Pay here is rarely just salary, and the parts that are not salary are where returns go wrong.
What tends to be different
Equity — RSUs, options and share purchase plans — taxable as employment income when it vests, then held as taxable wealth
Holdings often sitting with a foreign broker, in a foreign currency, on foreign statements
Cryptocurrency held privately, declared as an asset at year-end rates
Most often overlooked
Certifications and technical training taken for the job, which are deductible when they relate to your current work.
Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences
Basel sits on two borders, and the sector moves people between countries more than most.
What tends to be different
Secondments and international assignments splitting a single tax year across jurisdictions
Living in Germany or France while working in Switzerland, taxed under a bilateral arrangement
Relocation and housing allowances, which are not always treated the way people assume
Most often overlooked
Which canton you live in around Basel — Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and neighbouring Aargau differ materially.
Banking & Finance
Compensation arrives over years rather than months, which decides when it is taxed.
What tends to be different
Deferred and multi-year bonuses taxed in the year they are actually received
Employer shares and instruments with their own vesting and valuation rules
Investment portfolios where the distinction between private wealth and professional trading matters
Most often overlooked
Withholding tax already deducted at source on Swiss securities, which is reclaimable through the return.
Consulting & Professional Services
A year spent largely on the road produces a return with a lot of moving parts.
What tends to be different
Expense allowances and per diems, which may or may not be taxable depending on how they are structured
Work performed in several countries within one tax year
Employer-paid travel and accommodation set against what you funded yourself
Most often overlooked
Professional expenses that exceed the standard flat deduction — worth itemising when travel is heavy.
Academia & Research
Universities and institutes pay in forms the tax system treats very differently.
What tends to be different
Stipends, fellowships and grants, which are not automatically treated like salary
Fixed-term contracts that begin or end mid-year, producing a part-year assessment
Arriving from abroad with income already taxed in your previous country
Most often overlooked
Third-pillar contributions, which remain available on a research salary and are frequently never set up.
Engineering & Industrial
Long postings, allowances and border commuting are the norm rather than the exception.
What tends to be different
Expatriation and site allowances added on top of base salary
Cross-border commuting, common along the Jura arc and around Basel
Relocation packages, including anything the employer paid on your behalf
Most often overlooked
Commuting costs where the journey crosses a border, and the caps that apply to them.
What this page is not
This is about your own return, not your employer’s. Corporate structuring, transfer pricing and R&D credits are not services this firm offers — a two-person practice is the wrong tool for them, and we say so before anyone asks.
