Cross-border
Foreign income and assets in your Swiss return
Most expatriates own something outside Switzerland — an account, a pension, a property, vesting equity. All of it belongs in the Swiss return, and handled properly, most of it costs less than people fear.
The four principles
How Switzerland treats what you have abroad
Everything is declared
A Swiss resident declares worldwide income and worldwide assets — the foreign salary account, the brokerage in your home country, the inherited share of a flat abroad. Declared is not the same as taxed, but undeclared is a problem in every case.
Foreign property: rate, not tax
Real estate abroad is generally taxed where it stands. Switzerland still counts its value and income when setting the rate on the rest of your income — exemption with progression. Your Swiss bill changes even when the asset itself is taxed elsewhere.
Treaties prevent double taxation — on request
Switzerland has double-taxation agreements with over 100 states. What each one does for dividends, pensions or employment income differs treaty by treaty, so we check yours rather than quote a generic number. Relief is claimed, never automatic.
Equity crosses borders with you
RSUs granted abroad and vesting in Switzerland are split between the countries by workdays. Getting the split right is the difference between double taxation and the correct bill.
The authoritative list of Switzerland’s double-taxation agreements is published by the State Secretariat for International Finance: sif.admin.ch. We work from the treaty text that applies to you, not from a summary table.
This is Premium-return territory — and it is inside the price
Foreign income, assets and treaty relief are part of the Premium tax return, not an add-on. If your case goes beyond a return — a reclaim abroad, a departure year, a cross-border employment setup — we quote it per case, before any work starts.