Does anyone knows if it is possible to change in the middle of the year from taxation at source to do your own tax declaration at the end of the year. This due to income increase above 120k CHF.

Unless you are on a C permit or Swiss you will be taxed at source anyway. If you earn over 120k you will have to file a tax return at the end of the year however.

This happened to me this year for a tax year 2007.

N.B. B permit holders have to pay tax at source no matter what! unless they go independent I think.

At some point in 2007 I went through the 120K threshold and was worried about having to make a return in Canton Vaud, missing the deadline, fines etc. I had no 'numero contribuale' which is different from your AVS number, so I got in touch with the Tax office several times before the end of 2007 and a couple in early 2008 before the March deadline and got nothing from them.

After I got in touch with an accountant to help me out with my first tax return he pointed out that until my employer made their declarations to Vaud i.e. how much tax at source they kept/will pay Vaud, they would not know that I should have been in their net! And so I should not worry until they come looking for me. The fact that I was looking for them as they owed me money was not important to the Vaud tax authorities! Employer declarations happen around March, I think.

In May I got the demand to fill in a tax return and I have to do it in 30 days too! Or else .....

HTH, Bill

It's right that if you salary is above a certain band (120 K is right I think), you will have to pay your tax on yearly basis, even if you are on B permit.

Hi,

Can anyone help me, my husband and I work for different emplyers who have been deducting tax at source for us being a married couple with no church. We were sent tax forms to return which we sent to a tax advisor who has told us that our tax rate is not determined on individual salries taking into account us being married and no church e.g. how both our emplyers determine our tax rate but instead at the rate for our combined salaries resulting in us owing a staggering 6000 CHF, how can this be possible if we are taxed at source and have no other income, can anyone help?

What your tax advisor says is correct BUT - you should now be able to make far more deductions - clothes & travel for work, lunch, higher education, medical bills if over 5% of your taxable income, insurance, pension contributions, mortgage - to name but a few...

There are many reasons for the difference:

1. Incomes of husband and wife are clubbed. This shifts into a higher tax slab. However, married couples benefit from more deductions. It depends on the canton, but in general, high double incomes pay more taxes after aggregation.
2. Tax deducted at source (TDS) is at the average cantonal rate. Taxes on declarations are at the tax rate of the domicile commune. So, for example, residents in Zurich city pay higher taxes than the cantonal average.
3. Tax declarations also capture global assets and global income. This increases the tax liability above the TDS.

In case of working married couples, both are taxed at source like singles. Tax authorities send the letter at the year for tax correction - I think at that time they are not asked to do the full declaration (which means you can deduct travel, cloths etc etc) but the basic deduction allowed like 3A contribution.. At the end, you still pay more than what you would have paid as singles... It's not true for high (which is very relative word) salaries but I guess for all standard salaries..

Views from people having experience on the same are welcome...

You can run the numbers through the tax software and ascertain the precise tax liability.

If for any reason (like C permit), you go from source to normal taxation, then your gemeinde/commune tax office will send you a form as provisional so you need to fill it out and give them back in 30 days, forecasting rest of the year's income,...

I did and thats what I found by taking two salary examples of 100 K each.

Tax at source individual1 (single)+ Tax at source individual 2 (single) < Tax at source together as married < Tax return as married through software

Now you can figure it out what I mean..

yeah, being married/cohabitation/legal partnership with no kids is a tax disadvantage. )c;

The Swiss authorities have recognized this anomaly and it is being intensively debated. Some relief is already anticipated for the 2009 tax year. However, the higher deductions will be mainly effective for low income families. Families having high double incomes would hardly benefit.

The reliefs are only for people doing full declaration (through software) or also for the people taxed at source as singles?

Thanks for your help, what software are you refering too?

Our tax advisor never even mentioned the deductions so will chase her for this.

So based on your responses the tax office does tax us based on our 2 salaries combined.

Thanks for your help, let me know if you have any more advice specifically on the deductions we can claim

Thanks

Helen

go to your local cantonal tax office web page and poke around. I believe they all have software that allow you to make tax return your self. for ZRH:

http://www.steueramt.zh.ch/html/steu...g/software.htm

and NO. it is not available in any other language.


use the search facility here (englishforumn) for many discussions on tax and deductions.

it depends on your salary. if you earn less than 120kCHF a single person usually does not make an actual tax return. but as a minimum you can get a rebate IF you opted to use your 3a pillar pension allowance. if you have special circumstances, own property (CH or abroad) live in one canton work in another and want to claim travel as a deduction then you will have to ask the tax office to consider your situation.

if you earn more than 120kCHf single you WILL be asked to make a return, you can use the forms they send you and calculate everything yourself percentages etc or download the software and let it take the pain out of the actual calculations. you just have to input the initial details.

i believe if you are married/cohabitation/legal partnership the trigger for HAVING to do a return is 240kCHF. if you earn less than this you can always get the 3a pillar pension rebate and try to convince them about the other stuff if you have any.

start with the threads in http://www.englishforum.ch/finance-banking-taxation/ for a lot of info.

In Vaud, if you are a foreigner and you earn over CHF 120,000 you are ordinarily taxed: http://www.vd.ch/fr/themes/etat-droi...-a-chf-120000/

There is a form to fill out and send indicating modifications in your situation: http://www.vd.ch/fileadmin/user_uplo...if_acompte.pdf but to make sure you should check this with your employer and relevant tax authorities.