I think it will be worth your while paying a tax accountant to look at your specific situation. Are you also taxed as well as paid in the USA? As far as I know, if you work here and have a work permit you will need to pay tax in Switzerland. Maybe the company will make you whole to avoid any disadvantage (I understand this is quite common in multinationals). If your wife gets a job here and pays Swiss tax, she could file separately and then claim the $85K exemption. On a normal salary, the brackets do not come into play because in addition to the $85K exemption the US allows you a dollar for dollar credit against the tax paid in Switzerland (the 2 countries have a tax agreement)