Capital

Sarnen

Population

38’700

2022

Minimum Expenditure Base

CHF 435’000

Direct federal tax (IFD), 2026

CHF 400’000

Cantonal and communal tax (ICC), 2026

The cantonal amount above is the figure written into the tax law of this canton, which publishes no indexed amount of its own. Unlike the federal figure, which is re-indexed every year, it has not moved. Confirm the amount in force with the cantonal tax administration before relying on it.

Source

Airport Access

ZRH: 1h

Residence permit — third-country nationals

CHF 600’000

This is an immigration figure, not a tax threshold. A citizen of an EU or EFTA state may reside in Switzerland without gainful activity under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. Everyone else needs a permit granted on public-interest grounds under AIG art. 30 al. 1 lit. b, which is quota-limited and discretionary; the amount above reflects what this canton has been reported to expect before supporting such an application. It is administrative practice, it is largely unpublished, it binds nobody, and meeting it is not an assurance that a permit will be granted.

Scope of this information

This page provides general information about Swiss expenditure-based taxation. It is not tax, legal or immigration advice, it does not take account of your circumstances, and it must not be relied on as the basis for a decision to move, invest or restructure.

The expenditure base is set by law and by the assessing cantonal authority. It is not negotiated, and no figure shown here is a commitment by any authority or an assurance of the treatment you would receive. Your position in your current country of residence — exit taxation, continuing residence ties, controlled-foreign-company rules, and access to double-taxation treaty relief, which several treaty partners restrict for expenditure-taxed residents — is not addressed here and needs separate advice in that country.

Minimum expenditure base for direct federal tax, 2026 tax year: CHF 435’000. Set by DBG/LIFD art. 14 al. 3 lit. a and indexed annually under al. 6, so it changes. A taxpayer keeping their own household is assessed on at least seven times the rent or rental value (lit. b); one who is not, on at least three times the annual price of board and lodging (lit. c). Each canton sets its own minimum for cantonal and communal tax and indexes it separately; that figure may be higher or lower than the federal one, and both apply. Federal Department of Finance · last checked 2026-08-22

No figure on this site is the expenditure base of a tax ruling. The amounts published here are the statutory and cantonal minimums, which is where a computation starts and not where it ends. The base an individual is actually assessed on is fixed for that person alone, on their own rent, household and control calculation, and it is binding only once the competent cantonal authority has issued it in writing. Agree it with the authority in writing before you rely on it.

The figures on this site have not yet been reviewed by a qualified Swiss tax professional for the current tax year. Treat them as indicative and confirm each one against the cantonal source before acting on it.

Notable Residence Hubs

Sarnen
Engelberg
Kerns
Giswil

Competent Tax Authority

Kantonale Steuerverwaltung Obwalden

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Neighbouring Cantons

BE Bern Bern LU Lucerne Lucerne NW Nidwalden Stans UR Uri Altdorf

Expert Relocation Advisory

Expenditure-based relocation turns on a computation that has to hold before the cantonal tax authority and the migration office alike. We prepare it, present it, and treat every mandate discreetly.

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Obwalden OW • Sarnen

Notable Residence Hubs

Kantonale Steuerverwaltung Obwalden

Neighbouring Cantons

Expert Relocation Advisory

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Obwalden
OW • Sarnen