss-situs net wealth	CHF 400,000
Less basic allowance (simplified)	− CHF 50,000
Taxable Swiss-situs wealth	CHF 350,000
Cantonal simple wealth tax	≈ 0.15% → ≈ CHF 525
Combined cantonal & communal factor	≈ ×1.95
Estimated wealth tax	≈ CHF 1,025
Effective rate on Swiss-situs wealth	≈ 0.26%

Tip: For nonresidents, Neuchâtel taxes only Swiss-situs wealth (typically real estate and related rights). Only the portion of debt economically linked to the Neuchâtel property is deductible in the cantonal computation; foreign assets and liabilities remain relevant mainly in the country of residence.

Case E — Comparison: Neuchâtel vs. La Chaux-de-Fonds vs. Lakeside Commune

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

	Neuchâtel (city)	La Chaux-de-Fonds	Lakeside (e.g. Boudry / Milvignes)
Cantonal simple wealth tax	≈ CHF 3,400	≈ CHF 3,400	≈ CHF 3,400
Indicative combined factor	≈ ×1.95	≈ ×2.05	≈ ×1.90
Total wealth tax	≈ CHF 6,630	≈ CHF 6,970	≈ CHF 6,460
Effective rate (on taxable wealth)	≈ 0.33%	≈ 0.35%	≈ 0.32%
Annual difference	Spread of roughly CHF 500 per year between a higher- and lower-coefficient commune at identical taxable wealth

Note: Within Neuchâtel, the cantonal tariff is uniform, but communal coefficients still create a meaningful spread in effective wealth tax — modest in percentage terms, but material over long holding periods at higher wealth levels.

Key Takeaways

Neuchâtel is a mid-range wealth tax canton, with effective burdens typically around 0.25–0.35% of net wealth for many resident taxpayers.
Wealth tax starts at comparatively low net wealth (around CHF 50,000), but the absolute amounts are modest at lower levels.
Communal coefficients (Neuchâtel city vs. La Chaux-de-Fonds vs. lakeside communes) are the main intra-canton planning lever once allowances and debts are fixed.
Mortgages and other deductible liabilities reduce taxable wealth directly; for property-heavy households, this drives much of the outcome.
Entrepreneurs should focus on the valuation of private company participations and document practitioner-method calculations for consistency over time.
Nonresidents are taxed only on Neuchâtel-situs wealth; careful allocation of debt to Neuchâtel property can significantly influence the Swiss wealth tax base.