Are Continuing Education Costs Tax Deductible in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, ongoing professional development is an important part of almost every career journey, but further education and training often means taking on substantial personal costs.  Fortunately, Swiss tax law provides significant deductions for many types of job-related education and training expenses.

In this article, we outline the legal basis for these deductions, explain who can claim them, which expenses qualify, and how the rules differ between federal and cantonal tax authorities. We’ll also clarify some commonly misunderstood details and show you how to make the most of the available tax relief.

Legal basis and deduction limits

Under Art. 33 para. 1 lit. j of the Federal Law on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG), individuals can deduct up to CHF 13,000 (as of the 2025 tax year onwards) per year from their taxable income for vocational training, continuing education, and retraining expenses, provided they are aimed at a current or future career. This federal limit applies nationwide and is subject to certain qualifying conditions.

However, each canton also sets its own rules for cantonal and municipal tax purposes. While some cantons match the federal cap, others are more, or less, generous. For example, Basel-Stadt allows up to CHF 19,100, whereas Zurich has a limit of CHF 12,400. These cantonal variations mean your total deductible amount may be higher or lower depending on where you live.

Who can claim the deduction?

Employees

Employees are eligible to deduct job-related training and education costs if they have:

• Completed their first upper secondary education (secondary level II), or
• Reached the age of 20, even if they haven’t completed secondary level II.

To further clarify what this means: If you’re under 20, you must have completed your first upper secondary qualification before you’re eligible to deduct any further training or education expenses from your tax return. If you’re over 20, you can deduct other career-related training, even if you never completed an upper secondary education — but you still can’t deduct the costs of pursuing your first upper secondary qualification itself. This means that the costs of your first upper secondary qualification are never deductible, no matter your age.

Important note: The deduction applies only to costs paid directly by the employee. If the employer covers the cost, it is not considered taxable income and the employee cannot deduct it. If costs are shared, only the employee’s share is deductible.

Employers

Employers can deduct training and continuing education costs as personnel expenses if they are business-justified. These employer-paid costs are not taxable income for the employee and do not count as benefits in kind.

Self-Employed

Self-employed individuals may deduct education and training costs as business expenses if the training is directly related to their current activity. These are considered justified business expenses, with no fixed upper limit.

However, if the training is unrelated to their current self-employed activity (i.e., education geared towards a change of profession), it can only qualify for a tax deduction up to the maximum of CHF 13,000 provided the other criteria are met.

For example, a freelance graphic designer attending an advanced Adobe course can fully deduct the costs. However, if the same designer enrolls in a yoga teacher training program with no link to their current profession, those costs cannot be claimed as business expenses. In such cases, the fallback is to use the personal deduction under Art. 33 DBG, capped at CHF 13,000.

What education and training qualify for tax deduction?

For the education or training expense to be tax deductible, it must be vocationally motivated. This means it must be aimed at supporting your current or future ability to earn a living through employment or self-employment.

Qualifying education and training include:

• A repeated or second completion of upper secondary education (not your first qualification), such as the Matura (academic high school diploma), Fachmaturität (specialized baccalaureate), Federal VET Diploma (EFZ), Federal Vocational Certificate (EBA), or Fachmittelschulausweis (certificate from a specialized middle school)
• Courses at universities, universities of applied sciences, and teacher training colleges
• Professional certificate programs
• Job-related language courses or technical skills workshops
• Retraining programs aimed at a new career path

Non-qualifying education includes:

• First-time upper secondary school qualifications
• Hobby or leisure courses (e.g., dance, photography, art courses which are unrelated to your current or future career)
• Language courses unrelated to work
• Any course where the connection to current or future employment is not clearly established

Which expenses can be deducted?

If the education or training qualifies, you can deduct a range of related expenses from your taxes, including:

• Course, semester, and examination fees
• Books, handouts, and other learning materials
• Technical equipment required for training, and its maintenance
• Travel, accommodation, and meals related to in-person training programs

Important: the expenses must be paid personally by the taxpayer; what counts is the payment date (cash basis). Only the amount actually disbursed in the relevant tax year is deductible.

How does the tax deduction differ across cantons?

While the federal tax deduction for continued training and education costs is capped at CHF 13,000, individual cantonal limits vary. For example:

• Ticino: CHF 10,500 (lowest limit)
• Zurich: CHF 12,400
• Basel-Stadt: CHF 18,900 (highest limit)
• Most other cantons: CHF 12,000 – 13,000

What does this mean in practice?

In Switzerland, individuals submit a single tax return that covers both federal and cantonal taxes; however, the deductions are applied separately by each level of government according to their own rules.

For example: 

Let’s say you live in Zurich and incurred CHF 14,000 in eligible continuing education costs:

• For your federal tax, you may deduct up to CHF 13,000 from your taxable income.
• For your cantonal tax in Zurich, you may deduct only CHF 12,400 from your taxable income.

In your tax return, you would report the full CHF 14,000 in costs, but your taxable income would only be reduced by CHF 13,000 at the federal level and by CHF 12,400 at the cantonal level. The remaining CHF 1,000–1,600 would not be tax deductible.

In other words, the deduction is reflected differently in the federal and cantonal tax calculations. This can result in varying tax savings depending on your canton of residence.

To make the most of your deductions, especially if you’re approaching the cap or live in a canton with a generous limit, it’s worth consulting an experienced fiduciary or tax advisor like Nexova who understands the local regulations and can help you optimize your tax savings.

Key tips to take home

Switzerland’s generous tax relief for continued vocational education and training provides an ideal opportunity to enhance your career skills while reducing your tax burden.

To best capitalize on the available deductions, follow these simple tips:

• Make sure your training course or education program is clearly connected to your current or future job. If it’s not career-oriented, it generally won’t qualify for tax deduction.
• Keep every receipt, invoice, and confirmation, including those for travel and study materials. There are a range of related costs that may be eligible for deduction.
• Know your deduction limits. The federal cap is CHF 13,000, but your canton may allow more (or less).
• Consider the timing of your expenses. If your costs are close to the limit, spreading them across two tax years could let you claim the full amount.