Thanks mate.


OK, so what exactly did you do?
Back in 2009 you went to a bank and asked to open such an account? Then you transfered the money to that account, and now (September 2009) you got the tax refund for 2008?

Great! now they do the bank transfer. earlier they used to send the cheques.

If you state your Bank details, then they transfer the refund to the Bank. Otherwise, they may ask you for Bank details or just send you a postal cheque cashable at any PO.

I live in canton Zurich and it's really easy here.
Step-by-step guide:
1) Mid-2008 I opened the 3rd pillar bank account.
2) before 31.12.2008 I paid a few thousand CHF into this account
3) before 31.03.2009 I filled out a form called 'Antragsformular für eine Korrekturberechnung der Quellensteuer' and sent it to the cantonal tax office.
4) then I did not hear or see anything for six months....
5) Last week I got a letter stating they would refund a few hundred CHF.
6) Now they have transferred the money to my normal bank account.

hope this helps

and where did you get the form?

Thank you.
I suppose the "few hundred CHF" that you got were the amount you were expecting otherwise you would have written it, right?

From the taxoffice (Steueramt), or download it from their webpage. Just Google it. However, I think you have to wait until the end of the year to find the forms for 2010 (and reclaim the 2009 tax).

Yes, you can roughly calculate it if you have the taxation tables. I don't know where I got them from (probably also the Steueramt), but I had them at the beginning of the year and figured I would get ca. 900 chf back. I got 980, so I'd say it's worth the 5 minutes it takes to obtain and complete the form.

I am underfunded in my 2a pension. Can I move money from 3a pension into a 2a.

thanks

no but you can 'buy back' more of your 2a pension and get the tax break if you make a tax return. there is a section on the form to declare it. not sure how it works if you don't make a return, sorry.

there is a maximum per individual per year which you can buy back, otherwise you could reduce your tax liability to zero or even negative! obviously that's not allowed (c; it shoud be stated on their annual statement from the pension company to you. otherwise call them up and ask them what is the max you can buy back for that year.

I checked with my pension fund. They said I would need to cash out my 3rd pillar. Pay the tax (I don't know how much that would be) and then I could fund the 2nd pension with the funds.

You can do that. But it is disadvantageous.

Pillar 3a assets are exempt from income and wealth taxes. So what is the benefit of moving from 3a to Pillar 2?

Note that a P-2 deficit can be filled any time. But P-3a contributions are capped annually.

Moreover, you have more flexibility in P-3a and deposit it in the Bank paying the highest interest. But P-2 you are trapped in the employer's fund, cannot arbitrarily withdraw, cannot choose a better institution, etc.

I've got totally confused with pillar 3b/3a tax deductions in Geneva..

1. It is clear that pillar 3a _can be_ deducted and is limited to 6'365/year.

2. At some point I've got advised to buy a life insurance that split the premium
between 3a and 3b, and I vaguely remember that 3b is also supposed to be
deductable in Geneva to a certain extent (1'311/y ??).

However, I could not find a proper place for this 3b part in the tax declaration form
and a justification of it got completely ignored by the authorities for tax calculation.

I would be very grateful for an explanation.

3b is not tax deductible.

Hi all,

We are considering getting a 3rd A Pillar pension Fund. After some reading we decided to go to PostFinance as it seems to be one of the best in terms of rates. Once there, surprise!!! The person in the office told us that we could not get our money back before 5 years...but we will need it for our new house/aptm!!!
We would greatly appreciate if someone could confirm this point.

Strange statement! Something lost in translation? Ask them to give you the written terms and conditions with the clause on 5-year lock-in.

However, you may have a hassle with the tax department. They may refuse the usual deduction, if you put it in, claim a deduction, and then quickly withdraw it.

Hello Richard,

I need to find out as much info as we can before my Swiss wife and 3 Swiss/Canadian children and myself, (Canadian mit Schweizer Buegerschaft), move to Zuerich.

We would like to buy a Mehrfamilienhaus and if possible use my Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plan as part of the financing.

Can you comment?

All assistance greatfully appreciated

ahr davies

Sorry this is wrong. You are allowed to pay in the full amount of 3655.00 in pillar 3a deduct it from the taxes and also buy yourself into pillar 2a (pension fund) with any amount you wish (fully deductable from taxes as well)...

I am looking to open a 3rd Pillar account, but having searched Comparis nothing seems that great.
Has anyone found any good 3rd Pillar account / fund options that they would recommend???

I understand that the tax deductibility of the 3a contribution is
- some 6.5k if I pay into a 2nd pillar
- some 30k if I don't (or am self-employed)

My question is - is the status determined for the year, or at the end of the year?

More specifically, I was made redundant at the end of June. Hence I contributed into the company pension plan and paid AHV for half the year.

For the second half of the year, I am receiving unemployment, and still paying AHV, but no longer contributing to a pension plan.

Which category do I fall under??

my own guess (and hope) is that I can slip now into the second category and save a lot of tax by contributing say 20k into a 3a account?