Church tax and religious communities in Vaud
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In many Swiss cantons, members of a recognised church pay a church tax on top of income tax. Vaud is different. This page explains how Vaud funds its recognised churches, which communities have official status, what the religion question at the commune means, and what changes if you move to another canton.
Key facts
- No church tax in Vaud: Vaud does not levy a church tax (impôt ecclésiastique). Declaring "no religion" has no tax effect (État de Vaud, Direction des affaires religieuses).
- Funded from the general budget: worship costs are borne by the State and the communes and covered by general cantonal and communal taxes (Federal Tax Administration, church tax overview).
- Two churches under public law: the Evangelical Reformed Church of Vaud (EERV) and the Roman Catholic Church through the FEDEC-VD (Églises reconnues de droit public), recognised by the 2003 Vaud Constitution (État de Vaud).
- Communities of public interest (institutions d'intérêt public): the Jewish Community of Lausanne and Canton Vaud (CILV) (État de Vaud) and, under a law of 17 March 2026, the Federation of Anglican and Christian Catholic Churches in Vaud (FACCV) (LRFEACV, BLV 180.12).
- Subsidy: the 2025 to 2029 agreements with the EERV, FEDEC-VD and CILV total CHF 63,565,853 for 2025 (État de Vaud press release).
1. How Vaud funds the recognised churches
- The Vaud Constitution (art. 170 para. 1) recognises the Evangelical Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church, "as they are established in the canton", as public-law institutions with legal personality. Para. 2 says the State provides the recognised churches "the means needed for their mission in the service of all in the canton" (État de Vaud).
- The money is a subsidy set in a five-year agreement (convention de subventionnement) between the canton and each church. Each year the churches report on how they used it (État de Vaud).
- The current agreements run from 2025 to 2029; the amount for 2025 is CHF 63,565,853 across the three institutions (État de Vaud press release).
- Because the canton and communes pay worship costs from general taxes, the churches in Vaud have no power to tax anyone (Federal Tax Administration).
2. Recognised communities
| Status | Who | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Church under public law (Église de droit public) | EERV (Reformed), FEDEC-VD (Roman Catholic) | Vaud Constitution art. 170, LREEDP (BLV 180.05) |
| Institution of public interest (institution d'intérêt public) | CILV (Jewish community) | Vaud Constitution art. 171, LCILV (BLV 180.41) |
| Institution of public interest | FACCV: Christ Church Lausanne, All Saints Vevey, St Peter Château-d'Oex, St John Montreux and Villars-sur-Ollon, Anglican Church of La Côte, Christian Catholic parish of Lausanne | Vaud Constitution art. 171, LRFEACV (BLV 180.12), LRCR (BLV 180.51) |
| Possible future recognition | Other communities based in Vaud that meet the legal criteria | LRCR (BLV 180.51) |
- The EERV has 88 parishes in 11 regions; the FEDEC-VD groups 54 parishes (État de Vaud).
- The CILV is not a church but a religious community; its status does not bring the same services or obligations as the two churches (État de Vaud, commune guide).
- Other religious communities can apply for recognition of public interest (reconnaissance d'intérêt public); the Direction des affaires religieuses runs the procedure (État de Vaud).
- Unrecognised communities can still organise freely as private associations (État de Vaud, commune guide).
3. The religion question when you register
- Anyone living in Vaud may declare a religious affiliation at the residents' office (contrôle des habitants) of their commune. The options listed by the canton are EERV, Roman Catholic (FEDEC-VD), CILV, or "other religion or no religion" (autre religion ou sans religion) (État de Vaud). Whether commune forms already offer the newly recognised FACCV: To verify with your commune.
- The declaration is free and optional. No one can be forced to declare a religion (État de Vaud).
- Your affiliation is passed to the parishes only with your consent (État de Vaud, commune guide; LREEDP).
- Update the declaration each time you move to a new commune (État de Vaud). See Address change within Vaud.
4. Leaving a church
- In Vaud, membership has no tax effect, so leaving a church does not change your tax bill (État de Vaud).
- To stop being listed as a member at the commune, update your declaration at the residents' office to "other religion or no religion". To verify: whether the commune form alone ends membership, or whether the church also needs a written notice from you.
- Federal law protects your choice: under art. 15 of the Federal Constitution no one can be forced to pay taxes for the worship costs of a community they do not belong to (Federal Tax Administration).
5. What it means for newcomers
- Living in Vaud: your tax return has no church-tax line, whatever you declare. See Student tax and Tax at source in Vaud.
- Payslips: Vaud levies no church tax at all, on individuals or companies; worship costs come from general taxes paid by all taxpayers, so tax at source in Vaud has no church-tax share (Federal Tax Administration, church tax).
- Moving to another canton: most cantons do levy a church tax on members of recognised churches; Neuchâtel makes it optional, and Valais and Ticino levy it only in some communes (Federal Tax Administration, state of law 1 Jan 2022). Check your new canton before you register your religion there.
- Leaving Switzerland: see Leaving Switzerland and deregistering.