[Child support] paid abroad

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Hi,

I'm a single father working and living in CH, I'm paying alimony to a child abroad. The mother and I are in good terms, we were not married, the baby is living with the mother (EU).

So far the payments are more informal or even directly buying stuff. I was thinking of making these payments 'official', with papers to prove it. The alimony sum level is agreed by both and I'm very happy to provide.

What documents would I need for the upcoming tax declarations, assuming that this should be deductible on my end?

Would a proof of payments be ok for the tax office?

Do I need to set up an agreement or even go to court to get an order? This seems over-complicated (getting it from abroad, officially translated).

Any experience with this would be very helpful.

Thanks!

2
I would try submitting bank payment confirmations with your tax return deduction.

If not accepted then you will have to get a court order...

3
Can’t answer your question but I think you are talking about child support not alimony.

4
Thanks, child support is what I meant.

It would be 'pension alimentaire (contribution d'entretien)' / 'Alimente'

5
I think you'd have to initially provide something official to show you are liable and then every year print out a 'filtered' bank statement to show the payments you make.

That's what I did.

6
As it is it's a voluntary contribution to a private person, comparable to you helping a family member. I don't think these payments are tax deductible without a court order or similar.

Contact your tax office, they're quite helpful.

7
Someone will come along who knows more but I believe there are free services that can help you set this up officially without needing an expensive lawyer. It would make a lot of sense to me that you do this, not only because it may be tax deductible for you, but also in terms of future claims (I know you are in good terms now but who knows...)