I would like to ask a few questions about a topic that I was not able to find a clear answers online. Overall, I have found mixed information about it.
In a nutshell, here is my situation:
- I am an EU citizen on a B permit living and working in Geneva (post code: 1201) for the past 2 years.
- At the moment I am switching jobs and my new role is going to be in Zurich.
- I am considering moving to Zurich but from what I understand there are places to live close to Zurich in cantons Zug & Schwyz, with cheaper taxes than Zurich or Geneva (with Geneva having some of the highest as far as I understand).
Here are my questions:
- Since I am on a B permit with tax tarrif A, does the overall taxation change if I move to Zug or Schwyz? Or will it be the same as in Geneva since I am not on a C permit yet.
- I have used salary calculator tools like: Lohncomputer & Talent and they are very accurate in calculating my current net monthly income. By your experience are these tools trustworthy overall?
A couple of extra minor questions:
- The past 2 years that I have living in Switzerland I have filled a tax declaration towards the tax office of Geneva, since I earned more than 120k. I guess I will continue to do so towards the new canton that I will end up to (?)
- My country is in the list with the ones that have the special citizen settlement agreement with Switzerland, where in order to get the C permit the individual does not have to prove language proficiency. Has anyone been to a similar situation? Did you get automatically the C permit after 5 continuous years on the B one?
Thank you all very much in advance for all the help!
If you did a regular tax declaration last year, you must continue this process for the following years. If you change cantons, you will ultimately pay all your taxes in the canton where you will have lived on December 31, 2023.
There are municipalities with lover taxes but bear in mind that this comes with more expensive rent. I would focus more on finding a place with a good connection to your workplace (if office presence is required). It doesn’t necessarily have to be Zurich-City, taxes are lower in other municipalities in Canton Zurich:
No one can tell what your net income is going to be because it depends on many factors. AHV and ALV as far as I know is fixed and you can look it up, but savings contribution towards you pension fund depends on your employer.
Thank you very much for the reply, it was very insightful!
Also, thank you for the suggestions and the tools, the calculator seems very accurate for my data!
If I understand correctly, by moving to a new canton I will be automatically taxed at source with the new tax rate corresponding to that canton. But since I am on a B permit local communal tax does not apply to me until I get the C permit, right?
Also, for my case regarding tax rates, moving away from Geneva to Zurich, Schwyz or Zug looks like it comes with a considerable tax reduction. Regarding rent, I am currently paying 3300 for 80sqm in central Geneva (for 2 people), and the rental prices in towns with direct correction to Zurich like Schwyz (Lachen, Wollerau, Freienbach, Altendorf) and Zug (Baar, Cham) seam a lot better compared to GVA since you get a lot more space for the money you pay. It might just be my impressions but this is what I have understood so far. Do you have feedback or suggestion regarding the quality of life in those areas? Personally, I like quiet places and I do care more about a healthy & natural environment instead of nightlife & social activities.
Thank you again for all the help, it is greatly appricaited!
Your future employer should automatically withhold tax at source according to the form you probably filled out when you signed the employment contract (details about your residence, marital status, confession etc.).
Check the housing section of the forum. Recently there have been many threads about apartments in Zurich and the surrounding area.
The rule is 5 years in the same canton. If you move to ZH now, the clock resets.
Correct. I am not sure what "multiplier" they use, because I've heard "100%" as well as the cantonal average. Honestly, I don't know which one they apply, but as you stated it doesn't matter in which municipality you live until you get the C permit (or citizenship)
That is not correct. The clock does not reset. What counts is 5 years (for EU/EFTA) of uninterrupted stay in Switzerland, not within the same canton. From first hand - I moved from BS to AG after 3 years of residency and got permit C after 5 years from moving to Switzerland.
Thank you very much for the reply! It is very helpful!
As Trixxiee mentioned and as far as I have read from official sources, the following stands for the C permit:
"The C permit is automatically granted after 5 years of legal residence in Switzerland to:
Citizens of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Danemark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Portugal (Directives LEI published on the 1st January 2021, Chapter 3.5.2.1)."
Thus I think the clock does not reset if you change canton. I was just curious if someone had been through the same situation and has frist hand experience, that is the main reason why I ask about it.
Thank you again for all the information and the help!
You are mixing together taxes at source and final tax liability. Since you already filed taxes, you will keep doing so every year - in this situation taxes at source are a mere prepayment of your taxes, but the final liability will be determined by the tax return.
So w.r.t. taxes at source:
- now (on B permit) you will start pre-paying taxes directly from your salary at the cantonal rate (and it is true that the commune does not matter for that).
- on C permit you will stop pre-paying taxes directly from your salary, and you'll get all of it in your bank
W.r.t. tax liability: from now on (C permit won't change anything) you will compute the final tax liability (and your commune matters) and then pay more / get a refund if you prepaid the taxes.
This myth has been posted here over and over again... and its simply not true. The Schwyz end of lake Zurich is in no way more expensive than the gold or even silver coast of Zurich, let alone anything somewhat desirable within the city. Giving blanket advise like "train connections are more important" is borderline stupid - it really depends on the income situation. We (two incomes, no kids) save enough taxes that we gladly accept a slightly longer commute. So for once was Toms groan not totally unfounded.
If you file a regular tax declaration you are subject to the regular communal/cantona/federal rates. If you are on permit B, pay tax at source, it will be used as a security deposit toward the final tax bill (you will either be reimbursed or have to pay the reminder). Important: Once you file a declaration (voluntarily or because you are above the threshold) you must always file one.
What is 100% (or 1.00 in some cantons)? This refers to the standard, unadjusted tax scale used in a particular canton. The tax scale (Steuertarif) is fixed for several years while the percentages, the tax multiplier (Stuerfuss), can be adjusted every year. Often, but not always, cantonal tax multiplier is close to 100% (or 1.00) and commune tax multiplier can quite a lot.
Be aware that: One cannot compare the percentages across cantons, only within the same canton. Example: Rapperswil-Jona in Canton SG has 74% but Zurich City 119%. However if you calculate the actual tax to be paid, using each cantons tax scale, you will see that you pay less tax in Zurich than in Rapperswil-Jona (Exceptions apply for particular living situations).
That the tax scale is not changed so often, can lead during high inflation to what is known as “cold progression”. Means you earn more due to inflation adjustment but your tax rate will also increase (in a perfect world it would stay the same): Means you have less income in the end. We will properly hear more about “cold progression” in the following months and years.
There was a recent federal court ruling and some things change in regard with the the countries which got permit C automatically. These changes were published October 2022 by SEM… In effect all nationalities must now have minimal knowledge of the local language to get a permit C. To keep permit C there is no additional language requirement. Once you have permit C you can freely move to any parts of the country and renew the permit card C easily (with permit C only the card has to be renewed, not the permit itself).
Thank you for all the detailed information! That is indeed quite strange. I got a confirmation from the OCPM (immigration office of Geneva) that since my country has a settlement treaty with Switzerland there is no need to prove language proficiency. I will definitely look into the document you shared and ask them again.
On that basis, I have one more question, if someone has a sufficient language degree in one of the official country languages (in my case I have B2 in German from the Goethe-Institut) would be that enough for the C permit regardless of the official language of the canton of residence (let's say Geneva for example)?
Thank you again for all the info! Greatly appriciate it!