Fribourg: inheritances and gifts, tax rates and exemptions (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• The matter falls under cantonal and municipal jurisdiction.
• Tax rates depend on the degree of kinship.
• Exemptions are provided for spouses and descendants.
• AFC/ESTV does not manage inheritances and gifts.

Key facts

• Competence → cantonal and municipal
• Tax rates → degree of kinship
• Exemptions → spouse and descendants
• IFD → income
• AFC/ESTV → IFD and VAT

In the Canton of Fribourg, inheritance and gift tax must be examined starting from the degree of kinship, the applicable exemptions and the competent institutional level. The tax rate should therefore not be sought in a single federal table: the relevant reference is the applicable cantonal and municipal legislation.

The most important distinction concerns the federal level. In Switzerland, there is no federal inheritance and gift tax. This taxation falls under cantonal and municipal jurisdiction, while direct federal tax, i.e. IFD, applies to income. VAT also belongs to a different area.

The boundary with the federal level

In the ordinary tax system, there are three levels: federal, cantonal and municipal. However, this scheme should not be automatically applied to inheritances and gifts. Each Canton has its own law and its own multiplier; municipalities apply a multiplier to the cantonal tax. For the Canton of Fribourg, the correct interpretation therefore remains cantonal and municipal.

Administrative responsibility follows this separation. AFC/ESTV concerns IFD and VAT, not inheritance and gift tax. Cantonal administrations, on the other hand, manage cantonal and municipal taxation. UFAS/BSV and UST/BFS also have different functions: the former concerns social security, including AVS/AHV and LPP/BVG, while the latter produces statistics and does not set tax rates.

For anyone who needs to set up a dichiarazione delle imposte, the decisive step is therefore to separate income subject to IFD from the transfer subject to cantonal and municipal rules.

Operational details

How to read the rates without confusing the plans

The first practical consequence is that one should not look for a single national percentage for each inheritance or gift. In the Canton of Fribourg, the analysis proceeds by degree of kinship, with a separate check for exemptions applicable to the spouse and descendants. The family relationship is therefore the data point to establish before looking at the rate.

Three verification paths

If the beneficiary is the spouse, the verification starts from the exemption rather than the automatic application of a percentage. The same criterion applies to a descendant. When the family relationship falls under another degree, the central data point becomes the rate linked to that degree under Fribourg regulations. Without this classification, even a formally precise calculation risks using the wrong column.

The distinction between inheritance and gift must be made before filling in the form. Both are included in the tax scope of the Canton of Fribourg, but the taxpayer must identify which operation is being declared. In parallel, the municipal level must not be removed from the check: the Swiss tax structure provides for a municipal component linked to the cantonal one through a multiplier.

Another error consists of taking a rule from one Canton and using it in another. The source of the calculation must remain the Fribourg one, because each Canton has its own law and multiplier. Federal Direct Tax (FDT) and VAT cannot be used as substitutes for inheritance regulations: FDT concerns income, and VAT belongs to the scope of the FTA/ESTV.

This approach is also helpful when the same person manages other tax obligations. The tax return may concern income and FDT, but it does not turn an inheritance or a gift into a federal tax. The correct comparison always starts from the operation, kinship, exemption, and cantonal or municipal jurisdiction.

Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Key points

Operating Procedure in the Canton of Fribourg

To correctly set up the verification, it is advisable to follow a fixed sequence. The objective is to reach the declaration with the type of transaction, the degree of kinship, and the tax level already separated.

The five steps

1. Classify the transaction. Indicate whether it is an inheritance or a gift. Do not start with the percentage: the correct category is required first.

2. Define the degree of kinship. Record the relationship with the beneficiary. The tax rates are linked to this element and not to a single national rule.

3. Check for exemptions. First, verify if the beneficiary is a spouse or a descendant, as exemptions are provided for these categories. Only then should you evaluate the potentially applicable tax rate.

4. Identify the jurisdiction. Keep the calculation within the cantonal and municipal perimeter of the Canton of Fribourg. Do not assign the case to the FTA/ESTV: that authority deals with VAT and federal direct tax, while cantonal administrations handle cantonal and municipal taxation.

5. Complete the declaration and deadlines. Enter the transaction into the prescribed procedure and record the deadline to be met. The deadline must be verified in the applicable cantonal regulations, without replacing it with a date or rule from the federal direct tax.

An essential working sheet can contain five fields: type of transfer, degree of kinship, potential exemption, Fribourg tax rate, and cantonal or municipal component. This structure prevents mixing income subject to federal direct tax with inheritance or gifts. It also avoids using data from another Canton, as the law and multiplier are not automatically transferable.

When it is necessary to check the ordinary tax framework, the tax return remains the reference tool for the part related to income. To organize the comparison of total tax items, finally use the salary/tax calculator.