diff --git a/khard/actions.py b/khard/actions.py
index af2e119..cd4b9ce 100644
--- a/khard/actions.py
+++ b/khard/actions.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 """Names and aliases for the subcommands on the command line"""
 
-from typing import Dict, Generator, Iterable, List, Optional
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Generator, Iterable
 
 
 class Actions:
@@ -8,7 +10,7 @@ class Actions:
     """A class to manage the names and aliases of the command line
     subcommands."""
 
-    action_map: Dict[str, List[str]] = {
+    action_map: dict[str, list[str]] = {
         "add-email":    [],
         "addressbooks": ["abooks"],
         "birthdays":    ["bdays"],
@@ -28,7 +30,7 @@ class Actions:
     }
 
     @classmethod
-    def get_action(cls, alias: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    def get_action(cls, alias: str) -> None | str:
         """Find the name of the action for the supplied alias.  If no action is
         associated with the given alias, None is returned.
 
@@ -42,7 +44,7 @@ def get_action(cls, alias: str) -> Optional[str]:
         return None
 
     @classmethod
-    def get_aliases(cls, action: str) -> List[str]:
+    def get_aliases(cls, action: str) -> list[str]:
         """Find all aliases for the given action.  If there is no such action,
         None is returned.
 
diff --git a/khard/address_book.py b/khard/address_book.py
index f015f15..bb84c16 100644
--- a/khard/address_book.py
+++ b/khard/address_book.py
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 """A simple class to load and manage the vcard files from disk."""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import abc
 import binascii
 from collections.abc import Mapping, Sequence
 import glob
 import logging
 import os
-from typing import Dict, Generator, Iterator, List, Optional, Union, overload
+from typing import Generator, Iterator, overload
 
 import vobject.base
 
@@ -42,9 +44,8 @@ class AddressBook(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
     def __init__(self, name: str) -> None:
         """:param name: the name to identify the address book"""
         self._loaded = False
-        self.contacts: Dict[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"] = {}
-        self._short_uids: Optional[Dict[str,
-                                        "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]] = None
+        self.contacts: dict[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"] = {}
+        self._short_uids: None | dict[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"] = None
         self.name = name
 
     def __str__(self) -> str:
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ def search(self, query: Query) -> Generator["carddav_object.CarddavObject",
             if query.match(contact):
                 yield contact
 
-    def get_short_uid_dict(self, query: Query = AnyQuery()) -> Dict[
+    def get_short_uid_dict(self, query: Query = AnyQuery()) -> dict[
             str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]:
         """Create a dictionary of shortened UIDs for all contacts.
 
@@ -154,7 +155,7 @@ class VdirAddressBook(AddressBook):
     """
 
     def __init__(self, name: str, path: str,
-                 private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None,
+                 private_objects: None | list[str] = None,
                  localize_dates: bool = True, skip: bool = False) -> None:
         """
         :param name: the name to identify the address book
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@ class AddressBookCollection(AddressBook, Mapping, Sequence):
     this class to use all other methods from the parent AddressBook class.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, name: str, abooks: List[VdirAddressBook]) -> None:
+    def __init__(self, name: str, abooks: list[VdirAddressBook]) -> None:
         """
         :param name: the name to identify the address book
         :param abooks: a list of address books to combine in this collection
@@ -270,11 +271,11 @@ def load(self, query: Query = AnyQuery()) -> None:
                      len(self.contacts), self.name)
 
     @overload
-    def __getitem__(self, key: Union[int, str]) -> VdirAddressBook: ...
+    def __getitem__(self, key: int | str) -> VdirAddressBook: ...
     @overload
-    def __getitem__(self, key: slice) -> List[VdirAddressBook]: ...
-    def __getitem__(self, key: Union[int, str, slice]
-                    ) -> Union[VdirAddressBook, List[VdirAddressBook]]:
+    def __getitem__(self, key: slice) -> list[VdirAddressBook]: ...
+    def __getitem__(self, key: int | str | slice
+                    ) -> VdirAddressBook | list[VdirAddressBook]:
         """Get one or more of the backing address books by name or index
 
         :param key: the name of the address book to get or its index
diff --git a/khard/carddav_object.py b/khard/carddav_object.py
index 77f9ddb..0780bc1 100644
--- a/khard/carddav_object.py
+++ b/khard/carddav_object.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 - version 4.0: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6350
 """
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import copy
 import datetime
 import io
@@ -15,8 +17,7 @@
 import re
 import sys
 import time
-from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Literal, Optional, Tuple, \
-    TypeVar, Union, Sequence, overload
+from typing import Any, Callable, Literal, TypeVar, Sequence, overload
 
 from atomicwrites import atomic_write
 from ruamel import yaml
@@ -36,13 +37,12 @@
 
 
 @overload
-def multi_property_key(item: str) -> Tuple[Literal[0], str]: ...
+def multi_property_key(item: str) -> tuple[Literal[0], str]: ...
 @overload
-def multi_property_key(item: Dict[T, Any]) -> Tuple[Literal[1], T]: ...
+def multi_property_key(item: dict[T, Any]) -> tuple[Literal[1], T]: ...
 @overload
-def multi_property_key(item: Union[str, Dict[T, Any]]) -> Tuple[Union[Literal[0], Literal[1]], Union[str, T]]: ...
-def multi_property_key(item: Union[str, Dict[T, Any]]
-                       ) -> Tuple[int, Union[T, str]]:
+def multi_property_key(item: str | dict[T, Any]) -> tuple[Literal[0] | Literal[1], str | T]: ...
+def multi_property_key(item: str | dict[T, Any]) -> tuple[int, T | str]:
     """Key function to pass to sorted(), allowing sorting of dicts with lists
     and strings. Dicts will be sorted by their label, after other types.
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class VCardWrapper:
     address_types_v4 = ("home", "work")
 
     def __init__(self, vcard: vobject.base.Component,
-                 version: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+                 version: str | None = None) -> None:
         """Initialize the wrapper around the given vcard.
 
         :param vcard: the vCard to wrap
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ def get_first(self, property: str, default: str = "") -> str:
         except AttributeError:
             return default
 
-    def _get_multi_property(self, name: str) -> List:
+    def _get_multi_property(self, name: str) -> list:
         """Get a vCard property that can exist more than once.
 
         It does not matter what the individual vcard properties store as their
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ def _delete_vcard_object(self, name: str) -> None:
 
     @staticmethod
     def _parse_type_value(types: Sequence[str], supported_types: Sequence[str]
-                          ) -> Tuple[List[str], List[str], int]:
+                          ) -> tuple[list[str], list[str], int]:
         """Parse type value of phone numbers, email and post addresses.
 
         :param types: list of type values
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ def _parse_type_value(types: Sequence[str], supported_types: Sequence[str]
         return (standard_types, custom_types, pref)
 
     def _get_types_for_vcard_object(self, object: vobject.base.ContentLine,
-                                    default_type: str) -> List[str]:
+                                    default_type: str) -> list[str]:
         """get list of types for phone number, email or post address
 
         :param object: vcard class object
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ def _update_revision(self) -> None:
         rev.value = datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ")
 
     @property
-    def birthday(self) -> Optional[Date]:
+    def birthday(self) -> Date | None:
         """Return the birthday as a datetime object or a string depending on
         whether it is of type text or not.  If no birthday is present in the
         vcard None is returned.
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ def birthday(self, date: Date) -> None:
             bday.params['VALUE'] = ['text']
 
     @property
-    def anniversary(self) -> Optional[Date]:
+    def anniversary(self) -> Date | None:
         """
         :returns: contacts anniversary or None if not available
         """
@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ def _get_new_group(self, group_type: str = "") -> str:
                 return group_name
 
     def _add_labelled_property(
-            self, property: str, value: StrList, label: Optional[str] = None,
+            self, property: str, value: StrList, label: str | None = None,
             name_groups: bool = False,
             allowed_object_type: ObjectType = ObjectType.str) -> None:
         """Add an object to the VCARD. If a label is given it will be added to
@@ -424,8 +424,7 @@ def _add_labelled_property(
             ablabel_obj.group = group_name
             ablabel_obj.value = label
 
-    def _prepare_birthday_value(self, date: Date) -> Tuple[Optional[str],
-                                                           bool]:
+    def _prepare_birthday_value(self, date: Date) -> tuple[str | None, bool]:
         """Prepare a value to be stored in a BDAY or ANNIVERSARY attribute.
 
         :param date: the date like value to be stored
@@ -490,7 +489,7 @@ def formatted_name(self, value: str) -> None:
             final = ""
         self.vcard.add("FN").value = final
 
-    def _get_names_part(self, part: str) -> List[str]:
+    def _get_names_part(self, part: str) -> list[str]:
         """Get some part of the "N" entry in the vCard as a list
 
         :param part: the name to get e.g. "prefix" or "given"
@@ -506,19 +505,19 @@ def _get_names_part(self, part: str) -> List[str]:
                 return []
         return the_list if isinstance(the_list, list) else [the_list]
 
-    def _get_name_prefixes(self) -> List[str]:
+    def _get_name_prefixes(self) -> list[str]:
         return self._get_names_part("prefix")
 
-    def _get_first_names(self) -> List[str]:
+    def _get_first_names(self) -> list[str]:
         return self._get_names_part("given")
 
-    def _get_additional_names(self) -> List[str]:
+    def _get_additional_names(self) -> list[str]:
         return self._get_names_part("additional")
 
-    def _get_last_names(self) -> List[str]:
+    def _get_last_names(self) -> list[str]:
         return self._get_names_part("family")
 
-    def _get_name_suffixes(self) -> List[str]:
+    def _get_name_suffixes(self) -> list[str]:
         return self._get_names_part("suffix")
 
     def get_first_name_last_name(self) -> str:
@@ -535,7 +534,7 @@ def get_last_name_first_name(self) -> str:
         """Compute the full name of the contact by joining the last names and
         then after a comma the first and additional names together
         """
-        last_names: List[str] = []
+        last_names: list[str] = []
         if self._get_last_names():
             last_names += self._get_last_names()
         first_and_additional_names = self._get_first_names() + \
@@ -579,13 +578,13 @@ def _add_name(self, prefix: StrList, first_name: StrList,
             suffix=convert_to_vcard("name suffix", suffix, ObjectType.both))
 
     @property
-    def organisations(self) -> List[Union[List[str], Dict[str, List[str]]]]:
+    def organisations(self) -> list[list[str] | dict[str, list[str]]]:
         """
         :returns: list of organisations, sorted alphabetically
         """
         return self._get_multi_property("ORG")
 
-    def _add_organisation(self, organisation: StrList, label: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+    def _add_organisation(self, organisation: StrList, label: str | None = None) -> None:
         """Add one ORG entry to the underlying vcard
 
         :param organisation: the value to add
@@ -606,42 +605,42 @@ def _add_organisation(self, organisation: StrList, label: Optional[str] = None)
             showas_obj.value = "COMPANY"
 
     @property
-    def titles(self) -> List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]:
+    def titles(self) -> list[str | dict[str, str]]:
         return self._get_multi_property("TITLE")
 
-    def _add_title(self, title: str, label: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+    def _add_title(self, title: str, label: str | None = None) -> None:
         self._add_labelled_property("title", title, label, True)
 
     @property
-    def roles(self) -> List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]:
+    def roles(self) -> list[str | dict[str, str]]:
         return self._get_multi_property("ROLE")
 
-    def _add_role(self, role: str, label: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+    def _add_role(self, role: str, label: str | None = None) -> None:
         self._add_labelled_property("role", role, label, True)
 
     @property
-    def nicknames(self) -> List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]:
+    def nicknames(self) -> list[str | dict[str, str]]:
         return self._get_multi_property("NICKNAME")
 
-    def _add_nickname(self, nickname: str, label: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+    def _add_nickname(self, nickname: str, label: str | None = None) -> None:
         self._add_labelled_property("nickname", nickname, label, True)
 
     @property
-    def notes(self) -> List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]:
+    def notes(self) -> list[str | dict[str, str]]:
         return self._get_multi_property("NOTE")
 
-    def _add_note(self, note: str, label: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+    def _add_note(self, note: str, label: str | None = None) -> None:
         self._add_labelled_property("note", note, label, True)
 
     @property
-    def webpages(self) -> List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]:
+    def webpages(self) -> list[str | dict[str, str]]:
         return self._get_multi_property("URL")
 
-    def _add_webpage(self, webpage: str, label: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
+    def _add_webpage(self, webpage: str, label: str | None = None) -> None:
         self._add_labelled_property("url", webpage, label, True)
 
     @property
-    def categories(self) -> Union[List[str], List[List[str]]]:
+    def categories(self) -> list[str] | list[list[str]]:
         category_list = []
         for child in self.vcard.getChildren():
             if child.name == "CATEGORIES":
@@ -652,7 +651,7 @@ def categories(self) -> Union[List[str], List[List[str]]]:
             return category_list[0]
         return sorted(category_list)
 
-    def _add_category(self, categories: List[str]) -> None:
+    def _add_category(self, categories: list[str]) -> None:
         """Add categories to the vCard
 
         :param categories:
@@ -662,11 +661,11 @@ def _add_category(self, categories: List[str]) -> None:
                                                 ObjectType.list)
 
     @property
-    def phone_numbers(self) -> Dict[str, List[str]]:
+    def phone_numbers(self) -> dict[str, list[str]]:
         """
         :returns: dict of type and phone number list
         """
-        phone_dict: Dict[str, List[str]] = {}
+        phone_dict: dict[str, list[str]] = {}
         for child in self.vcard.getChildren():
             if child.name == "TEL":
                 # phone types
@@ -727,11 +726,11 @@ def _add_phone_number(self, type: str, number: str) -> None:
             label_obj.value = custom_types[0]
 
     @property
-    def emails(self) -> Dict[str, List[str]]:
+    def emails(self) -> dict[str, list[str]]:
         """
         :returns: dict of type and email address list
         """
-        email_dict: Dict[str, List[str]] = {}
+        email_dict: dict[str, list[str]] = {}
         for child in self.vcard.getChildren():
             if child.name == "EMAIL":
                 type = list_to_string(
@@ -778,11 +777,11 @@ def add_email(self, type: str, address: str) -> None:
             label_obj.value = custom_types[0]
 
     @property
-    def post_addresses(self) -> Dict[str, List[PostAddress]]:
+    def post_addresses(self) -> dict[str, list[PostAddress]]:
         """
         :returns: dict of type and post address list
         """
-        post_adr_dict: Dict[str, List[PostAddress]] = {}
+        post_adr_dict: dict[str, list[PostAddress]] = {}
         for child in self.vcard.getChildren():
             if child.name == "ADR":
                 type = list_to_string(self._get_types_for_vcard_object(
@@ -803,8 +802,8 @@ def post_addresses(self) -> Dict[str, List[PostAddress]]:
                 list_to_string(x['street'], " ").lower()))
         return post_adr_dict
 
-    def get_formatted_post_addresses(self) -> Dict[str, List[str]]:
-        formatted_post_adr_dict: Dict[str, List[str]] = {}
+    def get_formatted_post_addresses(self) -> dict[str, list[str]]:
+        formatted_post_adr_dict: dict[str, list[str]] = {}
         for type, post_adr_list in self.post_addresses.items():
             formatted_post_adr_dict[type] = []
             for post_adr in post_adr_list:
@@ -888,8 +887,8 @@ class YAMLEditable(VCardWrapper):
     """Conversion of vcards to YAML and updating the vcard from YAML"""
 
     def __init__(self, vcard: vobject.base.Component,
-                 supported_private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None,
-                 version: Optional[str] = None, localize_dates: bool = False
+                 supported_private_objects: list[str] | None = None,
+                 version: str | None = None, localize_dates: bool = False
                  ) -> None:
         """Initialize attributes needed for yaml conversions
 
@@ -908,9 +907,9 @@ def __init__(self, vcard: vobject.base.Component,
     # getters and setters
     #####################
 
-    def _get_private_objects(self) -> Dict[str, List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]]:
+    def _get_private_objects(self) -> dict[str, list[str | dict[str, str]]]:
         supported = [x.lower() for x in self.supported_private_objects]
-        private_objects: Dict[str, List[Union[str, Dict[str, str]]]] = {}
+        private_objects: dict[str, list[str | dict[str, str]]] = {}
         for child in self.vcard.getChildren():
             lower = child.name.lower()
             if lower.startswith("x-") and lower[2:] in supported:
@@ -940,7 +939,7 @@ def get_formatted_birthday(self) -> str:
     #######################
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _format_date_object(date: Optional[Date], localize: bool) -> str:
+    def _format_date_object(date: Date | None, localize: bool) -> str:
         if not date:
             return ""
         if isinstance(date, str):
@@ -971,7 +970,7 @@ def _filter_invalid_tags(contents: str) -> str:
         return contents
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _parse_yaml(input: str) -> Dict:
+    def _parse_yaml(input: str) -> dict:
         """Parse a YAML document into a dictionary and validate the data to
         some degree.
 
@@ -997,9 +996,8 @@ def _parse_yaml(input: str) -> Dict:
         return contact_data
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _set_string_list(setter: Callable[[str, Optional[str]], None],
-                         key: str, data: Dict[str, Union[str, List[str]]]
-                         ) -> None:
+    def _set_string_list(setter: Callable[[str, str | None], None],
+                         key: str, data: dict[str, str | list[str]]) -> None:
         """Pre-process a string or list and set each value with the given
         setter
 
@@ -1026,7 +1024,7 @@ def _set_string_list(setter: Callable[[str, Optional[str]], None],
                 raise ValueError(
                     "{} must be a string or a list of strings".format(key))
 
-    def _set_date(self, target: str, key: str, data: Dict) -> None:
+    def _set_date(self, target: str, key: str, data: dict) -> None:
         new = data.get(key)
         if not new:
             return
@@ -1305,8 +1303,8 @@ class CarddavObject(YAMLEditable):
 
     def __init__(self, vcard: vobject.base.Component,
                  address_book: "address_book.VdirAddressBook", filename: str,
-                 supported_private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None,
-                 vcard_version: Optional[str] = None,
+                 supported_private_objects: list[str] | None = None,
+                 vcard_version: str | None = None,
                  localize_dates: bool = False) -> None:
         """Initialize the vcard object.
 
@@ -1332,8 +1330,8 @@ def __init__(self, vcard: vobject.base.Component,
 
     @classmethod
     def new(cls, address_book: "address_book.VdirAddressBook",
-            supported_private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None,
-            version: Optional[str] = None, localize_dates: bool = False
+            supported_private_objects: list[str] | None = None,
+            version: str | None = None, localize_dates: bool = False
             ) -> "CarddavObject":
         """Create a new CarddavObject from scratch"""
         vcard = vobject.vCard()
@@ -1347,8 +1345,8 @@ def new(cls, address_book: "address_book.VdirAddressBook",
     @classmethod
     def from_file(cls, address_book: "address_book.VdirAddressBook",
                   filename: str, query: Query = AnyQuery(),
-                  supported_private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None,
-                  localize_dates: bool = False) -> Optional["CarddavObject"]:
+                  supported_private_objects: list[str] | None = None,
+                  localize_dates: bool = False) -> "CarddavObject | None":
         """Load a CarddavObject object from a .vcf file if the plain file
         matches the query.
 
@@ -1379,8 +1377,8 @@ def from_file(cls, address_book: "address_book.VdirAddressBook",
 
     @classmethod
     def from_yaml(cls, address_book: "address_book.VdirAddressBook", yaml: str,
-                  supported_private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None,
-                  version: Optional[str] = None, localize_dates: bool = False
+                  supported_private_objects: list[str] | None = None,
+                  version: str | None = None, localize_dates: bool = False
                   ) -> "CarddavObject":
         """Use this if you want to create a new contact from user input."""
         contact = cls.new(address_book, supported_private_objects, version,
@@ -1531,7 +1529,7 @@ def delete_vcard_file(self) -> None:
             logger.error("Can not remove vCard file: %s", err)
 
     @classmethod
-    def get_properties(cls) -> List[str]:
+    def get_properties(cls) -> list[str]:
         """Return the property names that are defined on this class."""
         return [name for name in dir(CarddavObject)
                 if isinstance(getattr(CarddavObject, name), property)]
diff --git a/khard/cli.py b/khard/cli.py
index 2e87f5d..6d73d45 100644
--- a/khard/cli.py
+++ b/khard/cli.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import argparse
 import logging
 import sys
-from typing import List, Tuple
 
 from .actions import Actions
 from .carddav_object import CarddavObject
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ def __init__(self, *choices: str, nested: bool = False) -> None:
         self._choices = sorted(choices)
         self._nested = nested
 
-    def __call__(self, argument: str) -> List[str]:
+    def __call__(self, argument: str) -> list[str]:
         ret = []
         for candidate in argument.split(","):
             candidate = candidate.lower()
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ def __call__(self, argument: str) -> List[str]:
         return ret
 
 
-def create_parsers() -> Tuple[argparse.ArgumentParser,
+def create_parsers() -> tuple[argparse.ArgumentParser,
                               argparse.ArgumentParser]:
     """Create two argument parsers.
 
@@ -349,7 +348,7 @@ def create_parsers() -> Tuple[argparse.ArgumentParser,
     return first_parser, parser
 
 
-def parse_args(argv: List[str]) -> Tuple[argparse.Namespace, Config]:
+def parse_args(argv: list[str]) -> tuple[argparse.Namespace, Config]:
     """Parse the command line arguments and return the namespace that was
     creates by argparse.ArgumentParser.parse_args().
 
@@ -437,7 +436,7 @@ def merge_args_into_config(args: argparse.Namespace, config: Config) -> Config:
     return config
 
 
-def init(argv: List[str]) -> Tuple[argparse.Namespace, Config]:
+def init(argv: list[str]) -> tuple[argparse.Namespace, Config]:
     """Initialize khard by parsing the command line and reading the config file
 
     :param argv: the command line arguments
diff --git a/khard/config.py b/khard/config.py
index a6216a5..9897c8d 100644
--- a/khard/config.py
+++ b/khard/config.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """Loading and validation of the configuration file"""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 from argparse import Namespace
 import io
 import locale
@@ -7,7 +9,7 @@
 import os
 import re
 import shlex
-from typing import Iterable, Dict, List, Optional, Union
+from typing import Iterable
 
 import configobj
 try:
@@ -26,14 +28,14 @@
 # This is the type of the config file parameter accepted by the configobj
 # library:
 # https://configobj.readthedocs.io/en/latest/configobj.html#reading-a-config-file
-ConfigFile = Union[str, List[str], io.StringIO]
+ConfigFile = str | list[str] | io.StringIO
 
 
 class ConfigError(Exception):
     """Errors during config file parsing"""
 
 
-def validate_command(value: List[str]) -> List[str]:
+def validate_command(value: list[str]) -> list[str]:
     """Special validator to check shell commands
 
     The input must either be a list of strings or a string that shlex.split can
@@ -68,7 +70,7 @@ def validate_action(value: str) -> str:
     return validate.is_option(value, *Actions.get_actions())
 
 
-def validate_private_objects(value: List[str]) -> List[str]:
+def validate_private_objects(value: list[str]) -> list[str]:
     """Check that the private objects are reasonable
 
     :param value: the config value to check
@@ -93,7 +95,7 @@ class Config:
 
     supported_vcard_versions = ("3.0", "4.0")
 
-    def __init__(self, config_file: Optional[ConfigFile] = None) -> None:
+    def __init__(self, config_file: ConfigFile | None = None) -> None:
         self.config: configobj.ConfigObj
         self.abooks: AddressBookCollection
         locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, '')
@@ -102,7 +104,7 @@ def __init__(self, config_file: Optional[ConfigFile] = None) -> None:
         self._set_attributes()
 
     @classmethod
-    def _load_config_file(cls, config_file: Optional[ConfigFile]
+    def _load_config_file(cls, config_file: ConfigFile | None
                           ) -> configobj.ConfigObj:
         """Find and load the config file.
 
@@ -188,7 +190,7 @@ def init_address_books(self) -> None:
         except OSError as err:
             raise ConfigError(str(err))
 
-    def get_address_books(self, names: Iterable[str], queries: Dict[str, Query]
+    def get_address_books(self, names: Iterable[str], queries: dict[str, Query]
                           ) -> AddressBookCollection:
         """Load all address books with the given names.
 
@@ -212,7 +214,7 @@ def get_address_books(self, names: Iterable[str], queries: Dict[str, Query]
             abook.load(queries[abook.name], self.search_in_source_files)
         return collection
 
-    def merge(self, other: Union[configobj.ConfigObj, Dict]) -> None:
+    def merge(self, other: configobj.ConfigObj | dict) -> None:
         """Merge the config with some other dict or ConfigObj
 
         :param other: the other dict or ConfigObj to merge into self
diff --git a/khard/formatter.py b/khard/formatter.py
index 9ed4f57..7470114 100644
--- a/khard/formatter.py
+++ b/khard/formatter.py
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 """Formatting and sorting of contacts"""
 
-from typing import Dict, List
-
 from .carddav_object import CarddavObject
 
 
@@ -17,8 +15,8 @@ class Formatter:
     LAST = "last_name"
     FORMAT = "formatted_name"
 
-    def __init__(self, display: str, preferred_email: List[str],
-                 preferred_phone: List[str], show_nicknames: bool,
+    def __init__(self, display: str, preferred_email: list[str],
+                 preferred_phone: list[str], show_nicknames: bool,
                  parsable: bool) -> None:
         self._display = display
         self._preferred_email = preferred_email
@@ -27,7 +25,7 @@ def __init__(self, display: str, preferred_email: List[str],
         self._parsable = parsable
 
     @staticmethod
-    def format_labeled_field(field: Dict[str, List[str]], preferred: List[str]
+    def format_labeled_field(field: dict[str, list[str]], preferred: list[str]
                              ) -> str:
         """Format a labeled field from a vCard for display, the first entry
         under the preferred label will be returned
diff --git a/khard/helpers/__init__.py b/khard/helpers/__init__.py
index e549730..935d413 100644
--- a/khard/helpers/__init__.py
+++ b/khard/helpers/__init__.py
@@ -1,19 +1,21 @@
 """Some helper functions for khard"""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 from datetime import datetime
 import pathlib
 import random
 import string
-from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Sequence, Union
+from typing import Any, Sequence
 
 from ruamel.yaml.scalarstring import LiteralScalarString
 from .typing import list_to_string, PostAddress
 
 
-YamlPostAddresses = Dict[str, Union[List[Dict[str, Any]], Dict[str, Any]]]
+YamlPostAddresses = dict[str, list[dict[str, Any]] | dict[str, Any]]
 
 
-def pretty_print(table: List[List[str]], justify: str = "L") -> str:
+def pretty_print(table: list[list[str]], justify: str = "L") -> str:
     """Converts a list of lists into a string formatted like a table
     with spaces separating fields and newlines separating rows"""
     # support for multiline columns
@@ -66,9 +68,8 @@ def get_random_uid() -> str:
                     for _ in range(36)])
 
 
-def yaml_clean(value: Union[str, Sequence, Dict[str, Any], None]
-               ) -> Union[Sequence, str, Dict[str, Any], LiteralScalarString,
-                          None]:
+def yaml_clean(value: str | Sequence | dict[str, Any] | None
+               ) -> Sequence | str | dict[str, Any] | LiteralScalarString | None:
     """
     sanitize yaml values according to some simple principles:
       1. empty values are none, so ruamel does not print an empty list/str
@@ -95,9 +96,9 @@ def yaml_clean(value: Union[str, Sequence, Dict[str, Any], None]
 
 
 def yaml_dicts(
-        data: Optional[Dict[str, Any]],
-        defaults: Union[Dict[str, Any], List[str], None] = None
-    ) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        data: dict[str, Any] | None,
+        defaults: dict[str, Any] | list[str] | None = None
+    ) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
     """
     format a dict according to template, if empty use specified defaults
 
@@ -118,10 +119,10 @@ def yaml_dicts(
     return data_dict
 
 
-def yaml_addresses(addresses: Optional[Dict[str, List[PostAddress]]],
-                   address_properties: List[str],
-                   defaults: Optional[List[str]] = None
-                   ) -> Optional[YamlPostAddresses]:
+def yaml_addresses(addresses: dict[str, list[PostAddress]] | None,
+                   address_properties: list[str],
+                   defaults: list[str] | None = None
+                   ) -> YamlPostAddresses | None:
     """
     build a dict from an address, using a list of properties, an address has.
 
@@ -151,8 +152,8 @@ def yaml_addresses(addresses: Optional[Dict[str, List[PostAddress]]],
     return address_dict
 
 
-def yaml_anniversary(anniversary: Union[str, datetime, None],
-                     version: str) -> Optional[str]:
+def yaml_anniversary(anniversary: str | datetime | None, version: str
+                     ) -> str | None:
     """
     format an anniversary according to its contents and the vCard version.
 
@@ -185,9 +186,9 @@ def yaml_anniversary(anniversary: Union[str, datetime, None],
     return anniversary
 
 
-def convert_to_yaml(name: str, value: Union[None, str, List], indentation: int,
+def convert_to_yaml(name: str, value: None | str | list, indentation: int,
                     index_of_colon: int, show_multi_line_character: bool
-                    ) -> List[str]:
+                    ) -> list[str]:
     """converts a value list into yaml syntax
 
     :param name: name of object (example: phone)
@@ -250,7 +251,7 @@ def convert_to_yaml(name: str, value: Union[None, str, List], indentation: int,
     return strings
 
 
-def indent_multiline_string(input: Union[str, List], indentation: int,
+def indent_multiline_string(input: str | list, indentation: int,
                             show_multi_line_character: bool) -> str:
     # if input is a list, convert to string first
     if isinstance(input, list):
@@ -265,7 +266,7 @@ def indent_multiline_string(input: Union[str, List], indentation: int,
 
 
 def get_new_contact_template(
-        supported_private_objects: Optional[List[str]] = None) -> str:
+        supported_private_objects: list[str] | None = None) -> str:
     formatted_private_objects = []
     if supported_private_objects:
         formatted_private_objects.append("")
diff --git a/khard/helpers/interactive.py b/khard/helpers/interactive.py
index 5b5cfae..cd1dad5 100644
--- a/khard/helpers/interactive.py
+++ b/khard/helpers/interactive.py
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 """Helper functions for user interaction."""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import contextlib
 from datetime import datetime
 from enum import Enum
 import os.path
 import subprocess
 from tempfile import NamedTemporaryFile
-from typing import Callable, Generator, List, Optional, Sequence, \
-    TypeVar, Union
+from typing import Callable, Generator, Sequence, TypeVar
 
 from ..carddav_object import CarddavObject
 
@@ -32,8 +33,8 @@ def confirm(message: str, accept_enter_key: bool = True) -> bool:
                         "no" if accept_enter_key else None)
 
 
-def ask(message: str, choices: List[str], default: Optional[str] = None,
-        help: Optional[str] = None) -> str:
+def ask(message: str, choices: list[str], default: str | None = None,
+        help: str | None = None) -> str:
     """Ask the user to select one of the given choices
 
     :param message: a text to show to the user
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ def ask(message: str, choices: List[str], default: Optional[str] = None,
             print(help)
 
 
-def select(items: Sequence[T], include_none: bool = False) -> Optional[T]:
+def select(items: Sequence[T], include_none: bool = False) -> T | None:
     """Ask the user to select an item from a list.
 
     The list should be displayed to the user before calling this function and
@@ -120,8 +121,8 @@ class Editor:
 
     """Wrapper around subprocess.Popen to edit and merge files."""
 
-    def __init__(self, editor: Union[str, List[str]],
-                 merge_editor: Union[str, List[str]]) -> None:
+    def __init__(self, editor: str  | list[str],
+                 merge_editor: str  | list[str]) -> None:
         self.editor = [editor] if isinstance(editor, str) else editor
         self.merge_editor = [merge_editor] if isinstance(merge_editor, str) \
             else merge_editor
@@ -143,7 +144,7 @@ def write_temp_file(text: str = "") -> Generator[str, None, None]:
     def _mtime(filename: str) -> datetime:
         return datetime.fromtimestamp(os.path.getmtime(filename))
 
-    def edit_files(self, file1: str, file2: Optional[str] = None) -> EditState:
+    def edit_files(self, file1: str, file2: str | None = None) -> EditState:
         """Edit the given files
 
         If only one file is given the timestamp of this file is checked, if two
@@ -169,8 +170,8 @@ def edit_files(self, file1: str, file2: Optional[str] = None) -> EditState:
         return EditState.modified
 
     def edit_templates(self, yaml2card: Callable[[str], CarddavObject],
-                       template1: str, template2: Optional[str] = None
-                       ) -> Optional[CarddavObject]:
+                       template1: str, template2: str | None = None
+                       ) -> CarddavObject | None:
         """Edit YAML templates of contacts and parse them back
 
         :param yaml2card: a function to convert the modified YAML templates
diff --git a/khard/helpers/typing.py b/khard/helpers/typing.py
index 1057cbd..4db56a9 100644
--- a/khard/helpers/typing.py
+++ b/khard/helpers/typing.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 """Helper code for type annotations and runtime type conversion."""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 from datetime import datetime
 from enum import Enum
-from typing import Dict, List, Union
 
 
 class ObjectType(Enum):
@@ -12,9 +13,9 @@ class ObjectType(Enum):
 
 
 # some type aliases
-Date = Union[str, datetime]
-StrList = Union[str, List[str]]
-PostAddress = Dict[str, str]
+Date = str | datetime
+StrList = str | list[str]
+PostAddress = dict[str, str]
 
 
 def convert_to_vcard(name: str, value: StrList, constraint: ObjectType
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def convert_to_vcard(name: str, value: StrList, constraint: ObjectType
     raise ValueError(f"{name} must be a string or a list with strings.")
 
 
-def list_to_string(input: Union[str, List], delimiter: str) -> str:
+def list_to_string(input: str | list, delimiter: str) -> str:
     """converts list to string recursively so that nested lists are supported
 
     :param input: a list of strings and lists of strings (and so on recursive)
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ def list_to_string(input: Union[str, List], delimiter: str) -> str:
     return input
 
 
-def string_to_list(input: Union[str, List[str]], delimiter: str) -> List[str]:
+def string_to_list(input: str | list[str], delimiter: str) -> list[str]:
     if isinstance(input, list):
         return input
     return [x.strip() for x in input.split(delimiter)]
diff --git a/khard/khard.py b/khard/khard.py
index 2e65c61..48237f0 100644
--- a/khard/khard.py
+++ b/khard/khard.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """Main application logic of khard including command line handling"""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 from argparse import Namespace
 import datetime
 from email import message_from_string
@@ -10,7 +12,7 @@
 import os
 import sys
 import textwrap
-from typing import cast, Callable, Dict, Iterable, List, Optional, Union
+from typing import cast, Callable, Iterable
 
 from unidecode import unidecode
 
@@ -152,17 +154,17 @@ def copy_contact(contact: CarddavObject, target_address_book: VdirAddressBook,
         contact.address_book, target_address_book))
 
 
-def list_address_books(address_books: Union[AddressBookCollection,
-                                            List[VdirAddressBook]]) -> None:
+def list_address_books(address_books: AddressBookCollection |
+                                            list[VdirAddressBook]) -> None:
     table = [["Index", "Address book"]]
     for index, address_book in enumerate(address_books, 1):
         table.append([cast(str, index), address_book.name])
     print(helpers.pretty_print(table))
 
 
-def list_contacts(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], fields: Iterable[str] = (),
+def list_contacts(vcard_list: list[CarddavObject], fields: Iterable[str] = (),
                   parsable: bool = False) -> None:
-    selected_address_books: List[VdirAddressBook] = []
+    selected_address_books: list[VdirAddressBook] = []
     selected_kinds = set()
     for contact in vcard_list:
         if contact.address_book not in selected_address_books:
@@ -224,16 +226,16 @@ def list_contacts(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], fields: Iterable[str] = (),
         print(helpers.pretty_print(table))
 
 
-def list_with_headers(the_list: List[str], *headers: str) -> None:
+def list_with_headers(the_list: list[str], *headers: str) -> None:
     table = [list(headers)]
     for row in the_list:
         table.append(row.split("\t"))
     print(helpers.pretty_print(table))
 
 
-def choose_address_book_from_list(header: str, abooks: Union[
-                                  AddressBookCollection, List[VdirAddressBook]]
-                                  ) -> Optional[VdirAddressBook]:
+def choose_address_book_from_list(header: str, abooks:
+                                  AddressBookCollection | list[VdirAddressBook]
+                                  ) -> VdirAddressBook | None:
     """Let the user select one of the given address books
 
     :param header: some text to print in front of the list
@@ -250,9 +252,9 @@ def choose_address_book_from_list(header: str, abooks: Union[
     return interactive.select(abooks)
 
 
-def choose_vcard_from_list(header: str, vcards: List[CarddavObject],
+def choose_vcard_from_list(header: str, vcards: list[CarddavObject],
                            include_none: bool = False
-                           ) -> Optional[CarddavObject]:
+                           ) -> CarddavObject | None:
     """Let the user select a contact from a list
 
     :param header: some text to print in front of the list
@@ -269,9 +271,8 @@ def choose_vcard_from_list(header: str, vcards: List[CarddavObject],
     return interactive.select(vcards, True)
 
 
-def get_contact_list(address_books: Union[VdirAddressBook,
-                                          AddressBookCollection],
-                     query: Query) -> List[CarddavObject]:
+def get_contact_list(address_books: VdirAddressBook | AddressBookCollection,
+                     query: Query) -> list[CarddavObject]:
     """Find contacts in the given address book grouped, sorted and reversed
     according to the loaded configuration.
 
@@ -285,7 +286,7 @@ def get_contact_list(address_books: Union[VdirAddressBook,
 
 
 def sort_contacts(contacts: Iterable[CarddavObject], reverse: bool = False,
-                  group: bool = False, sort: str = "first_name") -> List[
+                  group: bool = False, sort: str = "first_name") -> list[
                       CarddavObject]:
     """Sort a list of contacts
 
@@ -296,7 +297,7 @@ def sort_contacts(contacts: Iterable[CarddavObject], reverse: bool = False,
         "last_name", "formatted_name"
     :returns: sorted contact list
     """
-    keys: List[Callable] = []
+    keys: list[Callable] = []
     if group:
         keys.append(operator.attrgetter("address_book.name"))
     if sort == "first_name":
@@ -312,7 +313,7 @@ def sort_contacts(contacts: Iterable[CarddavObject], reverse: bool = False,
                   key=lambda x: [unidecode(key(x)).lower() for key in keys])
 
 
-def prepare_search_queries(args: Namespace) -> Dict[str, Query]:
+def prepare_search_queries(args: Namespace) -> dict[str, Query]:
     """Prepare the search query string from the given command line args.
 
     Each address book can get a search query string to filter vCards before
@@ -323,8 +324,8 @@ def prepare_search_queries(args: Namespace) -> Dict[str, Query]:
     :returns: a dict mapping abook names to their loading queries
     """
     # get all possible search queries for address book parsing
-    source_queries: List[Query] = []
-    target_queries: List[Query] = []
+    source_queries: list[Query] = []
+    target_queries: list[Query] = []
     if "source_search_terms" in args:
         source_queries.append(args.source_search_terms)
     if "search_terms" in args:
@@ -338,20 +339,20 @@ def prepare_search_queries(args: Namespace) -> Dict[str, Query]:
     # Get all possible search queries for address book parsing, always
     # depending on the fact if the address book is used to find source or
     # target contacts or both.
-    queries: Dict[str, List[Query]] = {
+    queries: dict[str, list[Query]] = {
         abook.name: [] for abook in config.abooks}
     for name in queries:
         if "addressbook" in args and name in args.addressbook:
             queries[name].append(source_query)
         if "target_addressbook" in args and name in args.target_addressbook:
             queries[name].append(target_query)
-    queries2: Dict[str, Query] = {
+    queries2: dict[str, Query] = {
         n: OrQuery.reduce(q) for n, q in queries.items()}
     logger.debug('Created query: %s', queries)
     return queries2
 
 
-def generate_contact_list(args: Namespace) -> List[CarddavObject]:
+def generate_contact_list(args: Namespace) -> list[CarddavObject]:
     """Find the contact list with which we will work later on
 
     :param args: the command line arguments
@@ -647,7 +648,7 @@ def add_email_to_contact(name: str, email_address: str,
     print("Done.\n\n{}".format(selected_vcard.pretty()))
 
 
-def find_email_addresses(text: str, fields: List[str]) -> List[Address]:
+def find_email_addresses(text: str, fields: list[str]) -> list[Address]:
     """Search the text for email addresses in the given fields.
 
     :param text: the text to search for email addresses
@@ -656,7 +657,7 @@ def find_email_addresses(text: str, fields: List[str]) -> List[Address]:
     """
     message = message_from_string(text, policy=SMTP_POLICY)
 
-    def extract_addresses(header) -> List[Address]:
+    def extract_addresses(header) -> list[Address]:
         if header and isinstance(header, (AddressHeader, Group)):
             return list(header.addresses)
         return []
@@ -677,7 +678,7 @@ def extract_addresses(header) -> List[Address]:
 def add_email_subcommand(
         text: str,
         abooks: AddressBookCollection,
-        fields: List[str],
+        fields: list[str],
         skip_already_added: bool) -> None:
     """Add a new email address to contacts, creating new contacts if necessary.
 
@@ -704,7 +705,7 @@ def add_email_subcommand(
     print("No more email addresses")
 
 
-def birthdays_subcommand(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
+def birthdays_subcommand(vcard_list: list[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
                          ) -> None:
     """Print birthday contact table.
 
@@ -721,7 +722,7 @@ def birthdays_subcommand(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
                     if isinstance(x.birthday, datetime.datetime)
                     else (0, 0, x.birthday))
     # add to string list
-    birthday_list: List[str] = []
+    birthday_list: list[str] = []
     formatter = Formatter(config.display, config.preferred_email_address_type,
                           config.preferred_phone_number_type,
                           config.show_nicknames, parsable)
@@ -730,7 +731,7 @@ def birthdays_subcommand(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
         if parsable:
             # We did filter out None above but the type checker does not know
             # this.
-            bday = cast(Union[str, datetime.datetime], vcard.birthday)
+            bday = cast(str | datetime.datetime, vcard.birthday)
             if isinstance(bday, str):
                 date = bday
             else:
@@ -750,7 +751,7 @@ def birthdays_subcommand(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
         sys.exit(1)
 
 
-def phone_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: List[CarddavObject],
+def phone_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: list[CarddavObject],
         parsable: bool) -> None:
     """Print a phone application friendly contact table.
 
@@ -763,7 +764,7 @@ def phone_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: List[CarddavObject],
     formatter = Formatter(config.display, config.preferred_email_address_type,
                           config.preferred_phone_number_type,
                           config.show_nicknames, parsable)
-    numbers: List[str] = []
+    numbers: list[str] = []
     for vcard in vcard_list:
         field_line_list = []
         for type, number_list in sorted(vcard.phone_numbers.items(),
@@ -791,7 +792,7 @@ def phone_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: List[CarddavObject],
 
 
 def post_address_subcommand(search_terms: Query,
-        vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
+        vcard_list: list[CarddavObject], parsable: bool
                             ) -> None:
     """Print a contact table with all postal / mailing addresses
 
@@ -804,7 +805,7 @@ def post_address_subcommand(search_terms: Query,
     formatter = Formatter(config.display, config.preferred_email_address_type,
                           config.preferred_phone_number_type,
                           config.show_nicknames, parsable)
-    addresses: List[str] = []
+    addresses: list[str] = []
     for vcard in vcard_list:
         name = formatter.get_special_field(vcard, "name")
         # create post address line list
@@ -835,7 +836,7 @@ def post_address_subcommand(search_terms: Query,
         sys.exit(1)
 
 
-def email_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: List[CarddavObject],
+def email_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: list[CarddavObject],
                      parsable: bool, remove_first_line: bool) -> None:
     """Print a mail client friendly contacts table that is compatible with the
     default format used by mutt.
@@ -858,7 +859,7 @@ def email_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: List[CarddavObject],
     formatter = Formatter(config.display, config.preferred_email_address_type,
                           config.preferred_phone_number_type,
                           config.show_nicknames, parsable)
-    emails: List[str] = []
+    emails: list[str] = []
     for vcard in vcard_list:
         field_line_list = []
         for type, email_list in sorted(vcard.emails.items(),
@@ -891,7 +892,7 @@ def email_subcommand(search_terms: Query, vcard_list: List[CarddavObject],
 
 
 def _filter_email_post_or_phone_number_results(search_terms: Query,
-        field_line_list: List[str]) -> List[str]:
+        field_line_list: list[str]) -> list[str]:
     """Filter the created output of phone_subcommand, post_address_subcommand
     and email_subcommand by the given search term again.
     If no match is found, return the complete input list
@@ -907,8 +908,8 @@ def _filter_email_post_or_phone_number_results(search_terms: Query,
     return matched_line_list if matched_line_list else field_line_list
 
 
-def list_subcommand(vcard_list: List[CarddavObject], parsable: bool,
-                    fields: List[str]) -> None:
+def list_subcommand(vcard_list: list[CarddavObject], parsable: bool,
+                    fields: list[str]) -> None:
     """Print a user friendly contacts table.
 
     :param vcard_list: the vCards to print
@@ -984,7 +985,7 @@ def remove_subcommand(selected_vcard: CarddavObject, force: bool) -> None:
         selected_vcard.formatted_name))
 
 
-def merge_subcommand(vcards: List[CarddavObject],
+def merge_subcommand(vcards: list[CarddavObject],
                      abooks: AddressBookCollection, search_terms: Query
                      ) -> None:
     """Merge two contacts into one.
@@ -1019,7 +1020,7 @@ def merge_subcommand(vcards: List[CarddavObject],
         merge_existing_contacts(source_vcard, target_vcard, True)
 
 
-def copy_or_move_subcommand(action: str, vcards: List[CarddavObject],
+def copy_or_move_subcommand(action: str, vcards: list[CarddavObject],
                             target_address_books: AddressBookCollection
                             ) -> None:
     """Copy or move a contact to a different address book.
@@ -1094,7 +1095,7 @@ def copy_or_move_subcommand(action: str, vcards: List[CarddavObject],
                 break
 
 
-def main(argv: List[str] = sys.argv[1:]) -> None:
+def main(argv: list[str] = sys.argv[1:]) -> None:
     args, conf = cli.init(argv)
 
     # store the config instance in the module level variable
diff --git a/khard/query.py b/khard/query.py
index 7c39855..1222ed6 100644
--- a/khard/query.py
+++ b/khard/query.py
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 """Queries to match against contacts"""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import abc
 from datetime import datetime
 from functools import reduce
 from operator import and_, or_
 import re
-from typing import cast, Any, Dict, List, Optional, Union
+from typing import cast, Any
 
 from . import carddav_object
 
@@ -18,11 +20,11 @@ class Query(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
     """A query to match against strings, lists of strings and CarddavObjects"""
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         """Match the self query against the given thing"""
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
-    def get_term(self) -> Optional[str]:
+    def get_term(self) -> str | None:
         """Extract the search terms from a query."""
 
     def __and__(self, other: "Query") -> "Query":
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@ class NullQuery(Query):
 
     """The null-query, it matches nothing."""
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         return False
 
     def get_term(self) -> None:
@@ -84,7 +86,7 @@ class AnyQuery(Query):
 
     """The match-anything-query, it always matches."""
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         return True
 
     def get_term(self) -> str:
@@ -104,7 +106,7 @@ class TermQuery(Query):
     def __init__(self, term: str) -> None:
         self._term = term.lower()
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         if isinstance(thing, str):
             return self._term in thing.lower()
         return self._term in thing.pretty().lower()
@@ -130,14 +132,14 @@ def __init__(self, field: str, value: str) -> None:
         self._field = field
         super().__init__(value)
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         if isinstance(thing, str):
             return super().match(thing)
         if hasattr(thing, self._field):
             return self._match_union(getattr(thing, self._field))
         return False
 
-    def _match_union(self, value: Union[str, datetime, List, Dict[str, Any]]
+    def _match_union(self, value: str | datetime | list | dict[str, Any]
                      ) -> bool:
         if isinstance(value, str):
             return self.match(value)
@@ -172,14 +174,14 @@ class AndQuery(Query):
     def __init__(self, first: Query, second: Query, *queries: Query) -> None:
         self._queries = (first, second, *queries)
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         return all(q.match(thing) for q in self._queries)
 
-    def get_term(self) -> Optional[str]:
+    def get_term(self) -> str | None:
         terms = [x.get_term() for x in self._queries]
         if None in terms:
             return None
-        return "".join(cast(List[str], terms))
+        return "".join(cast(list[str], terms))
 
     def __eq__(self, other: object) -> bool:
         return isinstance(other, AndQuery) \
@@ -189,7 +191,7 @@ def __hash__(self) -> int:
         return hash((AndQuery, frozenset(self._queries)))
 
     @staticmethod
-    def reduce(queries: List[Query], start: Optional[Query] = None) -> Query:
+    def reduce(queries: list[Query], start: Query | None = None) -> Query:
         return reduce(and_, queries, start or AnyQuery())
 
     def __str__(self) -> str:
@@ -203,10 +205,10 @@ class OrQuery(Query):
     def __init__(self, first: Query, second: Query, *queries: Query) -> None:
         self._queries = (first, second, *queries)
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         return any(q.match(thing) for q in self._queries)
 
-    def get_term(self) -> Optional[str]:
+    def get_term(self) -> str | None:
         terms = [x.get_term() for x in self._queries]
         if all(t is None for t in terms):
             return None
@@ -220,7 +222,7 @@ def __hash__(self) -> int:
         return hash((OrQuery, frozenset(self._queries)))
 
     @staticmethod
-    def reduce(queries: List[Query], start: Optional[Query] = None) -> Query:
+    def reduce(queries: list[Query], start: Query | None = None) -> Query:
         return reduce(or_, queries, start or NullQuery())
 
     def __str__(self) -> str:
@@ -236,7 +238,7 @@ def __init__(self, term: str) -> None:
         self._props_query = OrQuery(FieldQuery("formatted_name", term),
                                     FieldQuery("nicknames", term))
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         m = super().match
         if isinstance(thing, str):
             return m(thing)
@@ -266,13 +268,13 @@ def __init__(self, value: str) -> None:
         super().__init__(FIELD_PHONE_NUMBERS, value)
         self._term_only_digits = self._strip_phone_number(value)
 
-    def match(self, thing: Union[str, "carddav_object.CarddavObject"]) -> bool:
+    def match(self, thing: "str | carddav_object.CarddavObject") -> bool:
         if isinstance(thing, str):
             return self._match_union(thing)
         else:
             return super().match(thing)
 
-    def _match_union(self, value: Union[str, datetime, List, Dict[str, Any]]
+    def _match_union(self, value: str | datetime | list | dict[str, Any]
                      ) -> bool:
         if isinstance(value, str):
             if self._term in value.lower() \
@@ -329,7 +331,7 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
         return 'phone numbers:{}'.format(self._term)
 
 
-def parse(string: str) -> Union[TermQuery, FieldQuery]:
+def parse(string: str) -> TermQuery | FieldQuery:
     """Parse a string into a query object
 
     The input string interpreted as a :py:class:`FieldQuery` if it starts with
diff --git a/test/test_vcard_wrapper.py b/test/test_vcard_wrapper.py
index 3d622da..b2d8d9c 100644
--- a/test/test_vcard_wrapper.py
+++ b/test/test_vcard_wrapper.py
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 """Tests for the VCardWrapper class from the carddav module."""
 # pylint: disable=missing-docstring
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import contextlib
 import datetime
 import unittest
-from typing import Union, List, Dict
 
 import vobject
 
@@ -362,7 +363,7 @@ def _test_list_of_strings_as(self, key: str) -> None:
         wrapper = TestVCardWrapper()
         components = ('box', 'extended', 'street', 'code', 'city', 'region',
                       'country')
-        expected: Dict[str, Union[str, List[str]]] = {item: item
+        expected: dict[str, str | list[str]] = {item: item
                                                       for item in components}
         expected[key] = ["a", "b"]
         index = components.index(key)