I have been reading through the threads on AHV, but I couldn't get the answer for one particular question: Is is mandatory to file a tax return every year if you want to withdraw AHV when you leave Switzerland?
A little bit of background:
I am an Indian living in switzerland since last 3 years. Currently I and my husband are B permit holder. I have been working since last 2 years and paying my AHV.
Since I am on B-permit, I have been paying tax every month (tax deduction at source). My gross salary is not greater than 1,20,000CHF and hence my HR said that for me it's not mandatory to file tax return.
We might plan to leave Switzerland permanently in coming years and according to my understanding I can very well claim my AHV contribution as:
1. There is no social security agreement between India and Switzerland.
2. I have contributed for more than 1 year
3. We will be leaving permanently
However one of my friend (Indian), who works in a big MNC(in Basel) has been informed by her tax consultant that even if you are on B-permit, you must file tax return at the end of each year otherwise you won't be entitled for AHV withdrawal at the time you leave Swiss.
This is really weird as I have never heard about it nor did I read it anywhere.
One can claim the accumulated AHV amount if he/she decides to leave the country forever to a non-EU country with which Swiss has no social security agreements.
I have already written email to Socialversicherungsamt (not sure if Ausgleichskasse is different ) last week, but in the mean time if anyone already knows anything about this then it would be of great help.
The SVA covers all social insurances, of which old age insurance (AHV) is one, hence you've asked in the right place. If they want you to ask somewhere else I'm sure they'll let you know. No EFer's info will be more reliable than their info, so wait and see what they say. No one will "know" your situation better than those who have your details (which I would not advise you to publish on a public forum). Just wait and see what they say.
I'm not sure this is always the case. AFAIK even if you're moving to a non-EU country with which Switzerland has no social security agreement, if you hold an EU passport then you still can't take the AHV.
Non EU citizens (including Indians) can request refund of AHV contribution after contributing for a period of minimum one year. This has no correlation with filing of tax return. However, you need to give proof of permanent departure from Switzerland (Deregistration) for claiming refund.
Form for requesting refund is available online. The refund is based on the contribution period, contribution amount, age, having dependent kids among other factors. For example, a colleague of mine, who had 2 kids, and had worked for 3 years, got only 10% back. As both of you are working, you would need to make individual claims.
btw, as you may be already know, income tax in switzerland is not based on individual salary but not family income. It may be in your interest to file returns as the tax authorities may make it a precondition for deregistration. Filing in advance would help you avoid last minute hassles.
You have to file tax return if your and your spouses combined salary is over 120K, your HR comment is correct but only subject to the condition that you are the sole earner.