Cheapest canton
Where is vehicle tax cheapest in Switzerland?
It depends what you drive. Worked out for six typical vehicles – and different cantons win depending on the vehicle.
Powerful motorcycle
1000 cm³, 150 kW – a wider spread than any car.
Large engine
A 6.2-litre V8 – where displacement counts, and where CO₂ does.
Electric car
Some cantons charge nothing at all – others the full tariff.
Motorhome
3500 or 3600 kg – a hundred kilos, and the bill changes entirely.
Caravan
The trailer is taxed separately – and differently everywhere.
Small car
1.0 litre, 70 kW – the everyday case, and still three times.
Why the answer depends on the vehicle
There is no cheapest canton, only a cheapest canton for a particular vehicle. Nine tax bases are in use, and which one suits a vehicle depends on its shape: a canton that taxes displacement is cheap for a small car and expensive for a large engine. One that taxes weight reverses the order. On top come eco discounts that reach only passenger cars, and separate tariffs for motorcycles, motorhomes and trailers. The pages below run the same question for six kinds of vehicle – on each canton’s tariff in force, not on a rule of thumb.