What applies to the 2025 tax return in the canton of Zurich: the 31 March 2026 deadline, the extension through your municipal tax office, the cantonal deduction ceilings, the AGOV login for ZHprivateTax and the rule for B permit holders. Plus a German to English glossary and how to get your Lohnausweis and receipts in order first.
Updated on
Figures for the 2025 tax year (return filed in 2026), single taxpayer domiciled in the canton of Zurich, subject to change every year. This page informs; it replaces neither tax advice nor the canton of Zurich's instructions for ZHprivateTax and its English guide How to Fill in Your Tax Return. Floxy is not a fiduciary or tax advisor and transmits nothing to the Zurich tax offices.
Since the 2025 tax period the canton of Zurich no longer offers the downloadable Private Tax software. The 2025 return you file in 2026 is completed in the browser on ZHprivateTax: no installation, no signature, attachments transmitted electronically and last year's data imported. The interface is in German. For English readers the cantonal tax office publishes an 8-page PDF, How to Fill in Your Tax Return, written for the paper form; the line names and the logic are the same as in ZHprivateTax, so it works as a companion while you type.
Two ways in: the simplified access through AGOV, the Swiss government login, which also lets you delegate access to a representative, or the personal access code (Zugangscode) printed on the letter from your municipal tax office and at the top of page 1 of the main form. A lost code is ordered online or by phone and arrives by post, for data protection reasons.
Receipts are handled through upload fields: as soon as you enter a figure, ZHprivateTax shows whether a mandatory receipt is required. PDFs are dragged in, paper receipts are photographed with your phone from the browser. Which documents to gather beforehand is on the Swiss tax return guide in English.
For four common deductions the canton of Zurich sets its own ceilings, which differ from those of federal direct tax. The table gives the values for the 2025 tax year (return filed in 2026) and a single taxpayer. Commuting is where Zurich departs most visibly from the federal rule: CHF 5'200 in the canton against CHF 3'300 for federal tax. Childcare goes the other way, CHF 25'000 per child in Zurich against CHF 25'800 federally.
Pillar 3a follows the federal rule in both columns: CHF 7'258 with a pension fund, 20% of net earned income up to CHF 36'288 without. Continuing education is capped at CHF 12'400 in Zurich and CHF 13'000 for federal tax. Every category with its receipt is detailed in the Swiss tax return guide; the German version of this page, Steuern Zürich, quotes the same figures in the canton's own words.
For its indicative estimate Floxy applies the lower of the two ceilings on each line; the cantonal ceiling governs cantonal and communal tax, the federal ceiling governs federal direct tax. The assessment itself is made by the cantonal tax office of Zurich, never by the app.
| Deduction | Canton of Zurich | Federal direct tax | Receipt to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health insurance premiums | CHF 2'900 | own flat insurance deduction | annual premium statement of your health insurer |
| Commuting to work | CHF 5'200 | CHF 3'300 | GA, regional pass or kilometre statement |
| Childcare by third parties (per child) | CHF 25'000 | CHF 25'800 | invoices of the daycare, after-school care or day family |
| Continuing education | CHF 12'400 | CHF 13'000 | course invoices and payment proofs |
| Pillar 3a (with a pension fund) | CHF 7'258 | CHF 7'258 | certificate of your bank or insurer |
The ordinary deadline for individuals is 31 March of the year following the tax period, so 31 March 2026 for the 2025 return (directive ZStB 132.1). Legal entities file by 30 September. Self-employed residents receive an extension to 30 September from their municipal tax office without asking.
For employees the extension is a municipal matter in Zurich: the request goes to the tax office of the municipality where you live, not to the cantonal tax office. It must arrive before the deadline expires; a late request is rejected because an expired deadline cannot be extended. A first request filed in time counts as tacitly granted unless you receive a written refusal.
Requests filed in time are granted up to 30 November 2026 at the latest. Beyond that date you must substantiate extraordinary reasons; the directive names heavy workload and missing documents as insufficient. Whether your municipality charges a fee is decided locally: ask your Gemeindesteueramt. The other cantons' dates are on the Swiss tax return guide.
If you live in the canton of Zurich without a C permit, your employer deducts tax at source (Quellensteuer) and, by default, you file nothing. When your gross income subject to withholding tax reached at least CHF 120'000 in a tax period, federal law requires a return for subsequent ordinary assessment (nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung, NOV) covering all your income and wealth (Federal Tax Administration); in Zurich the 31 March deadline applies to that return too (ZStB 132.1).
Below that threshold you can request the NOV yourself, for instance to claim pillar 3a, training or childcare. The request must reach the tax authority by 31 March of the following year; the Federal Tax Administration calls it a forfeiture deadline that cannot be extended. If you are married to a Swiss citizen or a C permit holder you are assessed in the ordinary procedure anyway. The full picture for permit holders, including the C permit and leaving Switzerland, is on the B permit guide; the canton's own page is the Quellensteuer page of the canton of Zurich.
The words you meet on ZHprivateTax and on the letters of the Zurich tax offices, with the meaning Floxy uses in its English categories:
An employee with a Lohnausweis, a pillar 3a certificate, a health insurance statement and a few bills can complete ZHprivateTax alone, even with limited German, once the figures are gathered and the English guide is open in a second tab. A tax advisor or Treuhänder in Zurich earns its fee for a more complex situation: self-employment, a property, an inheritance, income taxed in another country, a move to or from Zurich during 2025.
Either way the folder to hand over or to type yourself is the same. Floxy sits before both: all year it reads your scanned receipts, names them in English, files them under the Zurich deduction category and applies the 2025 ceilings to an indicative estimate. In March you export the Zurich file as PDFs and copy the figures into ZHprivateTax, or you give the package to the person you delegated through AGOV. Floxy files nothing, signs nothing and does not represent you before the tax office. How the folder works for the whole household is on the document management page.
The extension runs through your municipality, not through the canton. The steps apply to the 2025 return (deadline 31 March 2026).
Check your date
The ordinary deadline is 31 March 2026. Self-employed residents already have until 30 September without asking; a request is only needed if that is not enough.
On the canton's tax return page you enter your postcode and select your municipality; some municipalities offer the extension online, the others in writing or by phone.
File the request before 31 March
The request must be at the municipal tax office before the deadline expires. After 31 March it is rejected; what remains is a request for reinstatement of the deadline, which needs serious grounds.
Wait for the tacit approval
A first request filed in time counts as granted unless you receive a written refusal. A letter only comes for late requests or for dates beyond 30 November.
File by 30 November 2026 at the latest
Extensions are granted up to that date. Filing later requires substantiated extraordinary reasons; the directive names workload and missing documents as insufficient.
Use the extra time to gather receipts
Scan the Lohnausweis, the 3a certificate and the premium statement into Floxy so the figures are ready when you open ZHprivateTax.
Scan the Lohnausweis and the Säule 3a certificate when they arrive in January: the AI reads gross salary, deductions and the 3a amount, names each document in English and files it in your Zurich tax folder, ready to type into ZHprivateTax.
Commuting up to CHF 5'200, childcare up to CHF 25'000, continuing education up to CHF 12'400: Floxy computes with the Zurich values for 2025 and shows where a receipt already reaches the cantonal ceiling.
Floxy reminds you ahead of 31 March 2026, the Zurich deadline, so you can decide in time whether to file or to ask your Gemeindesteueramt for an extension before the date expires.
One click exports the Zurich folder with every receipt as PDF. You copy the figures into ZHprivateTax yourself or hand the package to the representative you granted access through AGOV delegation.
In Zurich the deadline extension, the ZHprivateTax access code and most questions about your 2025 return go to the tax office of the municipality where you live (Gemeindesteueramt), not to the cantonal tax office. The tax offices of five Zurich towns, in German:
Floxy prepares the file; filing happens on ZHprivateTax, the official online solution of the canton of Zurich. The Zurich pages behind the facts on this page:
On 31 March 2026, the 31 March of the year following the tax period, under directive ZStB 132.1 of the canton of Zurich. Self-employed residents receive an extension to 30 September 2026 from their municipal tax office without asking; legal entities also file by 30 September. If 31 March is not enough, request an extension before that date, not after.
Ask the tax office of your municipality (Gemeindesteueramt) before 31 March, not the cantonal tax office. Some Zurich municipalities take the request online (postcode search on zh.ch), others in writing or by phone. A first request filed in time counts as tacitly granted; the extension runs to 30 November 2026 at the latest. Any fee is set by your municipality.
No. ZHprivateTax, the online tax return of the canton of Zurich, runs in German (checked on zhprivatetax.ch and zh.ch on 4 September 2026). The cantonal tax office publishes an English PDF, How to Fill in Your Tax Return, written for the paper form but following the same lines. Prepare your figures in English with Floxy, then type them into the German fields with the glossary on this page.
Only in two cases. If your gross income subject to withholding tax reached at least CHF 120'000 in a tax period, federal law requires a return for subsequent ordinary assessment (NOV), due in Zurich by 31 March. Below that, you may request the NOV yourself by 31 March of the following year to claim deductions; the Federal Tax Administration treats that date as not extendable. Married to a Swiss citizen or C permit holder, you are assessed ordinarily anyway.
The Zugangscode is the personal access code that opens your return in ZHprivateTax without an AGOV account. It is printed on the letter from your Zurich municipal tax office and at the top of page 1 of the main form. If you lost it, order a new one online or by phone; it is sent by post for data protection reasons. With AGOV you do not need the code and can delegate access to a representative.
For a single taxpayer, the canton of Zurich caps health insurance premiums at CHF 2'900, commuting at CHF 5'200, childcare by third parties at CHF 25'000 per child and continuing education at CHF 12'400 (2025 tax year, return filed in 2026). Pillar 3a follows the federal ceiling of CHF 7'258 with a pension fund. Medical costs, donations and professional expenses have their own rules in the cantonal instructions.
ZHprivateTax marks which receipts are mandatory: without them the Zurich return cannot be transmitted. Other receipts are optional and, according to the canton, worth attaching only for larger amounts. PDFs are dragged into the upload field; paper receipts are photographed with your phone directly from the browser. Keep every receipt until the assessment is final, because the cantonal tax office of Zurich may ask for it later.
No. In the canton of Zurich the return is filed on ZHprivateTax or on the paper form returned to your municipal tax office; Floxy has no access to your AGOV account and transmits nothing. Floxy takes the step before: it collects your receipts, sorts them by deduction, applies the Zurich ceilings for 2025 and exports a folder that you copy into ZHprivateTax yourself.
Written by the Floxy.ch team in Orsières. Figures checked against the official sources cited on this page. About
Scan the Lohnausweis, the 3a certificate and the daycare invoices today; on 31 March 2026 the Zurich figures are already there.
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