Hello everyone, and a happy new year to you all!
I have a question regarding contributions to the 3rd pillar. I came across information online suggesting that if I contribute to a 401k, Roth IRA, or IRA in the USA, I may be eligible for a tax deduction in Switzerland. This appears to be analogous to contributing to a 3rd pillar in Switzerland.
That is a question with no straightforward answer. Yes, in some cases contributions to foreign benefit plans can be tax deductible if they are comparable to the Swiss solutions. And yes, a US 401k can be argued to be comparable to pillar 3a as individual retirement account. But this is not only handled differently by cantons, it also depends on your specific personal situation (where do you have income, in which country do you pay social security), so in many cantons this is case-by-case without a very clear ruleset.
I suggest to check your cantons tax regulations. By that I mean not the manual (Wegleitung) but the much more detailed tax book (Steuerbuch) and if you can’t find anything call your tax authority.
Thank you very much for your detailed answer. I will check with my (Steuerbuch) here in Aargua and will share my findings.
What did you end up doing? I have a similar situation, but I wonder if I have to declare the account at all for the interest and wealth tax. I came to the conclusion that it is equivalent to Säule 3a, so I don’t have to report all the stocks I have in the Roth IRA?
I have contributed but I didn’t declare it. I still need to check with the conton tax office if it is possible to deduct from tax.
At the same time, I am not sure if it is worth it to declare, since I’m planning to contribute to both IRA and S-3a.