i was wondering whether anyone could help me...i put some money into 3rd pillar to save some tax, however when i wanted to claim the tax back, i was told my tax is from the source(dunno if thats correct) but it means it automatically gets deducted from my salary, so i was never able to claim the tax back on the money i put into 3rd pillar, and now i am leaving the country, and want to take money out, they are saying i have to pay 6 - 8 % tax again! so im paying tax on the money i have already paid tax on! if i never put it into 3rd pillar, i would have been better off! is there anyway i can get around this?


Thanks

I am not sure I know all the facts well enough but my understanding is that if you are employed (as opposed to self employed) and earn less than CHF 120k you are not required to do a tax return. Your tax is deducted from your monthly salary by your employer.

This deduction at source is calculated based on the average tax rate for the canton. So depending upon where you live in the canton you might be slightly worse or better off depending upon whether where you actually live has a higher or lower tax rate (and may wish to do a proper tax return).

If you have paid into a 3rd pillar account and earn less than CHF 120k there is a form that you need to complete and submit (I think by 31 March) for every tax year to get the tax back in respect of your 3rd pillar contribution.

If you earn more than CHF 120k you will be doing a tax return anyway and claim the deduction in that.

It seems like you will end up paying tax twice on the amount unless someone who knows more than me knows of a way around this. Sorry....