So, after sending off my required documents for a C permit, around a week or less later I get my shiny new C Ausweis in the post... one step closer to the little red book! :
Now, tax. I am doing reading up as we speak both on the forum 8stickies etc) and on't web in order to educate myself about what I have to do, but i thought it wouldn't hurt to ask some direct quesiton too, from people who also recently converted from a B to a C.
1) Approximately how much, percent-wise, do I realistically need to now put aside from future salaries to be safe for the tax year as a single man?
2) I have contacted my HR department to ask, but is the salary adjustment usually automatically applied?
3) Anything else I need to be aware of?
Thanks in advance for any advice that may come in handy.
1) I've always allowed for 24% (but I have kids and a wife). Anything not spent is always a useful bonus though
2) Contact them anyway. This can be a reflection of HR efficiency, but IIRC you have to tell them rather than the tax office
3)
a) check which tax year this applies to. It should be this full year (2014 onwards) so any QS will be banked in your favour to year end
b) you can opt to pay your taxes in advance and anything paid early will earn you more interest than putting the money in a high interest account
c) negotiate getting your 13th salary paid in 12 instalments.
d) depending on Kanton, check when you have to pay your taxes, e.g. in BS you can pay the following year, but in SO I have to pay 2/3s this financial year in July and September, with the Bundesteuer in March 2015!
e) when the time comes, check whom you have to pay your taxes to... again in BS you just pay all to one and they distribute. In SO I have to pay to three separate accounts for Gemeinesteuer, Kantonsteuer and Bundessteuer...
Me: single man with no property here or abroad - My tax liability went up by 20% after I changed to a C permit.
So, I'd suggest put aside more or less what payslips said up to now, plus a bit more... "luckily" I got my C permit at the end of the year so it coincided nicely with the tax year.
Give your HR department a copy of the permit and they should simply stop deducting the tax.
Zurich is a low tax canton, have a look at the online calculator on ZH website, expect tax to be 10-20%, probably not hugely different to what you paid before.
Your HR dept will be informed of your C permit & will stop deducting tax. Normal deductions will be about 10k unless you have huge travel costs, your taxed on the money paid out unlike the UK where NI contributions are not tax deductible.
Thanks Carlos, useful info that I will check and take into account!
I have now notified HR and then will simply stop taking QS from my next salary payment. My colleagues are also being very helpful and said if I have any questions then i can ask them.
A2 certificate is the minimum requirement that you need to submit. However, this is a thread specific to tax, so if you want further information on the C permit requirements please use the permits section. Cheers.
Because many people pay quite a bit less on QS than they will on normal taxation.
Theoretically, QS takes into account not only average deductions, but also averages tax rates across the canton.
If you live in a high tax Gemeinde or have fewer deductions you could find a significant increase.
To give an example based on the Comparis calculator: A single person in ZH city, making a salary of 119,999, no religion, no children, would pay ca. 13,463 while on QS. The same person on normal taxation would pay ca. 23,011. (But likely less with deductions figured in.)
Bear in mind that Comparis is only a quick-and-dirty calculator. YMMV, obviously.
Language requirements are fairly new, and differ by canton. Also, certain nationalities have a right to a C permit after the required years in the canton/Switzerland, others do not and are granted one at the discretion of the cantonal authorities.
I believe your substantially overstating the tax liability for a single person earning 119.999 in ZH
Tax liability will only be on approx 105 k due to AHV, unemployment insurance & pension contribution.
Deduct 3% training costs , 2.5k health insurance , lunch & travel costs will give a taxable income BELOW 95k , so roughly the same liability tax at source.