Hello, I have been searching on the website about how Swiss taxes tax resident whose spouse lives in a foreign country. But I received conflict answers. someone said the tax resident should declare single or be treated as single. someone said we should declare as married couple but get a full deduction of foreign sourced income.
Our case is my husband will start working in Luzern soon. He is a B permit holder. I will remain in our home country (non EU) working, i will not live in Swiss in the short term. Does he need to report my income as well in his tax return?
In the long run, I will come to Swiss to join my husband. I will keep working for my home country company where they pay me in home country. So it means I receive foreign income while live in Swiss. Do we need to report my salary to Swiss tax authority on the family return at that time?
Kanton Zurich, hubby abroad: I have to declare his income and am taxed as married. Same in Schaffhausen, normal deductions can be done.
Call the tax office or your employer to see how it is done in Kanton Luzern?
When you are here, yes, you have to declare your world wide income.
Tax residency and work permits are two different things. The typical rule used to determine tax residency and thus where you pay taxes is the 183 day rule. But it is not the only rule. Things like where your spouse lives, how often you visit a country, do you have accommodation available to you and so on can be considered. In cases where it is not clear, i.e. the 183 day rule, it is up to the tax authorities in both countries to agree your status. That is why we can’t give you a definite answer.
Either seek professional advice or possibly contact the tax office, they are the most likely people to be able to answer your question.