Advance on inheritance in Switzerland 2026: template, collation calculator & new succession law
An advance on inheritance to your own children stays tax-free in 23 of 26 cantons, but the costliest trap in Swiss inheritance law isn't tax, it's collation (Art. 626 CC): whoever fails to settle it actively sows discord among the siblings at death. We show when an advance must be brought into account, how the compulsory portion works since 2023, and generate the legally sound contract in 30 seconds.
🗺️ Inheritance tax for direct descendants, by canton
Source: Inheritance tax, direct descendants, cantons, as of 2025. Source: FTA · ConvivaPlus analysis. AI/NE tax descendants, VD above an allowance; others exempt.
📋 What an advance on inheritance really is (and how it differs from a gift)
A house you give your daughter today as an advance counts in the division with its value on the date of death, not with today’s price (CC Art. 630(1)). An advance on inheritance is an advance on the future estate. You transfer money, a property or valuables to a legal heir during your lifetime, free of charge and set off against their future share. Legally it is a special form of gift to a person who would inherit anyway, so typically your own children.
The subtle but costly difference from an ordinary gift lies in collation. An advance to descendants is subject to collation by law (CC Art. 626 para. 2). A plain gift to an outside person is, in principle, not. Both can, however, be reduced later if the compulsory portion of the other heirs is infringed. If you also want to secure the advance in your will, the two valid forms are in the will template.
⚖️ Collation: the point where families break apart
Imagine one child gets 100,000 francs as an advance, the other nothing. When the parent dies, the empty-handed child feels short-changed. That is exactly what collation is for. Under CC Art. 626, the advance is added back into the estate at death and then shared out evenly. The favoured child must set the advance off against its share. Decisive is the value at the time of death (CC Art. 630), not the amount back then. For a property that has gained value, today's market value counts.
🧮 ConvivaPlus collation calculator: who gets how much in the end?
Enter the estate, the advance and the number of descendants, we work out the division estate and the shares
Simplified ConvivaPlus model for equal descendants, without a spouse's share and without exemption from collation. The value at death counts (CC Art. 630). Without warranty.
🛡️ Compulsory portion: what the 2023 reform changed
If you only have children and no spouse, since 2023 you can freely dispose of half of your estate, before only a quarter. Since 1 January 2023 a more modern inheritance law applies, and that gives you more room for an advance. The descendants' compulsory portion fell from three quarters to one half of the statutory share. The parents' compulsory portion was abolished entirely. You can therefore now dispose of a larger freely available share and favour a child or another person more strongly, without immediately infringing a compulsory portion.
| Wer | Bisher | Seit 1.1.2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Descendants | ¾ of the share | ½ of the share |
| Spouse / registered partner | ½ of the share | ½ (unchanged) |
| Parents | ½ of the share | no portion anymore |
| Freely available quota | smaller | at least one half |
💰 What an advance costs in tax (and why the canton decides)
Good news first: the federal government levies no gift tax, only the cantons are competent. And here is the number almost nobody knows: according to the ConvivaPlus analysis of FTA data (as of 1.1.2025), an advance on inheritance to your own children is completely tax-free in 23 of 26 cantons. Only Appenzell Innerrhoden, Neuchâtel and Vaud tax direct descendants at all, and even then at low rates (around 1 to 3.5%) or with a high allowance. Anyone living in Obwalden or Schwyz pays no inheritance tax at all, for anyone. Two pitfalls remain: an additional communal inheritance tax exists only in Fribourg, Graubünden and Vaud. And for tax purposes the advance is a gift: being generous shortly before death does not escape the taxman, because several cantons count gifts from the last five years back into the estate. Just how widely the cantons differ on tax is shown in our 26-canton tax comparison.
The ConvivaPlus equalisation calculator shows you what will later be credited for an advance on inheritance (Art. 626/630 CC), and our analysis of the FTA inheritance-tax data shows, per canton, what remains tax-free, according to ConvivaPlus.
Anyone planning an advance on inheritance also looks at AHV and retirement provision, checks the capital-withdrawal tax on pension assets, and clarifies how life insurance is treated in the estate.
🏛️ Property deed: in 11 cantons only a notary
If you give real estate as an advance on inheritance, the contract needs a public deed (Art. 243(2) of the Code of Obligations, Art. 657(1) of the Civil Code). “At the notary” is not true everywhere, though. In 11 cantons only a notary in private practice executes it, in 4 (Obwalden, Nidwalden, Zug and Basel-Landschaft) a municipal office can too, in Schaffhausen the land registry, and in Schwyz only the state notary of the district where the property lies. Choose the canton of the property in the Notary Compass: that is where it is entered in the land register.
Choose the canton where the property lies — that is where it is entered in the land register.
📝 Setting up an advance on inheritance correctly in 5 steps
Five steps, and the advance stands on solid legal ground, with no later dispute and no nasty tax surprise.
- 1Check assets and compulsory portionsGet an overview of your assets and work out the heirs' compulsory portions. You'll then know how much you can give away freely without infringing anyone.
- 2Decide on collation deliberatelyDetermine whether the advance will be brought into account later (equal treatment) or whether you deliberately favour the child. A favour belongs expressly in the contract.
- 3Draw up the contractPut the parties, the amount or object, the date and the collation clause in writing. The generator below creates the draft in 30 seconds.
- 4Observe the formFor cash a written agreement is enough. For a property, a public deed and an entry in the land register are mandatory. Who executes it depends on the canton: not a notary everywhere.
- 5Clarify tax and social benefitsAsk your cantonal tax administration. Also think about supplementary benefits: whoever gives away assets has them counted as a deprivation in a later benefit calculation.
Note: journalistic guidance based on the CC, not legal or tax advice. Your canton, your specific family situation and, in case of doubt, a notary or specialist lawyer prevail. Rates and allowances vary strongly by canton.
✉️ Advance-on-inheritance contract generator
Fill in, get the ready agreement. Copy or as PDF. Free.
Collation
Agreement on an advance on inheritance
Donor (name, address): …
Recipient (name): …
Amount or object: …
The following agreement is concluded between the parties:
The donor pays the recipient the advance on inheritance stated above. The advance is made set off against the recipient's future inheritance share and is to be brought into collation under CC Art. 626. For collation, the value at the time the succession opens is decisive (CC Art. 630).
Both parties confirm by their signature that they have read and understood this agreement. For property a notarial deed is required.
Place, 30/09/2026
Place, date and signatures of both parties
Template without warranty, for guidance. For property and larger assets, be sure to involve a notary or specialist lawyer.
The costliest sentence in inheritance law is the one nobody wrote down. Whoever fails to settle collation leaves the decision to the feud among the survivors.
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Open the template as PDFWhat you really need to know before an advance on inheritance
Based on the CC and the official tax information from the FTA
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
Very variable, as gift tax is cantonal. Direct descendants are often exempt. The canton comparison shows the spread.
26 cantons compared →A public deed is only mandatory for real estate (Art. 243(2) of the Code of Obligations). Who executes it depends on the canton, and it is not a notary everywhere.
Property deed →Written entirely by hand, dated and signed, or executed as a public deed (Art. 498 of the Civil Code). The template shows what belongs in it.
Will template →We reviewed the revised CC, the practice on collation and the cantonal tax rules. The ConvivaPlus verdict: the biggest mistake is not the advance itself, but the silence about it. Whoever does not state whether the advance will be brought into account or not produces exactly the feud at death they wanted to avoid. Write collation in one sentence, check the compulsory portions, and clarify the tax with your canton before signing. For property, there is no way around the notary.
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An advance to a child is added back into the estate at death and set off against its share (CC Art. 626). To truly favour a child, you must waive collation with one sentence in the contract.
Discussion
9 voices from the community
Chez nous dans le Jura, seul le notaire peut instrumenter l’acte pour la maison, la commune ne s’en occupe pas. Bon à savoir avant de prendre rendez-vous.
Interessante che il segretario comunale possa rogare solo compravendite fino a 2’000 franchi. Per l’anticipo ereditario della casa dei miei genitori ci vuole comunque il notaio.
Bei uns im Waadtland zahlt man eben doch, plus die kommunale Steuer. Einer der wenigen Artikel, der das ehrlich sagt statt pauschal «alles steuerfrei». Danke dafür.
Das mit Obwalden und Schwyz wussten bei uns im Geschäft nicht mal d Treuhänder. Gar kei Erbschaftssteuer, das isch scho es Argument fürs Wohne i de Innerschwiz. 😄
Wichtiger Hinweis mit den Kantonen. Bei uns in der Romandie ist das nämlich nicht überall steuerfrei, anders als die meisten denken. Vorher beim Kanton nachfragen lohnt sich wirklich.
Han nöd gwüsst, dass de Wert vom Todestag zellt und nöd vo demals. Bim Grundstück macht das en Riise-Unterschied. Merci für d Erklärig, ändlich verständlich.
Richtig: ausgeglichen wird nach dem Wert der Zuwendung zur Zeit des Erbgangs (ZGB Art. 630 Abs. 1). Ein Haus, das in zwanzig Jahren an Wert gewinnt, kann die Rechnung unter Geschwistern darum stark verschieben.
Genau diese Klausel hat bei uns gefehlt. Mein Bruder hatte vor Jahren einen Vorbezug fürs Haus, und plötzlich stritten wir am Küchentisch. Hätten wir das damals so aufgeschrieben, wäre vieles ruhiger gewesen.
Genau dafür steht im Generator der Satz zur Ausgleichung: ob der Vorbezug beim Erbgang angerechnet wird oder nicht (ZGB Art. 626). Beim Haus kommt die öffentliche Beurkundung dazu, und wer sie in eurem Kanton vornimmt, zeigt der Abschnitt «Grundstück beurkunden».
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Templates · 09/30/2026