VaudTax · Chapter 2/11
Personal situation and children in VaudTax: marital status and family quotient
Key points
- Vaud uses a family quotient: your taxable income is divided by a number of shares to set your tax rate (1.0 single, 1.8 married couple, 1.3 single parent, plus 0.5 per dependent child).
- Your situation on 31 December 2026 is what counts. Married during the year? You are taxed jointly for the whole year.
- Children are entered in the section « Enfants et personnes à charge » (children and dependants): minors, and adult children in apprenticeship or studies.
- Cohabiting (unmarried) couples are not entitled to the 1.3 share, even with children.
Pre-filled personal data
Your name, date of birth, marital status and the minor children living with you are pre-filled from the residents' register. If something is wrong, do not only fix it in VaudTax: changes of address or civil status must be reported to your commune's residents' office (contrôle des habitants), which informs the tax office.
Marital status: the 31 December rule
| Situation in 2026 | Effect on the 2026 return |
|---|---|
| Marriage or registered partnership during the year | One joint return for the whole of 2026. |
| Separation or divorce during the year | Each person files their own return for the whole of 2026. |
| Death of a spouse | Joint return until the date of death, then a separate return for the surviving spouse from the following day. |
| Unmarried cohabitation | Each partner files their own return. No 1.3 share. |
For married couples, income and wealth are added together whatever the matrimonial property regime.
How the Vaud family quotient works
This is Vaud's main specificity. Your taxable income is divided by your total number of shares to find your tax rate, and that rate then applies to your whole income. More shares mean a lower rate.
| Situation | Shares |
|---|---|
| Single, widowed, separated or divorced | 1.0 |
| Married couple or registered partners living together | 1.8 |
| Single parent running a household alone with a dependent child (not cohabiting) | 1.3 |
| Per minor child, or adult child in apprenticeship or studies whom you fully support | + 0.5 |
VaudTax calculates the shares itself from your answers. Your job is to answer the questions about children and household correctly.
Declaring your children in VaudTax
- 1Open the section « Enfants et personnes à charge » and click « Afficher » (show).
- 2Choose the line for minor children and adult children in apprenticeship or studies. Minor children living with you are usually already listed.
- 3Add any adult child in education whom you support (university, apprenticeship), even if they no longer live with you.
- 4If you are single, separated, divorced or widowed, answer « Tenez-vous un ménage indépendant seul avec cet/ces enfant(s) ? » (do you run a household alone with this child?). Answer « non » if you live with a partner.
- 5Childcare costs are entered in the same place: see the family deductions chapter.
Your minor children's income and wealth
- A minor child's wealth (a savings account, for example) and its income are added to the return of the parent with parental authority.
- A minor child's salary (summer job, apprenticeship) is taxed separately and is not added to your return.
- From the year they turn 18, the child receives their own tax return, even with no income.
Other dependants (elderly parent, relative)
Do you financially support a relative (other than your spouse, children or partner) who cannot work and lacks the minimum subsistence income? You can claim CHF 3,400 per person (code 680), provided your support reaches at least that amount during the year. Keep proof of payments.
Frequently asked questions
We married in December 2026. Do we file jointly?
Yes. In Vaud, your situation on 31 December decides: if you marry during the year, you file a single joint return for the whole of 2026.
We are unmarried with a child. Who gets the 0.5 share?
Cohabiting partners cannot get the 1.3 share. For the child, when parents share parental authority and no deductible maintenance is paid, the 0.5 share can be split in half between the two returns.
My 22-year-old is at university and lives in a flatshare. Can I declare them?
Yes, if you support them. Adult children in apprenticeship or studies give a 0.5 share when you fully support them.
Rather hand it over?
NeoFidu prepares and files your Vaud tax return for you, including a check for missed deductions. Service in English available.
This guide is for information only and is not personalised advice. Amounts come from official publications of the Vaud cantonal tax administration (ACI). VaudTax itself is in French: we quote the French labels so you can find them on screen. If in doubt, the official ACI instructions prevail.