Hi

I know that BL taxes company car owners on the 'value' of their company car. But what if I take a 3 year old car as my company car. Am I taxed on it's original sale price or its current Eurotax value ?

The tax system is generally very fair. It would be unfair to tax an asset at an inflated asset value.

So logic tells me you would be taxed on the value of the vehicle at the time it was purchased.

Note that I may be wrong, so please help me if I am .

Thanks for your reply.. I'm not so confident logic and fairness are all that prominent in taxation issues...

I'll call my tax office and see if I can get any definitive answer.

The tax of a company car can be done in several ways depending on which way the car is bought or declared. Cutting a long story short you need to state how you intend to pay for the car in order to produce the correct answer.

Hi... ok.. let's say, my company intends to arrange for a 3 year lease at 1100chfs per month of a 4 year old car purchased for 50k but originally sold for 100k. How much tax will I pay and how is that amount calculated.

Okay it is a lease. Do you have any say in the company? Will the car also be used privately? Where do you live?
Is it:
No say as I work for a large multi, private car and I live in Basel Land?

I live in Basel Land, work for a multinational, the car will be for work and for private use...

I appreciate any feedback ...

Then you will be taxed at the rate of 0.8% of the purchase price per month.

As a general rule of thumb you can calculate your driven km for the company (to and from work doesn't count) per year * 0.70 CHF. Anything above it is in theory liable for tax.

So if you e.g. have a lumpsum (Autopauschale) of 1'500 CHF/month, you need to drive approx 26'000 km for the company to be of the hook.

Same thing if the company leases a car in their name and have expenses of total 1'500 CHF/month.

Now, these are general assumptions. Each tax inspector seem to have a lot of freedom as to how to view this issue. A manager may be allowed to have 0.90 CHF/km because he needs more representive car etc, etc. In our company, basically each employee with Autopauschale is viewed differently by their Homegemeinde. For Basel I have no reference though. They may have more specific rules and forms for this than the cantons I am familiar with.

You are about right but the OP was not talking about Autopauschale but company car. There is a difference...

However, you may want to check with your HR / Tax dept. if they have concluded a ruling with the tax authorities on the amount to add. MNCs tend to make these arrangements. For the rest, what Richard said.

That is indeed the simplest. Use of company car is viewed as a monthly fringe benefit valued at 0.8% of purchase price (excluding VAT). That fringe benefit is added to the employees taxable income. Simple, straightforward and no discussions with the tax officers.

Alternatively, you must maintain detailed records of every driven km, classify it as work or play, and thus calculate the number of private km driven. Big hassle!

Thanks for all the feedback.. As the company car policy allows me to have a used car (within reason) then knowing I'll be taxed on the purchase price, not the original price, really makes a difference.

Anyone want to sell me a Phaeton ?

Hello

Please forgive my question, I am not the most tax-aware person on the planet.

I am in a similar position to the OP, having been offered a new job with company car and I have free choice of a car. And I wanted to clarify if I have understood the amount of tax I will pay correctly.

An example, I have a new car worth 30,000 CHF and will use it for business and pleasure. Does this mean I will then pay 240CHF in tax per month for this benefit? The simplicity of this seems much better than calculating out personal mileage as I had to do in the UK.

Also, in the UK, my partner was added onto the company car insurance and could drive the company car as well. Is this also possible/normal in Switzerland?

Thanks for your help

C ;-)

As the thread says.. depends on where you live... but 240chf per month sounds right. Unlike the UK (from what I remember) most policies here say anyone with a license can drive your car with your permission. What made me laugh was that at the company I was at they had a 'policy' which only allowed your 'wife or husband' to drive your car and only if you were a passenger. One wag complained that his wife would never agree to chauffeur him and his girlfriend.

I read it as adding 240 to your taxable income. That is, you pay taxes as if you earned another 240 per month. This is not the same as paying 240 in tax.