I am working in Switzerland and holding a B permit. I submitted my tax-return application last year and recently I see its status is still "under process". Does anyone know how long this tax-return process may take? Some of my colleagues told me that it may take years before the actual return tax is "returned' to my bank account.
Is this true? why such a simple process takes so long time?

For me, it has sometimes taken 5+ years.

Tom

First one in Zurich took a couple of years, now it is 1-2 years (have just finalized 2019 so it is getting faster).

How long is a piece of string? It takes as long as it takes, but even longer in the pandemic era. People are off sick, working from home, and assigned to other 'more important' duties.

It really depends on a lot of factors.

Got my tax return 3 weeks after sending the papers in.

I am in Kt Zürich and if I remember correctly my 2018 tax return is still open, while 2017 was settled in April-May last year

No return is a good return

It arrived to my bank account after ~6 months the last year (Vaud).
This year I am still waiting.

AFAIK the legal requirement is 5 years.

As to why, in my case they took 2 years because they were my first declarations that were a bit more complex due to earning a wage, and so they probably wanted to collect 2 before looking at them, to spare time.

My 2018 return was settled last month (Canton Zurich).

I just received today the calculation of the federal tax for 2018... cantonal tax should follow in some weeks

Is there any way to push that?

No.

Tom

Are you expecting a refund?

It always amazes me how slow it is here (I'm also about 2 years after submission before the final bill arrives).

A couple of years back I filed online in UK and received a rebate in my bank account within 3 days. UK.gov are not known for their efficiency, but compared to CH the difference is incredible.

It’s not Switzerland that it’s slow, it’s the Cantons… From what I read here, Zurich seems to be particularly bad! Maybe they have more complex cases compared to other Cantons, like for example more foreigners with multiple properties outside Switzerland and more things to be checked/confirmed?

I have lived in different parts of Switzerland and it never took more than two months to get my taxation back. Then again, my situation is pretty straightforward and everybody could actually check my taxes in 10 minutes.