Hi everybody,

I did a good search on the quellensteur here on EF but I still have some doubts regarding the withhold tax calculation, so I hope someone can help me

In few words, I started my first permanent job last december and my annual salary is around 60k. Looking at websites like Lohncomputer.ch and Comparis.ch my expectation was to pay around 100 chf per month, unfortunately I paid 1000 chf in december and 500+ chf in January!!!
Furthermore on my paysleep this tax is itemized as "quellensteur BS", and I believe BS refers to Basel Stadt, but I live in BL instead...
so is the tax calculated on the canton where I work or where i reside?

I have also tried to look for some info on google but I don't speak german and google translate is not always helpful...before i contact my payroll dept or my tax advisor i want to be sure I have a correct undertstanding so any explanation from you would be welcome.
thanks

Are you married ? Do you have any other 'entitlements' on your pay (like subsidised school fees, medical or rental etc) which are taxable ?

I would firstly ask the employer what scale they are using for your Quellensteuer (if it's not on the payslip) - should be something like 'C1' 'B2' or similar...you can cross match those Quellensteuer scales.

Oh, and they should know where you are living and use the Quellensteuer scale for your location.

The tax deduction should be around 12-15% if you are married and your spouse is already earning a high salary. Are you sure it's just tax, but also your AHV (unemployment/social deductions) and pension ?

Hi Swisspea!

Yes, I am married and I have no other no "entitlements". However, my husband is above 120k thresold.
The AHV and pension are deducted separately, so the Quellensteur is 10.69% which I believe then is more or less within the range you just mentioned.

However, I guess there is still a mistake because I live in BL and not BS, which is quite strange since my HR sends the payslip to my address

Sounds like an error.

My suggestion: ask your HR department, they calculated your payments and should be able to explain everything, plus they know your exact details.

Hmm, it is my understanding that the Quellensteuer (source tax) is collected at the source. In this case, the company you work for has to deduct the correct amount from your salary each month and pay it to the Kanton. If that company is in Baselstadt, it makes sense that you will be looking at the BS scales.

I am not sure about this. I looked at my own salary statement, and it does not mention the origin of any Quellensteuer scale. It does mention the percentage, which is in the 10% range. So your 500 CHF/month sounds about right for a gross salary of 60k. Just wondering whether you get a 13th month in December. If so, it would double your salary in December, and therefore double your tax as well....

December's tax bill will be far more than doubled if there is a 13th month salary--------

Just showing a possible explanation here....

Anyway, the OP could take a look at the BS tables for quellensteuer, starting from page 30. http://www.steuerverwaltung.bs.ch/19...und_tarife.pdf

The company I work for is in Baselstadt, so as you said it shouldn't be any error, right?

BTW, thank you for your clarification, much appreciated :

I will definitely ask my HR about how the calculate it, just to make sure that everything is fine. Thank you!

It's not correct that the Quellensteuer is based on the company's Kanton of residence. The company should use the rates for the Kanton in which the employee is resident. I sign off on payments where I work & see Quellensteuer payments being made to different Kantons, not just in our location and my deduction changed when I moved Kanton a few years ago.

But if your husband is over the 120,000 you will have to do the full CH tax return, so they will re-calculate your taxes (as a couple) anyway, and offest what is due with what you and him have paid already..

This is BS! (Bullshit that is!)

Quellensteuer is based on the person's not company's place of residence. They should charge you with BL rates. Maybe they have an incorrect address? Anyway, getting it clarified should be relatively simple. Getting the money back however, will take a loooong time...