Unpaid taxes: avoiding enforcement, or getting out of it
Updated on 5 August 2026
In brief
A tax assessment that has become final serves as a title for definitive setting aside (Art. 80 SchKG): objecting to a tax enforcement therefore only halts the proceeding temporarily. Two levers do exist and are widely underused: the instalment plan, which cantonal administrations routinely grant when asked before enforcement begins; and remission of tax, reserved for hardship, which can extinguish all or part of the debt. Note: current taxes are not included in the minimum subsistence calculation, which makes the spiral particularly fast.
Taxes are, alongside health insurance premiums, the leading cause of enforcement proceedings in Switzerland. The mechanism is harsh because a final assessment is directly enforceable — but the tax administration is also one of the most negotiable creditors, provided you approach it at the right moment.
Why an objection does not protect you
Once your assessment has become final — because you did not challenge it within the objection period, or because the procedure has concluded — it constitutes a title for definitive setting aside under Art. 80 SchKG. In practice your objection to the payment order will be set aside by a simple decision, with no hearing on the merits. Challenging the amount happens at the assessment-objection stage, not at the enforcement stage. Once that deadline has passed, only the amount itself can still be arranged.
The instalment plan: ask before enforcement
Every cantonal administration provides for payment facilities: staged instalments, deferred due dates, sometimes a temporary suspension. It is a written request, briefly justified by your circumstances (job loss, illness, drop in income), proposing a realistic plan you can actually keep. Ask at the reminder stage, before enforcement is initiated: once the payment order is served, the register entry exists and will not erase itself, even if you later obtain an instalment plan. Default interest generally accrues on overdue amounts, at a rate set by the canton.
Remission of tax: the overlooked lever
Where payment would cause excessive hardship — lasting over-indebtedness, illness, destitution — you can apply for full or partial remission of the tax. For direct federal tax this possibility is provided for by statute; the cantons have equivalent arrangements for cantonal and communal tax. The application goes to the authority designated by your canton, with a documented file: budget, income, outgoings, debts, medical certificates where relevant. It is not an automatic right, but a remission that is granted genuinely extinguishes the debt, unlike a mere instalment plan.
The trap to know about: taxes and the subsistence minimum
This is the most common trap. Current taxes are not taken into account when calculating the minimum subsistence level in a wage garnishment. Someone already under garnishment is therefore structurally unable to pay the following year's taxes, which triggers a fresh proceeding and then a fresh garnishment. Escaping this spiral means dealing with the whole stock of debt — instalments, remission, or debt counselling — rather than one proceeding at a time.
Can I object to a tax enforcement?
You can, but the effect is limited: an assessment that has become final serves as a title for definitive setting aside (Art. 80 SchKG) and your objection will be set aside. The moment to challenge the amount is the objection against the assessment.
Will the administration accept staged payments?
Routinely, yes, if the request is justified and the plan realistic. Make it in writing and as early as possible — ideally at the reminder stage, before enforcement is initiated.
What is the difference between an instalment plan and remission?
An instalment plan spreads the debt over time without reducing it. Remission, reserved for hardship, extinguishes all or part of the tax. The two can be combined.