Here’s my situation: I’m currently a Wochenaufenthalter (weekly commuter) in Zurich (ZRH), registered in my home canton B. This setup has worked for me so far for various reasons.
ZRH authorities are becoming increasingly reluctant to renew my “Wochenaufenthalter” status. Now that I’m moving into a higher salary bracket, the tax implications are also starting to become significant—with canton B taxing me significantly higher than canton ZRH. Since I am splitting my time roughly equally between both locations (I have no children, and my partner lives with me in canton B), I’m considering registering in ZRH by the end of the year.
My living situation is comparable in both places: I rent a flat in each. In ZRH, I share the flat with a friend, and in canton B, I live with my partner. Defining my “Lebensmittelpunkt” is tricky because I split my time equally between both locations. In another thread, I’ve read that for a single individual, the place of work is commonly considered the “Lebensmittelpunkt”.
My questions:
Can Canton B hinder my move?
What are the potential implications of officially registering in canton ZRH and losing Wochenaufenthalter status in canton B?
Factors I’ve considered:
Taxes: Impact net positive (tax savings outweigh deductions for Wochenaufenthalter status.
Health insurance: Impact neutral (premiums are similar in both cantons).
Voting rights:I would lose the ability to vote in canton B. I plan to mitigate this by becoming more active locally in canton B, where I consider my political voice having more impact than in canton ZRH.
Job security: If I lose my job, I’d need to register with the RAV in ZRH rather than in canton B. This could be a mixed bag: I might get more qualified support in ZRH but could be required to accept a role that doesn’t allow me to split my time between both locations.
Rental situation: I understand my tax residency would not have any implications on my rental agreements.
Additional concern: Would I face any challenges re-registering in canton B in the future (potentially even as a “Wochenaufenthalter”, even if I continue working in ZRH, if my long-term plan may be to settle there (e.g., when starting a family)?
@Dr.PI I’m not in any officially registered relationship.
My impression was that I would need to de-register from the commune in canton B to move my tax residency to ZRH. However, it seems that @nabalzbhf thinks otherwise. What would be the procedure to move just the tax residency?
My understanding is that you can ask ZH to assess your residency status, if they assign you to ZH then you can chose to only move your fiscal residency (but yes the default is to also change your domicile incl. political rights).
My understanding is that the place of week stay is deciding? (and I guess canton B can fight it if they disagree, but they likely won’t care since ZH will have followed the jurisprudence so it’s likely correct )
Many thanks for all the answers so far!
Seems like asking the canton of ZRH to assess my tax situation might take some time, will potentially trigger some back-and-forth between ZRH and canton B, and will most likely not be done before the end of the year.
Is anything speaking against de-registering from the canton B before the end of the year, and taking the confirmation of de-registration to ZRH?
If they don’t know about the detail of your situation that will definitely work (they have no reason to know you spend all your weekends in canton B and your tax residence might not be correct).
(The question is whether it’s the intended state, but that’s for you to decide)
It’s often the case, but it’s unclear if they put some weight for partner, vs. registered partnership/spouse. (For the latter it’s pretty clear it should be canton B, if the person is considered “single” for administrative purpose, the rules are more fuzzy and it depends on the situation)
I’ll quote the relevant sections so you don’t have to click into the link (higlighting mine).
The decicive opening paragraph by the VZ Steuerspezialist:
Wenn ein Steuerpflichtiger mehr als einen Wohnsitz hat, wird er dort besteuert, wo er seinen Lebensmittelpunkt hat. Das ist dort, wo er zusammen mit seiner Familie wohnt, seine Freizeit verbringt und in Vereinen aktiv ist.
But then the Steuerspezialist also opines:
Die meisten Kantone stützen sich inzwischen auf ein Bundesgerichtsurteil von 2012, wonach die Nähe zum Arbeitsort von grösserer Bedeutung ist als die Vereinszugehörigkeit oder die Bindung an das Elternhaus.
Pick your fighter.
Personally, I’d try to file taxes in ZRH because that’s were you work.
But – just to throw a couple of wrenches into jealous canton B’s works – you could
Was in similar situation for years. Work in ZH (five days, prior to home office became widespread), most weekends in Canton C (with partner). Registered in ZH, enjoyed somewhat lower taxation. At some point Canton C’s eager tax authorities asked me to prove that I spend majority of my time in ZH, so I sent them credit card bills showing daily charges for lunch & coffee (I happened to use the card in ZH only, not sure if relevant). They accepted and stopped asking me after that.
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