Hi there

I wonder if anyone can tell me if it is better tax wise to live together than marry?
We are planning on moving to Fribourg and unmarried at the moment. My partner's company is moving there and I will look for work when we arrive. I understand that under Swiss tax law our incomes are added together if we are married and therefore I would be taxed at the same high rate as he is (I am presuming I wont earn anything like he does and so don't really fancy that!)

Anyway I am wondering why anyone would ever marry in Switzerland if it puts one at such a financial disadvantage, apart from love of course!

Can anyone enlighten me or my wedding plans are off!

Thanks

If the question is serious, then at least one part of the answer must be 'Security'. It is also very convenient. Many things have reduced rates for members of the same family, I have the same name as Mr L and so do the children. Minor things I suppose, but in those days if one was in love and wanted to set up house together, one got married.

I've never regretted it in spite of the tax system, which certainly puts married couples at a disadvantage compared with those who simply live together.

With my tongue in my cheek I would say that it is a wonderful thing to be married at this time of year. I put all my paperwork on the desk to my left and leave Mr L to fill in the tax forms while I sit and chat on the Forum.

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Longbyt

If taxes are a showstopper to your wedding plans, then you should consider further the whole meaning that the marriage thing has for you and your partner, as you probably have to rethink whether you want to get married because you love each other, or because it brings tax benefits to you.

Yes, your taxes will increase if you both work as a married couple, compared to the status of living together in a relationship, however I don't believe that could impact significantly your standard of living.....

Married couples were at a disadvantage for many years.
As of January 2009 there is an advantage:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics...ml?cid=5487536

So go get married and don't worry about your taxes.

Hi there thanks for your reply. I am not sure when we are going to find time to get married and have been together for long enough that I feel quite secure but I would like to think we will get round to it at some point and was worried that Switzerland's tax laws might slow things down further. If it is a massive hit financially we would have to consider the implications. Well he would I expect, if it were just down to me and my romantic head I would probably say sod it. Its not a first marriage for either of us and there wont be any children but I was just a bit confused about why such a seemingly conservative country would make it cheaper for people to cohabit than marry.

Thanks again for your feedback though.
Em

Thanks so much for this info. I am very happy to hear that and look forward to wedding bells!

I'd imagine for most people, any slight financial disadvantage there might have was made up for by recognition of the union under law. Mainly that you become immediately their next of kin, with a whole bunch of rights that you don't get as unmarried/unregistered partners. Security is the least of it.

Besides the ethical point everyone is jumping at: I even financially could not care less. We have two reasonably good incomes which after our marriage are taxed like one very good salary and has therefore a higher pricetag attached to it. This is still very relative as this "higher" tax is a fraction (I estimate roughly one third to a quarter!) of the tax we would pay in other European countries.

I think with 'security' I also meant rights. The security of being the next of kin. The security of knowing that if Mr L were taken seriously ill, I would be allowed to visit him in Intensive Care without fighting to do so. The security of knowing that if one of us died, there would be no question of the other having to leave the home or having someone turning up and claiming their right to its contents. The banks sometimes freeze the account when one of the partners in a joint account dies, but according to my information, the bank would allow monies to be taken out by the other account holder to be used for everyday expenses.

This may all sound a bit morbid, but I've known too many folk who were horrified to realise that they had practically no rights at all when their partner died.

Quite apart from that possible scenario, living away from, and thus 'losing' my own family, it was definitely a plus to be able to join my husband's family by getting married.

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Longbyt