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Switzerland · tax residency · 2026

How many days make you tax resident in Switzerland?

30days
Tax residency thresholdchecked 2026-08-18 · fedlex.admin.ch

30 days Not 183 days. Under art. 3 DBG a person has a tax residence by way of stay if, notwithstanding temporary interruption, they remain in Switzerland for at least 30 days while carrying on gainful activity, or for at least 90 days without gainful activity. makes you tax resident in Switzerland — but the day count is only the test people know about.

Next step

One email when the app can tally these days for you.

How we know

Figures are as Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung (ESTV) — statute published in Fedlex publishes them at fedlex.admin.ch, checked 18 August 2026.

Day threshold
30 days Not 183 days. Under art. 3 DBG a person has a tax residence by way of stay if, notwithstanding temporary interruption, they remain in Switzerland for at least 30 days while carrying on gainful activity, or for at least 90 days without gainful activity.
Tax year
1 January – 31 December
Other tests
Art. 3 of the Bundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer (DBG): natural persons are liable to tax by personal attachment when they have their tax domicile (steuerrechtlicher Wohnsitz) or their tax stay (Aufenthalt) in Switzerland. A person has a tax domicile in Switzerland where they stay with the intention of remaining permanently, or where federal law assigns them a special statutory domicile. A person has a tax stay in Switzerland where, notwithstanding temporary interruption, they remain at least 30 days and carry on gainful activity, or remain at least 90 days without carrying on gainful activity.
Worldwide income
Yes — residents are taxed on worldwide income
Special regimes
Switzerland allows expenditure-based lump-sum taxation (Pauschalbesteuerung / imposition d'après la dépense) for foreign nationals without Swiss gainful activity, abolished in some cantons. Its conditions were not verified against an official page in this run and are therefore not stated here.
Authority
Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung (ESTV) — statute published in Fedlex
Official page
fedlex.admin.ch
Checked
18 August 2026

Sources are listed further down the page.

How the counting works

dayThreshold records the lower of the two triggers (30 days with gainful activity); the 90-day trigger without gainful activity is in periodNote and otherTests. Both are far below the 183 days people assume. The text read was SR 642.11 in the version in force from 1 January 2025, served from the Fedlex filestore because the Fedlex viewer requires JavaScript; the canonical ELI URL is given as officialUrl. This is federal direct tax only — cantonal and communal income taxes follow the StHG and cantonal law and were not examined. Worldwide taxation under personal attachment rests on art. 6 DBG (unlimited liability, excluding foreign business, permanent establishment and immovable property income), which was not separately extracted.

Why the day count is the part you can control

Ties, homes and intentions are argued after the fact; days are a record. That is why the first thing an adviser asks for is a list of the days you were in the country — and why reconstructing it from boarding passes and photos a year later is a bad afternoon. Log each stay as it happens and the tally is simply there, with the dates that produced it.

Sources

Questions people ask about Switzerland tax residency

How many days can you spend in Switzerland before becoming tax resident?

30 days Not 183 days. Under art. 3 DBG a person has a tax residence by way of stay if, notwithstanding temporary interruption, they remain in Switzerland for at least 30 days while carrying on gainful activity, or for at least 90 days without gainful activity. makes you tax resident in Switzerland, and residents are taxed on worldwide income. Days are not the only route in: Art. 3 of the Bundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer (DBG): natural persons are liable to tax by personal attachment when they have their tax domicile (steuerrechtlicher Wohnsitz) or their tax stay (Aufenthalt) in Switzerland. A person has a tax domicile in Switzerland where they stay with the intention of remaining permanently, or where federal law assigns them a special statutory domicile. A person has a tax stay in Switzerland where, notwithstanding temporary interruption, they remain at least 30 days and carry on gainful activity, or remain at least 90 days without carrying on gainful activity. Checked 18 August 2026 against fedlex.admin.ch.

When is Switzerland's tax year?

1 January – 31 December. Day counts are measured against that year unless the rule names a different period — here, Not 183 days. Under art. 3 DBG a person has a tax residence by way of stay if, notwithstanding temporary interruption, they remain in Switzerland for at least 30 days while carrying on gainful activity, or for at least 90 days without gainful activity..

Are residents of Switzerland taxed on worldwide income?

Yes — once you are tax resident in Switzerland, worldwide income falls in scope, subject to double-tax treaties. Switzerland allows expenditure-based lump-sum taxation (Pauschalbesteuerung / imposition d'après la dépense) for foreign nationals without Swiss gainful activity, abolished in some cantons. Its conditions were not verified against an official page in this run and are therefore not stated here.

Is there a special tax regime for people moving to Switzerland?

Switzerland allows expenditure-based lump-sum taxation (Pauschalbesteuerung / imposition d'après la dépense) for foreign nationals without Swiss gainful activity, abolished in some cantons. Its conditions were not verified against an official page in this run and are therefore not stated here. Conditions and time limits apply; the official page below is the place to check them.

How does Stretch count tax days for Switzerland?

Every stay you log feeds the tally: Stretch counts the days you were present against the 30-day threshold in the right window, so "how long was I actually there?" is answered before your accountant asks. Tax-day tallies are part of Stretch+; the day counter and the alerts are free forever.

Tax days elsewhere

Switzerland, the rest of it

Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice, and this is not tax advice. Visa and tax rules change and are applied by the authority, not by an app — every figure here shows its source and the date we checked it. Checked 2026-08-18; confirm on the official page before you apply or file.