Asked and answered
The questions expatriates actually ask
Straight answers about Swiss tax and about how we work. Where the honest answer is “it depends on your canton”, it says so.
- 14 questions
- No account needed
- Reply within one business day
Part 01
Filing in Switzerland
- What is Quellensteuer — tax at source?
- Tax deducted directly from your salary by your employer, at a standardised tariff for your situation. It is a guess about your circumstances rather than an assessment of them: it ignores most deductions, and the tariff can be wrong if your situation changed mid-year.
- Do I have to file a Swiss tax return?
- If you hold a C permit or are married to a Swiss citizen or C-permit holder, yes. If you are taxed at source, a return becomes mandatory above CHF 120,000 of gross income; cantons add their own thresholds for wealth and for income not taxed at source. Below those thresholds tax at source is final unless you request an ordinary assessment.
- When is the deadline?
- For the return itself, most cantons expect it by 31 March, and extensions are routinely granted when requested in time. The deadline for requesting an ordinary assessment under tax at source is 31 March of the following year and has no extension — miss it and the year is closed.
- What does Switzerland tax if I have income or assets abroad?
- A Swiss resident declares worldwide income and worldwide assets. Declared is not the same as taxed: property abroad is generally taxed where it stands, but Switzerland still counts it when setting the rate on everything else. Treaty relief exists with over 100 states, and it is claimed, never automatic.
- What happens after I file?
- Months later the tax office sends its assessment, the Veranlagungsverfügung. It deserves a line-by-line comparison against what was filed, because the objection window is 30 days. Checking it is part of our engagement, not an extra.
Part 02
Deductions and equity
- Which deductions actually move the number?
- Pillar 3a contributions, commuting, further education, insurance premiums, debt interest and donations are the ones that change most returns. What each is worth, and the ceilings that apply, depend on your canton — which is why we check them line by line rather than applying the flat allowances.
- How are RSUs and stock options taxed?
- Equity is taxed at vest as employment income, and then forms part of your taxable wealth. Both have to be declared, and they are declared differently. Equity granted abroad and vesting in Switzerland is split between the countries by workdays; getting that split right is the difference between double taxation and the correct bill.
- Is my rent deductible?
- No — rent is a living cost, not a deduction. If you own property, the picture is different: imputed rental value is added to your income, and maintenance costs and mortgage interest are deducted, within limits.
Part 03
Working with us
- What does it cost?
- CHF 249, CHF 449 or CHF 799 depending on complexity, agreed before any work starts. The quote is the invoice: there is no hourly meter and no schedule of extras behind the number. Equity and foreign assets sit inside the price.
- Do I have to come to your office?
- No. The whole engagement is remote — documents go through your client portal, you approve the finished return online, and we file it. You are welcome in Biel/Bienne, but you never have to come.
- Which documents do you need?
- Your salary certificate first, then bank and securities statements, pension and pillar 3a certificates, insurance and medical documents, anything about property, debt interest, and your foreign income and assets. Your portal is organised into exactly those categories, so you can always see what is still missing.
- Can you take over from the firm that filed my first return?
- Yes, and it is how most of our clients arrive. Send last year’s return: it tells us your position, your deductions and your open items, and we carry forward what was already decided — flagging anything we would handle differently.
- How quickly do you answer?
- Within one business day, from the person who knows your file. Preparation itself typically takes two to seven days once your documents are complete, depending on the package.
- Do you handle self-employment or company tax?
- Self-employment or a business alongside employment is quoted per case, after we have seen the books. Corporate structuring, transfer pricing and multinational work are the wrong job for a two-person firm, and we will say so in the first call.
Where the detail lives
Pages that answer at length
Nothing here is behind a form, and none of it requires an account.
Free assessment — no obligation
Tell us your situation
A senior Swiss tax expert reads it personally and replies within one business day with a fixed price for your return.
Emanuel Flury
Founder & Senior Tax Consultant
Your return is prepared by a named senior consultant who stays with your file — not passed down to junior staff.
What you get either way
One dedicated senior expert, start to filing
Equity, foreign assets and property all in scope
We handle correspondence with the tax office
Fully digital process — file from anywhere
GDPR compliant, encrypted, and confidential
Response within one business day
Word photograph: Grossmünster and Limmat River, Zurich, 20250330 1239 7929 by Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
General information, not advice on your situation. Thresholds and ceilings marked CHF are federal unless stated; cantonal rules differ.