Hi all,
Ive browsed the "search" and I havent seen this question covered, apologies if this has been covered before.

Are there any websites that breakdown the swiss tax system? ie what Federal tax is, Kantonal tax, when its due, tips on filling out hte forms, what you definitely need, whats useful etc? Ideally in english?

TIA
Irish_marmot

Have you tried comparis.ch?
One website ...all solutions....
No I dont get any commissions for promoting it

There is a thread here on this but can't see it right now, have this book marked at home so if not posted by the time I'm home will post it here.

1. Tax-in-arrears based on actuals for the taxable year
2. Tax return needs to be filed by 31 Mar of year after the taxable year
3. Evidence needs to be provided of all income and most deductibles
4. You're taxed on global income and global movable assets. Property is only taxed if in CH.
5. It's a relatively transparent tax system where you pay into different accounts through different methods (federal, canton, council, church, health, TV & radio licence) but overall tax is generally less than many other countries. I once worked it out to be around 8% cheaper tax in CH than in NZ, when comparing apples with apples.

assuming you are in the system and they ask/send you the forms to fill in. if it is your first return in a Canton it could be May before you get sent the request with forms.

also note: 3 month extensions are easy ad free to obtain i.e. no penalty. A longer extension requires more explanation and possibly penalty/interest payments be made on the bill to be paid.

bill

To avoid penalties simply pay tax in advance throughout the year

Nothing to stop you doing that, and interest at the tax office is higher than at the bank :-)

Just ring and ask for a bill for however much you want to pay in advance.

what is the rate and where is this info published please?

Tried searching on the tax department's website?

Example for our beloved Canton Zuri:
http://www.steueramt.zh.ch/html/erla...r/rrb_zins.htm

Late payment penalty interest: 4.5%

Early payment benefit interest: 2%

Compare to current Credit Suisse rates:
savings account 0.5%
private account 0.75%
Even their best savings account is only 1.375%

Your money is better off at the tax office - and maybe even safer

And if you want to apply for an extention, here it is. ONLY FOR ZURICH THOUGH.

https://e-gov.stzh.ch/efristen/servlet/FSIServlet

yes tried that bu my german sucks. thanks!

and as for the safety of the money, who can finish this line:

one thing is true of all governments: .....

Bonus point for the source (c'

And I suppose tax at source is exempt from this! (c;

This thread by Richard is a couple of years old now, so am not sure if/how many changes there have been in the meantime, but was useful for me filling out my forms:

How to do your tax return Kt ZH

I second that. incredibly useful post that. the ZRH application has changed slightly but with the post above 90% of the work should be easy to complete. after that its just a matter of getting quick advise from a professional on specific 'complicated' issues.

bill

Not only does the tax-office give you 2%, but it is tax-free, too!

Tried this, excelent.

http://www1.drtax.ch/htm/441/en_CH/Homepage.htm

Covers all the cantons.

Is it possible that you can overpay as the tax amount is indicative?

The downside to this at first sight seems to be that you cant get your money quickly if you want as it is with the tax people. And i'm sure they wont just give you it if you ask for it. Can you clarify this please?

I just tried this for Basel Stadt/Land and it didn't turn up any results.

You can't exactly make withdrawals. That is twice my mortgage rate though

Read through this and one or two other posts and i still have a question....

After seven years here, i only just found out that one doesn't have to pay the amount on the tax invoices that one gets sent throughout the year if you disagree. In my situation, i suspect that my 2012 earnings may be substantially less that 2011, so i don't want to pay the full amounts that the authorities will send next year, as they will be based on this years liability.

The question is - the interest which is due on underpayment.....how is that calculated?

Eg if i get three invoices in Mar, June, Sept for 20 000 chf each, and i send only 10 000 per time.....and my tax assessment for 2012 isnt complete until Sept 2013, do i pay....

1. 19 months (mar 12 - sept 13) at 4% on chf 10000 plus
2. 16 months ditto plus
3. 12 months ditto

OR

Does the clock start ticking on the interest only at the end of the tax year?

If you underpay the bill, then interest is charged on the remaining unpaid amount from the final due date of the tax (normally the due date of the bill).

If you wish to update the provisional figures to the realistic amount, go and see the tax dept with your supporting documents.
They can create a new provisional bill with the adjusted figures.

This way you can pay the correct figures and not incur interest charges

BTW, if you overpay; or if the provisional tax is higher than reality, the overpaid amount earns interest at a higher amount than what you get at the bank

So if you have no need for the money, overpaying tax is a good way of saving and earning good interest (for Swiss standards...)
Current rates are around 1.5% I believe