Can anyone recommend an English speaking tax accountant for Swiss taxes? We're currently using Innotax but they seem to be very unreliable and unsure about what can be deducted and what can't. Therefore, i would like to find another accountant. We live in Schaffhausen but are open to referrals in Zurich or Winterthur too.
Thanks!
Patrick
My company pay me an allowance for me CHF350 a month and this is taxed at source. For the wife I pay CHF 300 (Basic Cover Only).
We live in Zug.
So I can claim some of this as tax free income ...
Also what is the lunch allowance per day ?
I have to take food into work for lunch each day.
But being aware is the main thing: you can claim the amount mentioned in the tax guide for your canton. If it isn't there, in the guide, it will be refused - but there is no harm in asking is there?
Traveling to work costs: you can usually claim the return journey kilometers x 240 days worked, or the actual public transport return journey costs.
Lunch at work: usually a reduced amount if there is a work canteen.
Technical books for your profession, maybe some software, altogether about Fr 500 per year.
I tried for many years to claim for an office allowance in Fribourg: this was always refused as I was employed by a company in Zurich.
I'm seriously considering establishing a gmbh here in Luzern & I understand that the range of allowed deductible is large.
I'm looking at using the service offered here: http://www.startups.ch/en/preparatio...-rechtsformen/
Don’t forget the possibility of claiming for other professional expenses “autres frais professionnels/frais de perfectionnement et de reconversion”. In Fribourg you can claim up to 3% of your net salary per year (minimum CHF2,000 - max CHF4,000 in 2014). I actually left it off our return last year as we didn’t spend anything on this, but the tax office added on the 3% allowance to the calculations anyway.
1) Is there a list of allowed tax deductions for Canton Zug? If not, can I email the Tax Office and expect a response or they don't like to share those stuff?
2) Are commuting tickets, lunch food etc only deducted if you travel through different cantons or even if you live and work in the same canton?
3) For commuting, my year pass costs sth like 700 chf but is this what I ask to be deducted or 240x2nd class day pass which is like 2000?
4) Do they ask for receipts for all that stuff? (especially lunch/tickets etc)
Thanks in advance!
Can't answer the rest of your questions though.
Lunches you claim without receipts at a flat rate (unless you have our own company). Commuting tickets are fully deductable no matter how far you travel. They will probably proportion a GA for personal use if you try to claim one but live within 1 or 2 zones from your place of work. Tickets you need to keep receipts for.
Download the eTax form and look at what can be deducted.
I wonder why everyone who's paid at source doesn't bother to do it, in the office people never heard about it (most EU with B permit). Is it because it's not very well known?
P.S I even bought software for work and plan to go on some training and these can go in as well. I think these are all tax deductible.
I will try Etax for sure and update here!
Big deductions are assumed with tax at source roughly 10k, which is why some people think normal tax is higher if they use the same base no.
In the case of a single, full-time worker with a B permit I think the work-related deductions will be on top of whatever is already deducted isn't it? Otherwise they wouldn't let us request it again.
Found this, very useful:
http://www.fin.be.ch/fin/de/index/st...ensteuer_e.pdf
If you are liable to pay tax at source but would like to claim
deductions that are not or not fully taken into account in your
tariff, you can apply to the tax administration by 31 March
of year following the relevant tax period for a “retrospective
ordinary assessment” to be made
(N.B. international weekly
residents are not permitted to do this).
Possible additional deductions include buying into an occu-
pational pension fund (BVG
/
2nd Pillar), contributions
to a restricted private savings scheme (Pillar 3a), additional
professional costs, interest on debts, costs of continuing
professional education, payments made to people
who are unable to work and require support, deductions
for children (if the employer does not pay child allowances),
and maintenance that you pay to your (former) spouse
or children.
Renovating your house or having kids can mean huge deductions. Computers (1/3 personal use usually deducted), courses, books can all be deducted or a flat proportion of deductions for your income level. You obviously can't deduct more than you earn.
They won't give you the full amount for the GA if the travel to your work is much less though.
In Zug, you need to work 3 days per week from home with a letter from your employer to claim a room as a home office. You can only claim 1 room based on a formula, excluding living areas, so it worked out at 1/4 of our rent for a 2 bedroom place. We did this for a while but now we both work at our employer's offices full-time now.
Business deductions can be huge if you have the revenue to deduct it from.
Based towards Basel...
http://www.colfina.ch/englishclients/index.html
So, for example, we have 10 foreigners, and if we calculate their tax individually each one has a different deduction amount. Instead of this, we do not calculate these details and set a single tax rate for all of them which is kind of a middle ground for everyone, which is the tax at source.
If you are taxed at the source, you can still explicitly ask for a tax correction the next year (impôts ordinaires ultérieurs), which is what you mentioned. You have to explicitly ask this. You then fill in a normal tax form and they will calculate as if you were taxed normally how much you would pay and make corrections. The result can be either way depending the amount of your actual deduction entitlements. If you paid too much they will reimburse you and otherwise you have to pay the remaining.
When I go above 120k and need to file a tax return, then all this will make sense to do.
If you are a home owner claiming a home office tax deduction, also be aware of the tax implications when you sell the house. (At least in SZ, I have no idea of other cantons.)