Moving from Zurich 2026: where a high earner keeps most

Moving from Zurich, for a high earner.

Ranked on what $1,000,000 of income keeps over 10 years, with what Zurich charges on the way out.

In short, current to October 2026

On the Patrician.ch board, the address that leaves a $1,000,000 earner leaving Zurich with the most after 10 years is Dubai, UAE, at $10M kept against an effective 0%. Staying in Zurich keeps $6.4M over the same 10 years, a difference of $3.6M.
Within 5 hours of Zurich, the address that keeps the most is Monaco, at $10M over 10 years.
On the way out of Zurich: No exit tax. Private capital gains on shares and other movable assets are tax free in Switzerland, so their sale after departure is not taxed by the canton you leave. Swiss property stays subject to the cantonal real estate gains tax when sold. Cantonal tax runs to the day of departure.
There is no deemed disposition on departure from Zurich.
Figures are current to October 2026 and modeled on indicative 2026 headline brackets for a single filer. Confirm with counsel before relying on any of them.

Each address on this page was last checked against its official sources between 14 October 2026 and 30 October 2026. The sources for each are named on its page.

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 47 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to October 2026. Updated 5 November 2026. Cite as: Patrician.ch, Moving from Zurich 2026: where a high earner keeps most, patrician.ch/answers/moving-from-zurich/, October 2026.

Ranked

Leaving Zurich: where $1,000,000 goes furthest.

Ordered by what a single filer keeps over 10 years after income tax, on Patrician.ch's 2026 model, with the flight time from Zurich. The engine reorders this on your own income, liquidity event, passports and household.

Dubai 🇦🇪 UAE0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 6h 35m nonstop from Zurich

$10M

Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 UAE0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 6h 25m nonstop from Zurich

$10M

Punta del Este 🇺🇾 Uruguay0% effective on $1M, foreign gains untaxed 11 years by qualifying election, 16h with 1 stop from Zurich, special regime for arrivals

$10M

Anguilla 🇦🇮 Anguilla0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 14h 40m with 1 stop from Zurich

$10M

Monaco 🇲🇨 Monaco0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 1h 10m nonstop from Zurich

$10M

Christophe Harbour 🇰🇳 St Kitts and Nevis0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 14h 55m with 1 stop from Zurich

$10M

George Town 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 13h 15m with 1 stop from Zurich

$10M

St John's 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 12h 05m with 1 stop from Zurich

$10M

Providenciales 🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 13h 50m with 1 stop from Zurich

$10M

Nassau 🇧🇸 Bahamas0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 12h 50m with 1 stop from Zurich

$10M

Within 5 hours of Zurich.

The same ranking, kept to addresses a direct flight of 5 hours or less from Zurich.

Monaco 🇲🇨 Monaco0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 1h 10m nonstop from Zurich

$10M

Gibraltar 🇬🇮 Gibraltar6% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 2h 45m nonstop from Zurich, special regime for arrivals

$9.4M

Andorra la Vella 🇦🇩 Andorra10% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 1h 45m nonstop from Zurich

$9.0M

Tivat 🇲🇪 Montenegro17% effective on $1M, 17% on gains, 1h 45m nonstop from Zurich

$8.3M

Vaduz 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein18% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, no flight needed from Zurich

$8.2M

Model note. Income tax on the published 2026 rules. Social contributions, most deductions and treaties are not modeled. Where a place is modeled on a regime for new arrivals, its city page says so. Flight times are scheduled gate to gate times on the fastest routing, from airline schedules read October 17, 2026. The exit charge from Zurich is modeled separately and is not netted into the figures above.

See these 2 places for your own income.Dubai and Abu Dhabi, side by side on your income, passports and family. Free, in the ranking of all 100. Then the Dossier: a written report in 10 chapters on the 3 places that rank first for you. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 30 November.

Compare them on my income →

Questions

The short answers.

Where should a high earner move from Zurich?

On $1,000,000 of income, Dubai keeps the most over 10 years, $10M, followed by Abu Dhabi and Punta del Este.

Within 5 hours of Zurich, Monaco keeps the most. The ranking changes with the passports held, the household and a liquidity event, all of which the engine takes as inputs.

Does Zurich charge an exit tax?

No exit tax.

Private capital gains on shares and other movable assets are tax free in Switzerland, so their sale after departure is not taxed by the canton you leave. Swiss property stays subject to the cantonal real estate gains tax when sold. Cantonal tax runs to the day of departure.

Can the exit tax on leaving Zurich be deferred?

There is no deemed disposition on departure from Zurich, so there is nothing to defer.

Residence is broken under the local test, and the date it breaks is the fact counsel will want evidenced.

Which addresses on the board levy no capital gains tax?

39 of the 100 addresses on the board levy no personal capital gains tax on listed securities, among them Abu Dhabi, Andorra la Vella, Anguilla, Athens, Bora Bora, Christophe Harbour.

The Dossier: your top 3, on your numbers.A written report on the 3 places that rank first for you, compared line by line on your income, a sale, your passports and your family. 10 chapters, written the moment you pay. Every tax figure carries its official source and the date it was last checked. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 30 November. Refunded in full within 7 days of delivery, no reason needed.

Read chapters 1 to 3, free →

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The income tax of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Punta del Este, Anguilla, Monaco and Christophe Harbour, side by side on 2026 rates. Your readers type their own salary and the places reorder. Free on any site, with the credit line under it.

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Moving from Zurich, for a high earner.

Leaving Zurich: where $1,000,000 goes furthest.

Within 5 hours of Zurich.

The short answers.

Where should a high earner move from Zurich?

Does Zurich charge an exit tax?

Can the exit tax on leaving Zurich be deferred?

Which addresses on the board levy no capital gains tax?

Put these figures on your site.

This page is the general case. Your income and passports rank all 100 differently.

This research on your firm's site, as Patrician AI under your name.