Leaving the church municipality and the cantonal church

Usually as a percentage of the simple cantonal tax; in some cantons as a multiple of it or as a share of the cantonal tax owed. It is based on income and wealth, in some cantons also on real estate gains.

The rate is usually set every year by the assembly of the church municipality, so it differs from one church municipality to the next.

Married couples and registered partners are taxed jointly, but the church tax is split. After you leave, only the share of the person who stays a member is taxed, usually at half the rate of their denomination.

Some cantons also take the children and their denomination into account (split per head or in thirds).

In most cantons church tax is included in the withholding tax. After leaving, you can ask the cantonal tax office to refund the church tax share. In the canton of St. Gallen the deadline is 31 March of the following year.

In the cantons of Ticino and Geneva church tax is not included in the withholding tax.

Leaving personally does not change the church tax of your company. According to the Federal Supreme Court, legal entities cannot rely on freedom of religion and therefore cannot leave. The only exception is organisations that themselves pursue religious purposes.

Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Aargau and Geneva do not levy church tax on companies. In Solothurn and St. Gallen part of the company taxes goes to the financial equalisation between church municipalities instead.

Check the next assessment after leaving. If it is not yet final, you can file an objection within the deadline. Enclose the confirmation of leaving or the postal receipt.

For assessments that are already final, a refund is only possible to a limited extent. It is expressly provided for by law in Nidwalden, Graubünden and Jura; in Zurich, Basel-Stadt and St. Gallen it goes through a revision or correction.

Vaud: There is no church tax; the canton and municipalities fund the recognised churches from general taxes. Some municipalities (documented for example in Montreux and Lutry) refund the church share of the municipal tax on request if you do not belong to a recognised church.

Neuchâtel and Geneva: Church tax is invoiced, but paying it is voluntary. In Neuchâtel the invoice depends on the religion stated in your tax return; if you state “no religion”, you no longer receive one.

Ticino: There is no cantonal church tax. About 40 parishes levy their own worship tax (imposta di culto); step 1 shows which ones. You declare your exit in writing to the parish council (Consiglio parrocchiale) and request exemption from the worship tax there, also in writing: in the first year within a month of being notified of your registration, later with effect from the following year.

Valais: the municipalities bear the costs of worship. Only a few municipalities, including Sion, levy their own worship tax.

Many cantons have a dual system: alongside the Roman Catholic Church as a religious community there are public-law church corporations (cantonal churches and church municipalities, known as Landeskirchen and Kirchgemeinden). They are organised under public law and are funded, among other things, by church tax.

With a partial withdrawal you leave this public-law corporation and no longer pay church tax. It does not necessarily mean breaking with the community of faith.

Yes. Leaving the church municipality and the cantonal church is separate from membership of the Roman Catholic Church. Canonical sanctions would only come into question if the person also made clear that they no longer accept central tenets of the faith.

To the church municipality where you live (in the canton of Fribourg to the parish council, in Ticino to the Consiglio parrocchiale). The territorial principle applies: anyone who pays church tax is in almost all cases automatically a member of the church municipality where they live. Step 1 shows you the responsible body with its postal address.

If a church municipality has no postal address of its own, the letter goes to the parish office or secretariat, which forwards it; this is then noted next to the address.

The declaration must be in writing, signed by hand and sent to the responsible body; for proof, preferably by registered mail or A-Post Plus. An email is usually not enough.

In Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen (and for the Thurgau localities that belong to the church municipality of Wil), the signature must also be officially certified, for example by the municipal administration. Step 3 shows whether this applies where you live.

It is useful because it records when the withdrawal takes effect and when your tax liability ends; the letter therefore asks for one. To end your membership, however, it is enough that your declaration has demonstrably reached the right body. Keep the postal receipt.

That depends on your income, wealth and municipality. The church tax calculator gives an estimate for your municipality, based on figures from the Federal Tax Administration's tax calculator. Your tax bill is what counts; church tax is usually shown separately on it.

The letter asks the church municipality to treat it confidentially and not to pass it on to the parish or the diocese. This cannot be ruled out entirely, though: if a church municipality has no address of its own, the letter goes through the parish office. In the canton of Fribourg, the statute requires the parish priest to receive a copy and the exit to be reported to the diocese, so the letter leaves out this request there.

From the age of 16 you decide on your religious affiliation yourself (Art. 303 Swiss Civil Code) and can leave on your own. For younger children, the parents declare the withdrawal. List the children with name and date of birth in the “Additional note” field; with joint parental authority, it is best if both parents sign.

The church municipality records your withdrawal in its membership register and usually reports it to the residents' registry or the tax administration so that you are no longer charged church tax. As a public-law body it is subject to cantonal data protection law: you can ask what data it holds about you. You can include such requests in the “Additional note” field.

This service is free and ad-free. You only pay the postage for registered mail or A-Post Plus and, where certification is required, the municipal fee for it.

teilaustritt.ch is provided by the Vera Fides association. If you find the service useful, you can support the association with a donation.

Yes. You can rejoin at any time, usually with a written declaration to the church municipality or the parish office. From then on, church tax is due again.

The mapping from place to municipality comes from the official Swiss locality directory (swisstopo). We collected the church municipalities and their postal addresses from laws, directories of the cantonal churches, the UID register and the church municipalities' websites; every entry shows its source and date. Agreed mergers are applied automatically from their effective date.

Names and addresses of church municipalities are given in the local official language. Some details are only available in German. Since addresses change, a quick look at the church municipality's website before sending is worth it. Please report errors to redaktion@verafides.ch.

The church municipality search only covers Roman Catholic church municipalities. The legal questions on this page concern the Roman Catholic Church. Other cantonal churches have their own rules.