Hi,

I am from Ireland and have been working in Switzerland since August last year.

A friend from home said i need to pay taxes in Ireland for the money i am earning here. This doesnt make sense to me as i thought i only need to pay tax in the country where i am earning the money. I explained this to my friend but he insists i need to pay tax in Ireland too.

Does anyone have any more info on this ?

Thanks in advance.

As far as I am aware you need to pay the tax where you reside.

I am Irish too, but do not pay any tax in Ireland. I have not filled out any tax forms at home for quite a while now as I have not earned any money there, and have not been living there.

If you are living here in Switzerland and earning your living here, then there is no issue of you having to pay tax in Ireland.

EDIT: Just saw that you actually reside in Ireland, if you are living there then you need to check it out with the tax office back home to see what your tax liability is.

AFAIK if you own any property in Ireland then you will need to fill out a tax return there. If you have no Irish assetts & only earn money in Switzerland then you should be fine but if you have doubts you should check it out with a tax accountant/lawyer.

Thanks for the reply's

I shouldnt have said Irish Resident in the title as i am now living in Switzerland permanently.

I dont own any assets in Ireland but i am a director of a very small company that i am going to close in June (because of my decision to live in CH permanently) - All my tax returns for this company are up to date.

Any more info is great.

In that case you will probably have to do a final filing after the company is wound up.

Hi There,

Wheather or not you must pay taxes in Ireland for the period since last August is depends on your behaviour since then.

If for example you have paid regular visits back home each month or so, had a place to stay while there such as a flat or house and you transferred some of your income to an Irish bank account, then yes in theory at least you could be liable to Irish taxes on your Swiss income, but normally only on the amount you transferred to Ireland.

On the other hand, if you moved here last August, only visited Ireland once or twice, have not place to stay when there, then in most cases you will not have to pay Irish taxes on your Swiss income.

In order to keep things sweet, you need to file a final tax return for last year covering the period up to when you departed. Assuming you are just a normal joe, the Revenue Commissioners will accept it and that will be the end of it.

Concerning your company, you should be aware that there are speical comany law rules which apply when a director is non resident. If you are a director of your company, then you should get legal advise on this point, as it could cause you some problems when trying to wind down the company.

Jim

Hi there,

in case u want to check it out, pwc in zug have a "irish desk".....

cu

Hi There!

I'm Irish living here permenantly now since April 2007, But I was here in 2006 for 7 months and was registered as been self employed in Ireland, Anyway when it came for me to do my tax return in Ireland for 2006 in august 2007 I was also unsure of what i had to pay tax on.

Anyway after chatting to different tax offices in kildare and Dublin I was told that since i spent 7 months in Switzerland working and only 4 months in Ireland then I would not be liable for tax in Ireland on my earnings in Switzerland, however if i had only worked for 4 months in Switzerland then i would be liable for tax on all my swiss income.

I did my tax return in July on-line putting in what i made in ireland and my expenses etc.. and it came back with a Zero tax Liabilty, I included a letter saying about my work in switzerland and earnings.. I sent it off and 3 days later got a tax cert on-line saying it had been accepted.

Even if you would have to file a tax declaration, I suspect there is a "double-taxation" agreement between Switzerland and Ireland which stipulates that you only have to tax your income once. I.e. you may have to declare you're income but you would then deduct the taxes you have already paid. If you google on "double taxation", "switzerland" and "ireland" I'm sure you'll find info.

I am not Irish, but I tell you how it works in Hungary maybe it is similar. the way this works is that if I work more than 183 days in Hungary and then I switch to Switzerland I should file a tax return in Hungary, stating teh money earned in Switzerland and Hungary, and I should pay the difference(if there any) based on the double taxation contract between the two country. If I work less than 183 days in Hungary (this will be my case weheheh) I still have to file a return on the hungarian income, I still have to state teh money earned in Switzerland, but do not have to pay tax difference on it. After this last/first year there is nothing to do with hungarian tax office(of course if I work in Switzerland for the whole tax year).