Sale contract signing is this week. It’s about 200k EUR. Should I tell the buyer to transfer the money to my Swiss bank account or my German bank account?
I have an account in Germany in euros because I use it for investments (ETF Sparplan etc.). I’m B resident in Switzerland. I don’t know what is the “right” decision.
I plan to invest this money in a global ETF. I don’t have any broker/investment accounts open in Switzerland but I have it in Germany. I can open IBKR account here is Switzerland if you think it’s a good idea.
My main concern in this story is that if I receive the money on my German bank account instead of a Swiss one, the Swiss authorities might think I’m playing some kind of games or whatever… 
If you want to minimize fees, just make sure it’s transferred into a EUR account.
It’s your account right? Why would they care how you use it (you declare them, correct?)
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Yes, it’s my account and I declare it every year in my tax return.
Then seems like using your German account is the best, especially since that’s also where you plan to invest.
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Yes, definitely EUR on an EUR account first, to avoid very unfavorable rates or fees if your home bank converts it for you. And then take it from there. There are some threads here on where you have the best rates if you want it in CHF, eventually. I did larger FX transactions via my broker.
I read somewhere that Germany has some reporting requirements from the federal bank for larger payments abroad, but I’m not sure this applies to transfer to yourself, or to non-residents in the first place.
To avoid hassle or have your payment blocked, I’d maybe check with your bank upfront or do some quick online search.
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As long as the RE property and the German bank accounts were mentioned in last year tax return, there is no problem in receiving money in any of the accounts.
Just make sure in your next years return, you make a remark that the property has been sold. This will help Swiss tax office to reconcile the jump in cash position
If the property was not in your name last year and you only received it this year, then most likely you would also need to mention that you inherited a property worth 200K. Tax office may or may not ask for further documentation. I hope it’s from your parents or else you might have some tax liability.
Basically they need to understand how come your net worth suddenly shot up. That’s all. Location of bank account doesn’t matter.
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Well, that’s my other doubt Whether I should continue investing in Germany or not.
I started investing at the German bank years ago because they offered free ETF Sparplans which I couldn’t find in Switzerland at the time (I opened a discussion here). If I wanted to invest frugally nowadays, let’s say this lump sum of 200k EUR in a global ETF, I could do it in Switzerland as well by opening an IBKR account right? Are there still advantages with German banks/brokers?
I think it’s a separate discussion (you probably first want to move your money in a EUR account you own, you could move it later to a different broker).
It’s possible (likely) that IBKR is cheaper indeed, but it depends on many things (currency of the ETFs you invest in, and what the FX conversion is, potential investment fees, etc.)
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Yes, both declared, however the amount declared was much lower because I owned only part of the house, other parts being owned by my late mother and sister.
Sorry to hear
I think you would need to make a comment what changed the structure and your share of property
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I think German banking is more competitive on fees and these Sparplans are more way more common, and attractive also for small money, say 50 bucks a month. Also, seems German tax rules are more complicated, so people there avoid brokers like IB that don’t provide a German tax report, whereas the local banks do that. But that’s only picked up hearsay, not own experience.
Since you live here now, the German tax stuff is no concern, so I don’t see a reason to not have another broker. I guess IB is unrivaled in fees and investment options, others prefer something Swiss, or some neo-broker. What’s best for you depends on you.
Nothing wrong with a German broker though, if you don’t have high fees when transferring CHF or tax issues, either.
I like to have a EUR account for purchases or traveling, that can be covered reasonably well with some neo-bank these days.
As nabalzbhf already wrote, there’re plenty of threads and blog posts on broker selection, which may or may not be influenced by referral money, but give a good summary 
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