I moved to Switzerland earlier this year (I am italian) and have recently started looking into investing. I have already opened an IB account and I’m ready to buy some ETFs.
However, I have a question regarding taxes. As a B permit holder earning below CHF 120,000 per year, I understand that I don’t automatically receive a tax return form. I know it’s possible to request one if it might be financially beneficial, but I’d prefer to avoid that process unless it’s really necessary.
My question is: how should I declare income from ETFs if I don’t receive a tax form? Has anyone been in a similar situation or can share how this is handled?
Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I’m currently based in Solothurn, but I’ll be relocating in the coming months. I did a quick search but couldn’t find much information in English. Did you mean that if my capital gains are below CHF 3,000 or my investments are below CHF 70,000, I don’t need to declare them (assuming I’ll be residing in Zurich)?
(also it’s an “and” not an “or”, if you’re either above the wealth limit – which includes bank accounts, foreign holdings, real estate, etc., or if you have more than 3k of non taxed at source income)
Thank you, I would have probably not found this document.
I was planning to start investing with less than 10k CHF. Therefore, the 3k threshold would not be a problem for now, nor the wealth. Does it mean that I can proceed with investing without worrying about declaration (for now, and after checking the right numbers for my canton)?
I have an additional question. My current annual salary is approximately CHF 110,000, which is very close to the threshold. Would you recommend filing a tax return? Filing would also allow me to declare my assets, which I would prefer to do to avoid any potential issues with the tax authorities.
I should also mention that I own two properties outside Switzerland (which generate no income) and hold over €70,000 in foreign bank accounts, which are currently not invested.
Yes, surely not. I realized after replying to you. I guess the message is to file a tax form then.
Will I have to pay extra taxes on these two properties, even though they do not generate revenue? Because I am already paying taxes in Italy (where the properties are).
You don’t have anything to do until next year if you arrived in 2025. Especially if you might move before end of year (since then you might be taxed in a different Canton).
But I already pay taxes in Italy for these two properties. Probably something I need to sort out myself.
I arrived in Switzerland on the 23rd December 2024. Therefore, I believe that even if I change canton by the end of the year, I will pay the taxes in the current canton for the year 2025.
So far, I had not spent too much time informing myself about the Swiss tax system, since I was not sure I could stay here for more than 1 year. Since I know now I can stay in the country long term (at least 3-5 years), I would like to understand more about this topic. Do you guys have some valid references where I can learn more about how the tax system works? Maybe this website itself?
In case it’s not clear, for bank accounts and securities (such as ETFs), it doesn’t matter where the bank or broker is located. In the typical case as a Swiss tax resident, you’re taxed on worldwide income and assets, the main exception being foreign real estate. You still have to declare foreign real estate and it does affect your wealth and possibly income tax rates, but it’s not actually taxed in Switzerland (as foreign real estate may be taxed by that foreign country). At least that’s the general rule, it’s possible that there are special cases for certain countries due to atypical double taxation agreements.
Make sure you’ve informed your foreign bank(s) that you’re now a tax resident in Switzerland. Otherwise, you may incorrectly be taxed by the other country.
The deadline for requesting the tax form (“Nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung”) for 2025 is end of March 2026 in ZH. It may differ among cantons but be aware that you likely should request it fairly early in 2026.
Before moving to Switzerland, I lived in Belgium. There, I declared all properties and foreign bank accounts, but didn’t have to pay additional taxes on them.
I was initially planning not to file a tax return for 2025, but it now seems wiser to do so. Would you recommend consulting a tax expert? Can that bring some benefits?
If your (taxable) net worth is clearly above the canton’s threshold, I don’t think you need any consultation before requesting ordinary tax assessment. I personally prefer understanding myself how to fill out the tax declaration instead of relying on a tax expert. However, it could also be reasonable to have a tax expert do the first tax declaration (if you think it’s too complex without any help) but do it the following years yourself as you then have the first tax declaration as a reference.
Yes, I am with you on this. I am mostly scared by the language barrier (I speak italian and french, but not german). I will check whether I can request the tax form in italian. Is it possible to request a tax form already now, or shall I wait 2026? When do you hand in the tax form?
When you own assets (such as ETFs), how are those declared? Can you download some forms from IB, or you manually add the date of purchase, amount, etc..?
You are not going to pay taxes on them in Switzerland but they will raise your total tax rate, this is fair because the tax rate system is progressive. So the Swiss rules avoid taxing too little because one spreads assets/income across different countries. The idea is that, if the other country would do the same trick - it would be perfectly fair and not allow you do avoid tax progression by splitting your earnings among different countries.
Same applies to the income from those properties. Which, by the way, you might actually have in the eyes of the Swiss tax authorities: because in Switzerland if you own a home that is inhabitable and it does not generate actual rent - then you are taxed on an imputed rent that you are generating (and kind of paying to yourself), the same applies to the foreign real estate too. So based on the specific details, this virtual rent might be added to your worldwide income (and also not taxed, but influence the tax rate).
So for example, if your foreign real estate is worth 500k (and generates 20k of income or imputed income) and your other taxable wealth is 1M and your regular work income is 100k:
What % of income someone who earns 120k a year would pay? Take that % and apply that to 100k - that is your income tax liability
What % of wealth someone who owns 1.5M would pay? Take that % and apply that to 1M - that is your wealth tax liability
As other mentioned, you should check the regulations of your canton. It might not be “wiser” but just mandatory for you, so that simplifies the decision
The idea being, if you have a lot of wealth or non-taxed income, then the taxes at source are not a good approximation of your actual liability anymore so you are required to notify this situation to the authorities (since they can’t know how much assets and foreign income you have) and file the taxes
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