Hi all and thanks for the great forum, I always find an invaluable amount of information here, but I'm really getting mad wrapping my head around the tax issue.

I am Italian, resident in Switzerland since 2017, with residence permit B. Last year (2019) for the first time my salary exceeded 120k. I was living in Lausanne, but then *as of December 1st* I moved to Zurich. I was (and am) also paying 3rd pillar contributions.

Please help me to understand if I got it correctly:

1) Since I moved to Zurich before December 31st and since my gross salary in 2019 was over 120k, I *have* to file taxes in Zurich.
2) This means that at some point I will receive per post the forms for the tax declaration, but this might happen a couple of months from now. Then, I'll have like 30 days of time to fill them.
3) However, since I was taxed at source in Lausanne (much higher taxes compared to Zurich) I should expect that, when the moment comes, I will actually receive back quite a lot of money, rather than having to pay.
4) For filling this tax declaration form, I can use this guide: https://www.steueramt.zh.ch/internet...h_20191017.pdf
5) For the 3rd pillar and other deductions instead, I should use the form located at https://www.steueramt.zh.ch/internet...ortal_anv.html (Antrag für quellensteuerpflichtige Arbeitnehmende auf Neuveranlagung der Quellensteuer 2019) *before March 31st*

Is the above correct?

I am particularly wondering about the two points: getting back the difference between taxation in Lausanne and taxation in Zurich, and if it is true that I have basically to do *two* declarations: the one because I am over 120k, and the one for claiming back 3rd pillar and other little things, which sounds a bit silly to me.

I also asked at the tax office, but they always seem to dodge the answer I need (either they don't read my email carefully or my German is really bad).

I would be really grateful if someone can confirm or correct me because this is getting really frustrating

Thanks in advance!

Based on your input, you should plan to file under the retrospective ordinary method, i.e., a regular tax return. The Pillar III deduction is to be taken on the regular tax return and the link at 5) is irrelevant to the situation you have described. You should plan to contact your local tax office to request a tax form which includes the important PID (personal identification number).

Your 2019 filing will be with Ct. Zurich and Ct. Zurich is to coordinate the tax funds paid to Ct. Vaud with Ct. Vaud. This backoffice activity between the cantons should not normally be visible to the taxpayer.

Good luck with your tax filing!

OK, so the deductions should be considered when filling the tax declaration module that I will receive per post. Then I will not file anything out of my will before March 30th and will just wait for the module. Any clue how long it takes?

An update on this: since I haven't received anything by end October, I finally wrote them and I finally received the folder by post. A LOT of paperwork! I took my time (my fault) and I missed the deadline, so last week I received a "Mahnhung". I am now filing the stuff with a tax advisor, should be ready soon. I will let you know.

Thanks for sharing!
So did you learn now at what date you will have to fill all of this in every year?
Is it before the 31st of march?
Is it up to me/you to initiate the tax declaration ourselves or should I expect some forms through the post?

I came above 120k during 2020 and needs to do the Tax declaration for the first time. I will contact a tax professional for this.

I have some stocks located in XETRA(Germany) through Swissquote, I have some crypto, I opened a 3a pillar account on VIAC 1 week ago(so that should not count for 2020) and my incomes for 2021.
How did you go about taxing your investments?

"Normal" (compulsory) tax declaration deadline is March 31st every year. This applies to you if: 1) you have a C permit, or 2) you are a Swiss citizen, or 3) you earn more than 120k CHF before taxes, or 4) you have non-negligible assets abroad, where by "non-negligible" I'm not sure about the amount but for sure if you own and rent a house abroad and you earn more than 2500 CHF from that rent, *even* if you already pay taxes abroad on that income.

You can push back this deadline to September at no cost with a simple communication to the tax office if you want to have more time to fill the declaration.

In theory if it's compulsory you should simply receive the paperwork from the tax office. However, from my experience, if it's the first year you go over 120k they might screw up and forget about you for some months. I strongly suggest you to contact directly your tax office and solicit them in sending you the forms.

I went through Taxolution to fill the paperwork, was pretty satisfied with them, might do it again for 2020.

Big thanks for the great input. A lot of good stuff.
And I was looking for someone to help me with this, so thanks for the tip on Taxolution.

How many hours do you generally need for help with the tax declaration?

It vastly depends on your personal situation, which might change from year to year. In my case 2019 was a bit messy, I paid ~270 CHF. My 2020 should be much smoothier, in fact I'm thinking of doing it by myself this time.