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All foreign employees who have their tax domicile in Switzerland and who do not have a C permit (settlement permit) are subject to withholding tax. As a rule, these are employees with a B permit (residence permit) or an L permit (short-term residence permit).
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In most cases, it is not necessary to file a tax return if you are subject to withholding tax. Under certain circumstances, employees liable to withholding tax must submit a tax return and proactively and independently report to the tax authorities in this regard, otherwise they may face consequences under criminal tax law. The submission of a tax return is particularly obligatory if employees subject to withholding tax have a gross annual income exceeding 120 TCHF or other income and assets that are not subject to withholding tax. The exception to this rule is called 'ordinary subsequent taxation'. In this case, a tax return is filed despite the deduction of withholding tax.
This procedure can also be applied for voluntarily with the competent cantonal tax authority. In this case, deductible expenses can be claimed which are not included in the withholding tax rates or are only included at a fixed rate. These can be, for example, the following deductions:
Actual professional expenses (incl. weekly subsistence costs)
Purchases of occupational benefits (BVG pension fund / 2nd pillar)
Contributions to the tied personal pension plan (pillar 3a)
Self-funded education and training costs
Costs for third party care of children
Alimony payments
Debt interest
Illness and disability-related costs
The application must be submitted by 31 March of the following year, this deadline cannot be extended.
The extent to which a voluntary application is worthwhile only becomes apparent after a tax return has been completed. Accordingly, we also offer you to complete the tax return and then decide together whether it should be submitted or not. Please indicate this in the comments when placing such an order.
The voluntary or mandatory application for a tax return can be made online, by form or over the phone, depending on the canton. If you place the order at Taxea.ch, we can complete this application for you. However, you should bear in mind that once the application is accepted by the tax authorities, you must also file a tax return again every subsequent year.
After the tax return has been submitted, the tax office assesses it and then sends the definitive tax bill. The waiting times vary greatly. If the tax return is extensive and is submitted between April and June, a longer waiting period is to be expected than if the tax return is simple and is submitted in November.
Whether you receive a refund of the withholding tax or must pay an additional tax will be definite when you receive the definitive tax invoice. In the event of a refund, this will be made after receipt of this definitive tax invoice from the tax authority.
The final invoice provides an overview of the most important factors of the tax return and tax bill. If corrections have been made by the tax office, these can be seen under the reason for deviation in the assessment. If you do not agree with the assessment, you can lodge an objection with the tax administration.
However, it is not to be confused with the provisional tax invoice. As the name suggests, the provisional tax invoice is a presumed estimate of the tax liability. It is intended to help taxpayers prepare for the financial burden of the tax statement.
For more information about the provisional tax invoice or definitive tax invoice visit our Blog posts:
