Just got a big bill to pay. I have 30 days. This year I already have plenty of bills to deduct from the taxes. Can I just pay this one in January and deduct it in 2025? (Zurich)
Our landlord does this all the time so they can optimize the tax year to decuct property expenses, but IIUC they actively reach out to the folks issuing the bills to date them appropriately.
Sorry, somewhat of a non-answer for you.
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Chatgpt tells me that “In Switzerland, the tax deductibility of expenses is generally determined by the date of payment rather than the invoice date. This means that if you receive an invoice in December but pay it in January, the expense is typically deductible in the year you make the payment, which would be the following tax year.”
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Would be a bummer if I end up not being able to deduct it at all 
One way to avoid the question entirely is to get the person invoicing to re-invoice with January date.
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The usual wording is
Abziehbar sind grundsätzlich nur Kosten, die innerhalb der Steuerperiode in Rechnung gestellt worden sind (Rechnungsdatum).
which would mean the date the invoice was issued/created/sent, not when it was paid.
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Treatment actually varies by canton.
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So I asked the tax office, which promptly replied:
“Liegenschaftenunterhaltskosten können jeweils nach Rechnungs- oder Zahlungsdatum deklariert werden. Die einmal gewählte Variante ist beizubehalten.
Da Sie in der Vergangenheit die Unterhaltskosten jeweils nach Rechnungsdatum deklariert haben, können Sie die Unterhaltskosten nur noch nach Rechnungsdatum deklarieren.”
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