Except my dignity. What the heck, I lost that years ago.

I managed to get the firm to split the bonus into five, so that helps a lot. Still lose a couple of hundred, but hey, that's life.

Just a note to anyone in the same position: I got a warning from a colleague that doing a voluntary tax return could be a bad idea. The reason is that as Quellensteuer (PAYE) payer I pay the average cantonal rate. If I went to a tax return then I'd end up paying the Gemeinde (town) rate which is higher in my case, since the city of Zürich has quite a high rate for the canton. I'm just repeating what he told me, I have no evidence for this.

Thanks again to everyone for their input on this.

And a final update on this post. I asked the Steueramt (tax office), and they told me that I was not allowed to make a voluntary tax declaration (Steuereklärung), even if I wanted to. So there you have it.

In my case, it's worked out not too bad because they'll spread the bonus out for me, but there's a potentially useful warning for other poorly-paid foreign workers.

I find that odd and at odds with what I have been told. Even if you pay QS, you still have an annual summary, and if you have paid too much, it will be balanced out.

Also, just 'cos you do a tax return calculation, doesn't mean you need to hand it in...

I'd get that in writing. If you are tax resident and indicate you have significant issues that may affect your status and tax owed, then it seems inconceivable that they would prevent a submission indeed they would expect a tax return.

The fact that this is simply your bonus quellensteuer is neither here nor there

AYB

I have it clearly and in writing. If you're paid under 120k and pay quellensteuer, you can't submit one. End of.

To back up ommthree, I have a Swiss friend who works for the tax authorities in Basel - and she also told me I could not submit a full tax return. I too protested the logic of this, but her argument was that Quellensteuer will be more or less the same...

My only option is to claim for a tax adjustment, if I made additional pension (3rd column) contributions. Or earn more / marry a Swiss

Me marrying a Swiss would be something that would really annoy my wife and me earning more money is something that would really annoy my boss. Looks like I'm right out of options!

Depends on the canton.

Tom

Unless your spouse is Swiss!

(in which case, you MUST file one (again, depending on the canton, and the amount, but back in Zurich being married was reason enough))

Tom

Over CH 120'000 you must complete the tax return. Under CHF 120'000 you are entitled to if you have a C Permit, it is not compulsory.

http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/...t_QSt11_en.pdf

5. Who determines the applicable withholding tax tariff?
The municipality in which the person subject to withholding tax is domiciled or resident is responsible
for the tariff notification.
If the person subject to withholding tax objects to the withholding tax tariff to which they have been
allocated, they may demand a review from the respective municipal tax office by the end of March of
the year following that in which the tax falls due.



8. When can withholding tax be reclaimed or corrected?
The following expenditure may establish an entitlement to a withholding tax reimbursement:
• Debt interest (consumer credit)
• Further training costs
• Health and accident costs
• Costs associated with disability
• Support or alimony payments
• Contributions in recognized forms to own dedicated pension provisioning (pillar 3a)
• Purchases of lacking contribution years in a pension fund (2nd pillar)
• Cost of international weekly residence
• Exceptional travel expenses (over 10,000 km per annum)
• Childcare costs
• Support deduction
• Municipal contributions, donations
• To prevent international double taxation
The formal request for an amended calculation must be made by the end of March of the following
year using the corresponding application form. The application form may be obtained from the
Cantonal Tax Office of Zurich (Kantonales Steueramt Zürich, Dienstabteilung Quellensteuer,
Bändliweg 21, Postfach, 8090 Zurich) or may be downloaded from the Internet.

All of the above extra costs are usually claimed on the annual tax return. So the Quellensteuer "correction"
can be made similarly before the 31st March 2012.
Make sure you keep all your relevant receipts and statements, and the first time go to an accountant.
.

He is correct, if you pay normal Swiss tax: you are usually taxed at the place where you live on 31st December 2011.

Yes, that's right. If you're on a C is different, I forgot about that. But for B permit holders under 120k, it's not permitted, at least in Canton Zürich.

As to reclaiming quellensteuer. I've done that in the past successfully, but you can't do it for my purposes unfortunately, only those you listed above.

Interesting. The tax office in Zürich don't mention that in their (rather terse) reply to my enquiry.

Unless you are married to a Swiss. I had a B, as soon as I got married, they gave me all my money back and made me start filling out forms. This was in Zurich.

Tom

Late to the party but i will give my two cents....you are definitely better off not filling out a tax return if you live in Zurich. The Quellensteuer is based on a 100% average rate. The Zurich rate is 119% (some towns are only 78%) My advice to you is to suck it up, there is probably 2x per year where the state rapes you with tax....(bonus month, and 13th salary month) Otherwise you are paying way less tax