I guess that a lot of you go to work and at the end of the month receive a pay packet with money in. Okay well maybe these days it is a bank transfer but the following remains the same.

When you get your money no thought is given to the tax part of it because, tax must be paid and the company knows how much to take and that is the end of it...

WRONG....

For those fortunate enough to earn over 120K (per year that is:-)) there is a requirement (Geneve excepted ) to fill in a form to receive an exact tax calculation where deductions are the like can be entered but for the rest?

Well there is a way. Using the attached form (example for canton Zurich) you can claim for payments you have made for the following:

3rd Pillar:- all payments to the 3rd pillar are free of tax irrespective of whether you pay quellensteuer or not. That is CHF 6365 on which you do not need to pay tax...

Purchases in the 2nd pillar or company pension scheme:- on your company pension statement which you receive every year there is at the bottom how much you are allowed to purchase voluntarily on top of what you have contributed so far. This is also tax free. Note you should consult your local tax office before you invest a huge lump sum as they may not accept it all ie you need to make a payment in proportion to your income and not to reduce your tax liability to zero!!!

Interest on debts. If you have debts then you can deduct the interest on these if you get a statement from the bank or credit institute showing the interest paid.

Training costs: If you spend more than CHF 400 on training in any one year and this is relevant to your employment or employment opportunities (ie if you are claiming ale and the kasse refuses to pay) then you can claim this cost.

Illness and accident costs as well as costs associated with invalidity as long as they are more than 4% of your annual income :- these are the costs that are not covered by your health insurance.

Childcare costs: If you both work then you can claim the cost of childcare, or at least some of it.


If anyone has any questions I will be pleased to answer.