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Withholding Tax Bern

The deduction ceilings, communal multipliers and filing deadline the canton of Bern applies for the 2026 tax period, read from the same tables our calculator uses.

Cantonal deductions — Bern

The canton of Bern sets its own ceilings, separate from those of the federal direct tax. These are the 23 deductions our calculator applies to it for the 2026 tax period: they decide whether ordinary taxation gains you money or costs you.

Deduction2026 amount
Flat-rate deduction of other professional expenses3 % of net salary · min. CHF 2'000 · max. CHF 4'000
Deduction of travel expenses main incomeup to CHF 7'000
Deduction for additional meal costs without subsidyup to CHF 3'200
Deduction for additional meal costs with subsidyup to CHF 1'600
Deduction for gainful secondary employment20 % of the secondary income · min. CHF 800 · max. CHF 2'400
Deduction for two income couples2 % of the lower of the two incomes · max. CHF 9'500
Deduction of child care expenses by third partiesup to CHF 16'000
Maximum deduction pillar 3a with pension solutionup to CHF 7'258
Maximum deduction pillar 3a without pension solutionup to CHF 36'288
Deduction of insurance premiums and savings interest, single persons with contributions pillar 2/3aup to CHF 2'450
Deduction of insurance premiums and savings interest, single persons without contributions pillar 2/3aup to CHF 3'600
Deduction of insurance premiums and savings interest, married persons with contributions pillar 2/3aup to CHF 4'900
Deduction of insurance premiums and savings interest, married persons without contributions pillar 2/3aup to CHF 7'200
Deduction of insurance premiums and savings interest, childup to CHF 700
Deduction for single personsflat CHF 5'300
Deduction for single person with own householdflat CHF 2'400
Deduction for married personsflat CHF 5'300
Deduction for single persons with childrenflat CHF 1'300
Child deductionflat CHF 8'300
Deduction for child education costs, external educationup to CHF 6'400
social deduction modest income singleflat CHF 1'100
social deduction modest income marriedflat CHF 2'200
social deduction modest income childflat CHF 600
Source: the deduction table of the canton of Bern for 2026 — the very one our calculator applies.

Wealth tax allowances

Wealth tax is never withheld at source: it appears only under ordinary taxation. The canton of Bern exempts the following amounts.

Deduction2026 amount
Deduction for married personsflat CHF 18'000
Child deductionflat CHF 18'000

Tax multipliers — Bern

Cantonal tax in Bern is obtained by applying 297.5 % to the base tax. Each municipality adds its own on top: 89 % in Deisswil bei Münchenbuchsee, 220 % in Schelten, across the canton's 334 municipalities. Withholding tax ignores that spread, since it applies a single average rate to the whole canton — one of the reasons switching to ordinary taxation does not give the same result from one municipality to the next.

Between Deisswil bei Münchenbuchsee and Schelten the gap reaches 131 multiplier points: at equal income and equal deductions, the ordinary bill is not the same depending on the address.

Church tax is added for members of a recognised church: 13.5 – 32.2 % depending on the municipality and denomination. With no declared denomination it is not levied.

A worked example in Bern

Here is what the calculation gives in Bern for a reference profile: single, no children, no recognised religious affiliation, on the median salary of a B permit holder (CHF 5'358 a month).

Annual gross salary

CHF 64'296

Net salary on the certificate

CHF 56'067

Withholding tax deducted

CHF 7'130

Annual saving under ordinary taxation

Without a 3rd pillar
− CHF 407
With a 3rd pillar at the ceiling
CHF 1'710

On this precise profile and without a 3rd pillar, ordinary taxation costs more in Bern than withholding at source. This happens in several cantons, and the switch is irreversible: check before you file.

Amounts modelled by our calculator on the 2026 tax scales, municipality of Bern. The salary comes from the 2024 Swiss Earnings Structure Survey (FSO): median for B permit holders in the major region Bern belongs to, as the FSO does not publish a cantonal median. Your own situation will give a different figure.

Filing the request — Bern

The request for subsequent ordinary taxation for the 2026 tax period must reach the administration by March 31, 2027 at the latest. After that date it is inadmissible: the year is closed.

We prepare your request for the canton of Bern from your data, free of charge; all that is left is to sign it and send it. We hold the official form of the canton of Bern and fill it in field by field; you receive it as a PDF, ready to sign.

Accepted channels

  • Postal mail
  • E-mail
  • Online portal

Cantonal portal

Filing address

Steuerverwaltung des Kantons Bern Brünnenstrasse 66 3018 Bern

E-mail — nov.sv@be.ch

Phone — 031 633 60 01

How it works for Bern

  1. 01

    Estimate your savings

    Use our free calculator with rates specific to the canton of Bern.

  2. 02

    Generate your TOU form

    We produce your request for the canton of Bern from the data you enter.

  3. 03

    Submit your request

    Sign it, then send the form to the tax administration of Bern before March 31, 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions — Bern

What is the TOU deadline in the canton of Bern?

The request for subsequent ordinary taxation for the 2026 tax period must reach the tax administration of Bern by March 31, 2027 at the latest. No extension is provided for: a late request is inadmissible.

How to file a TOU request in Bern?

The canton of Bern accepts the following channels: Postal mail, E-mail, Online portal. Our service pre-fills the official form with your data; you only have to sign it and send it in.

How much can I save with TOU in Bern?

It depends on your municipality, your marital status and your deductions. In the canton of Bern, communal multipliers range from 89 % to 220 %: at equal income, ordinary tax is not the same from one municipality to the next, whereas withholding tax applies a single average rate. Our calculator compares the two from the cantonal tables.

Other Cantons

AGAargauSGSt. GallenLULucerneBSBasel-StadtBLBasel-LandschaftGEGeneva

Further reading

Withholding tax or ordinary taxation: what really changesTwo mechanisms for the same tax. Who levies it, when, on what basis, and what switching to ordinary taxation changes for your cash flow.New to Switzerland: what awaits you on the tax sideB permit, deduction from salary, an incomplete first year, automatic switch: how Swiss tax works for someone who has just arrived.B permit deductions: what withholding tax does not give backTravel costs, meals, pillar 3a, childcare: the deductions the withholding tariff ignores, with the 2026 federal ceilings and the steps to follow.Deductible professional expenses, item by itemCommuting, meals, training, tools: what really is deductible, the federal ceilings in force, and when the flat rate beats actual expenses.Pillar 3a when you are taxed at sourcePaying into pillar 3a does not reduce withholding at source. Federal ceilings, the 31 December deadline, retroactive buy-backs since 2026 and withdrawal traps.Subsequent ordinary taxation, explained in fullWho may request the TOU, who is obliged to, until when, and why the decision is irreversible. The reference guide for B permit holders.When ordinary taxation costs you moneyThe TOU request cannot be withdrawn and commits the following years. Wealth, foreign income, an expensive municipality: the profiles that lose money.Reading your salary certificate, figure by figureThe Lohnausweis explained box by box: where to find the net salary, the withholding tax, and the only two figures needed to estimate your savings.

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