St. Gallen Wealth Tax Cases

St. Gallen Wealth Tax: Cases & Worked Examples

Illustrative computations showing how St. Gallen’s linear 1.7‰ wealth tax and commune-specific tax rates apply in practice across typical resident and nonresident profiles.

The canton of St. Gallen levies a linear wealth tax on taxable net wealth. The simple cantonal rate is a flat 1.7‰ (0.17%) on taxable wealth, independent of the level of wealth. The final burden is obtained by multiplying the simple tax by the combined cantonal and municipal tax rate (Steuerfuss).

In practice, this combined factor is roughly in the range of ≈ 2.0–2.6, depending on the commune. For the city of St. Gallen, the factor yields an effective wealth tax of about 0.35–0.40% of taxable wealth, while low-tax communes (e.g. Balgach, Rapperswil-Jona) come out somewhat lower.

Standard wealth tax allowances (rounded) are: CHF 75,000 per taxable person and CHF 20,000 per minor child. The examples below use indicative 2025-style factors for planning illustration only. For exact calculations, use the official St. Gallen tax calculator and current communal tax rates.

All numbers rounded; church tax ignored. Municipal tax rates simplified to rounded effective factors.

Case A — Single Professional in the City of St. Gallen

Commune: St. Gallen (relatively high municipal tax rate)
Assets: CHF 1,000,000 (listed securities & cash)
Liabilities: none
Allowance: CHF 75,000 (single)

Net wealth	CHF 1,000,000
Less allowance	− CHF 75,000
Taxable net wealth	CHF 925,000
Simple wealth tax (1.7‰)	≈ CHF 1,573
Combined SG city factor	≈ ×2.46
Wealth tax due	≈ CHF 3,870
Effective rate	≈ 0.39% of net wealth

Observation: The city of St. Gallen sits at the upper end of the cantonal range, with effective wealth tax roughly in line with other mid- to higher-tax cantons, but still below Geneva or Vaud.

Case B — Married Couple with Two Children in Rapperswil-Jona

Commune: Rapperswil-Jona (comparatively attractive municipal tax rate)
Assets: CHF 3,000,000 (family home + investment portfolios)
Liabilities: CHF 1,000,000 mortgage
Allowances: CHF 150,000 (two adults) + CHF 40,000 (two children) = CHF 190,000

Net wealth	CHF 2,000,000
Less allowances	− CHF 190,000
Taxable wealth	CHF 1,810,000
Simple wealth tax (1.7‰)	≈ CHF 3,077
Rapperswil-Jona factor (indicative)	≈ ×2.25
Estimated wealth tax	≈ CHF 6,900
Effective rate	≈ 0.35% of net wealth

Planning angle: With a linear 1.7‰ tariff, the key drivers are the level of taxable net wealth (after mortgage and allowances) and the communal tax rate. There are no brackets or jumps at higher wealth levels.

Case C — Entrepreneur with Private Company Shares in Gossau

Commune: Gossau (medium cantonal ranking for total tax burden)
Unlisted shares: CHF 4,000,000 (valued under practitioner method)
Other assets: CHF 800,000 (cash & listed portfolios)
Liabilities: CHF 1,800,000 (business and private loans)
Filing status: Married, no children (allowance CHF 150,000)

Gross assets	CHF 4,800,000
Less liabilities	− CHF 1,800,000
Net wealth	CHF 3,000,000
Less allowance	− CHF 150,000
Taxable wealth	CHF 2,850,000
Simple wealth tax (1.7‰)	≈ CHF 4,845
Gossau factor (indicative)	≈ ×2.30
Total wealth tax	≈ CHF 11,150
Effective rate	≈ 0.37% of net wealth

In practice, qualifying participations (≥10%) may benefit from specific reliefs; this example uses the standard 1.7‰ simple rate for clarity.

Planning angle: For entrepreneurs, St. Gallen’s linear tariff makes the annual cost of additional net wealth highly predictable. Valuation of private company shares and commune choice are the main optimisation levers.

Case D — Nonresident Owning a Lakeside Apartment in Rorschach

Tax nexus: Nonresident with St. Gallen property only
Property value: CHF 1,200,000 (wealth tax value)
Mortgage: CHF 800,000 (loan economically tied to the property)
Commune: Rorschach (Lake Constance; mid-range municipal rate)
Other Swiss assets: none
Allowance: CHF 75,000 (single allowance allocated to SG; simplified)

Swiss-situs net wealth	CHF 400,000
Less allowance (simplified)	− CHF 75,000
Taxable Swiss-situs wealth	CHF 325,000
Simple wealth tax (1.7‰)	≈ CHF 553
Rorschach factor (indicative)	≈ ×2.30
Estimated wealth tax	≈ CHF 1,270
Effective rate on Swiss-situs wealth	≈ 0.32%

Tip: For nonresidents, only the portion of debt economically linked to the St. Gallen property is deductible in St. Gallen. The worldwide portfolio remains relevant primarily in the country of residence and any other Swiss cantons where assets are located.

Case E — Comparison: St. Gallen City vs. Rapperswil-Jona vs. Balgach

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

	St. Gallen City	Rapperswil-Jona	Balgach (low-tax commune)
Simple wealth tax (1.7‰ of CHF 2,000,000)	CHF 3,400
Indicative total factor	≈ ×2.46	≈ ×2.25	≈ ×2.10
Total wealth tax	≈ CHF 8,360	≈ CHF 7,650	≈ CHF 7,140
Effective rate (on taxable wealth)	≈ 0.42%	≈ 0.38%	≈ 0.36%
Annual difference	Spread of roughly CHF 1,200 per year between the high-tax city and a low-tax commune at identical taxable wealth

Note: Because St. Gallen applies a linear 1.7‰ rate, communes differ only via their tax rate (Steuerfuss). This still creates a meaningful spread over time, especially at seven-figure wealth levels.

Key Takeaways

St. Gallen uses a linear 1.7‰ wealth tax; there is no progression by wealth band.
Standard allowances of CHF 75,000 per person and CHF 20,000 per child keep modest wealth lightly taxed.
Effective wealth tax typically lies around 0.30–0.40% of taxable wealth in the city, and somewhat lower in attractive communes.
Municipal tax rates (Balgach, Rapperswil-Jona vs. St. Gallen) are the main intra-canton planning lever.
Mortgages and other deductible liabilities reduce taxable net wealth linearly; leverage is particularly relevant for property-heavy profiles.
For entrepreneurs, the valuation of private company participations and possible reliefs for qualifying holdings directly shape the wealth tax outcome.
Nonresidents are taxed only on St. Gallen-situs wealth; careful allocation of debt to SG properties can significantly influence the Swiss wealth tax base.