I will be moving to Switzerland for a job around June. Will I have a smaller tax obligations if I am a resident for less than half a year? Anyone know about this?

Thanks,

GBer

I don't think so as you will be paying Tax at source (Quellensteuer) based on your monthly income.

Tax at the source = employer takes the tax out of my gross pay?

If I am not taxed at the source? How will that work?

Why wouldn't you be taxed at source?

You will be taxed at source unless you are Swiss. Even EUers in their early days get taxed at source*

You need to be careful about your tax obligations in the country you're leaving and the obligations in Switzerland. You may benefit from discussing this with an accountant in either or both countries.

Unless you earn over 120K a year in which case you can ask to be taxed like a Swiss national.

Tax question = cake & eat it .....

If you are taxed at the source, are your tax obligations complete? Or do you additionally need to file elsewhere, such as cantonal filing?

Being taxed at source means that all federal, kantonal & commune taxes are deducted monthly. This will also include obligatory payment for pension etc.

Where I am in K Bern, this works out at around 28% in total. A far cry from the 50%+ I was paying in London ...

My friend at work pays tax at source. We are both roughly on the same salary and similar family set ups.
He ends up paying much less tax than me and also without all the hassle of filling in in tax forms and having endless provisionary / estimate / final bills coming throught the post from the Gemeinde, Kanton and state for the last 4 years.
This year he gets his C permit and must do the same as me and is not very happy about this.
From what I have heard, the tax as source varies from Kanton to Kanton.

Is the tax rate is based on monthly or annual income? For example, you make 100k annually, but you only work there 1/2 yr, for 50k. Won't your tax rate be lower? I would assume that someone making 50 k would have a smaller tax obligation than someone making 100k...

From what I understand it will be based on the monthly salary - a bit like the emergency tax I remember from the UK.
A lot of people come and go, so they take a "fair" percentage of your salary so that if you just disappear one weekend with Easyjet then no-one loses and they do not have to chase you.
I remember about 9 years ago, I worked through an Agency and the tax was not a big issue (compared to England), however a lot of the money I earned was paid into the state Pension, which when you decided to leave Switzerland you could cash in and take back home tax free.

From some posts which I have read recently, I think now you cannot do this. Worth checking out

I've heard I can't take it, but I will be paid a pension from it when I'm in my 60s... Wherever I am - Switzerland or who knows where...

correct, unless you move to a Non-EU country, then you can draw on the pension fund.

I suggest you search the following forum, there are plenty of answers here : http://www.englishforum.ch/finance-banking-taxation/

If you are married to a Swiss who is working and taxed as a Swiss national. (i.e. fills in a tax return). Do you still get taxed at source?

I'm an EU national, Wife is swiss and currently she is the one with the job. Although I'm hoping that this will change in the very near future. I was wondering how I would be taxed?

If you are married then you pay tax as one family unit. So if one you are swiss you will just have one form and will not pay tax at source (presuming that the Swiss partner is living in switzerland)
I think there are much more detailed tax threads already on the forum by people who know what they are talking about - it would be worth checking these out as well.

I am only speaking from my own personal circumstance - for 5 years my (Swiss) wife was the secondary earner, but even with my B permit we always had to pay the "real" tax. Now I am also Swiss and there was no difference. in our yearly returns

A small overview of swiss tax is here - http://www.ch.ch/private/00093/00098...x.html?lang=en

http://www.englishforum.ch/search.php?searchid=782687
Some interesting threads here (just search for "tax") - maybe too much info in some cases

Expecially for you, GBer :-)

I was informed that if you have been working less than 6 months (at end of December) in Zurich and are taxed at source, then you will receive all of your tax back?

Can someone enlighten me on this?

I saw your posting , however I also heard something similar to what Natasha stated, about getting some tax back at the end of the year... I know in some countries, you might be taxed at the monthly rate, but you will get a refund at the end of the year.