Please be gentle with me. I have never setup my own business before (self-employed at the moment) & I don't have anyone I can ask.
I started setting up my new business back in Oct 2022. I have bsuiness related set up costs but no clients yet, therefore no income (working hard on it).
Do I still have to fill out a tax form?
I am happy to do so, I just don't want to waste my time or pay accountant if not necessary.
Any advice on this would be hugely welcomed.
Thank you.
Not sure if you know this website already but gruenden.ch has a lot of good information available also for after you have started.
Check here with regards to taxes https://www.gruenden.ch/nach-der-gruendung/
Some information is also available in English.
Unless you submit accounts and get the tax loss agreed, you will loose the advantage of it later when you start to have an income. On the other hand the tax inspector could challenge the loss as it is unclear if you will ever establish a viable business, if you have no income to date and on average 9 out of 10 start ups fail.
Thanks for your feedback that - I shall ask an accountant what the right this to do is. I don't want to get off to any issues with the CH Tax dept.
If you set up a legal entity (GmbH, AG), this excerpt from the below article might assist you:
"Duration of the first financial year
In the year that the company is created, the entrepreneur can choose between a short financial year—which finishes at the end of the first financial year—or a long financial year, which finishes at the end of the following financial year. For example, if the company is created on July 1 and the accounts are closed on December 31, you can choose between a financial year lasting six or 18 months. In some cantons, the maximum duration of the first financial year is up to 23 months, and in other cantons this is limited to 15 months. The fiscal laws of each canton fix the maximum duration allowed for the first financial year.
As a company experiences significant costs during the first financial year, a long financial year can prove to be the best option in cantons which do not apply the standard corporation tax. This can be advantageous fiscally, as start-up costs can be offset by later revenue. "