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.

This is very helpful, thanks Richard. A couple of questions spring to mind.

First, where do you look for this form for other cantons?

Second, when do you need to claim these deductions? I'm specifically thinking about the healthcare costs. Do you fill in one of these forms during each month that you have to pay a medical bill, or after you hit the magical 4% of the salary mark, at the end of the year, or at some other time?

Local fiscal administration website. Your employer also has them.

End of each year. Your employer should ask you for both forms.

One more thing, I assume "medical bills" includes dental bills, or would I be wrong there?

Thanks Shorrick for helping out, actually the forms must be completed and returned to the local tax office by March of the year following the one you are claiming for. ie before end of March 2008 for the tax year 2007

Thats a good question. Dental bills often fall outside of health care but it would at least be worth a try. I will check and revert (tomorrow)...

I have no clue when it comes to taxation as I have always just left it to the man to figure it out. Apologies if this is an exceedingly obvious question.

So I got to the Migros Klubschule to learn German, this relevant both to my job, and life here in general. Although it's only a small sum, about 800-900CHF per year, can I claim the entire cost back? or is it just a percentage thing.

The purpose of this deduction is to promote professional training. This generally means for example a course in advanced bricklaying or a specific computer course or the like. Language courses in native Swiss languages and English are generally not acceptable.

Within the Quellensteuer calculation CHF 400 is deducted and all of any amount above this will be deducted if the application is accepted. Or alternatively they can accept the course but not the accommodation costs etc. So there is no guarantee of a 100% deduction unless it is course and material costs only.

FYI - yes you can get tax back for german class - In 2006 I took intensive german lessons for 4 months at Migro and I filled out the form, stapled my receipts and got the refund about 3 months later...It was 500-800Fr from what I can remember since it reduced my pity salary by about 4k!

I have two questions, first, the document you have loaded here, is it available in English and if so where do I obain it. Second is how to a obtain an English translation for my tax forms. I live in canton St. Gallen and have recieved the forms for filing 2007, but it is difficult to translate with a computer program.
I have contacted the tax office regarding this same question without success. Any advice?

It's not an English speaking country... however look on this thread... it's sticky, so you could have read it first...

re: Quellensteuer Lite
Everything dental is claimable, as long as you exclude cosmetic work like polishing teeth (white). But of course the 4% rule still applies, and in some cantons this is 5%. Also, you have to prove your claimed medical costs, either with bills or the overview sent to you after handing in bills by your insurance company.

Note you have to claim these costs back by 31.03.2008 or you will lose the right to a refund (see pdf).

re: Full tax form
What I would like to know myself if you can ask to fill in the full tax form and then claim the additional deductions like Berufskosten (occupational deductions, which is often a fixed standard amount, and single household deduction etc.).

If you are allowed to fill in a full tax form, the medical costs are calculated differently, then it is not 4% of your annual brutto or net income but another income (reinheitsinkomen?), which is reduced by some factors. So fill in the tax form and see if the resulting tax reduces when you enter your bills.

Things like Berufskosten are claimed on your tax return.
No need to claim more than once or fill in 2 forms.

Say you pay Quellensteuer of 12K, your tax bill comes to 10.5K (because of where you live or you have more deductions), you get a refund (with interest and some other bits).

Did I understand correctly?

Hi Richard,

Thanks a lot for your post! Two questions:

Probably to late for me, but better than not asking. I assisted a course from October 2006 through March 2007, the course costs were split accross these months, can I at least deduct the payments made during 2007?

Not covered because you I don't have the right coverage or because I have a deductible or both?

Thanks again

which is easily extended (all you have to do is call them and ask) for 3 or 6 months ...

In relation to the CHF 120,000 per year threshhold...Does this include the 13th salary or not?

Yes you can claim for the 2007 part as long as there is some way of ascertaining the cost in 2007.

Both. The classic example is when you have the amounts you have paid for medical costs and then you had some dental treatment that was not covered at all.

Yes it does it is your total brutto income.

Actually in this case generally not. The claim for relief for PAYE must be completed and submitted by 31.03. It could be that a canton does allow a late submission but that is not the rule.

@Richard: thank you, great post.

But regarding the 3rd pillar I think it is important to know that there are two types: 3a and 3b. The first is the one you want. The second has no effect on taxes.

reason, and that's important to keep in mind: you only have access to the money in 3a when you 1) leave to country for good, 2) buy a house, 3) become self employed