Labor = work. He isn’t talking about a lab / laboratory.
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I did all of these and await feedback from the tax office.
Most points do not make sense to me (first two especially), according to everything I read online, but I might be wrong.
Perhaps it’s the Dr. Tax’s fault for these limitations, as you doubt.
Sounds like they are taking the path of least resistance (by using that)…
A lot of advisors use Dr. tax. No issue on this side.
if the flat rate for labor costs (Pauschalabzug für Berufkosten) is used (=4’000.-), bicycle can’t be deducted? I had a GA last year
Another deduction if only for transportation, but for this point is different for each canton.
reduced costs for lunch (CHF 1’600; employer is paying something) also can’t be decucted, according to them?
It’s right.
ETFs don’t need to be separated for DA-1. It’s enough to send the IB report to the tax offices, according to the tax advisor.
If you have US ETFs with a foreign broker like IB and would like a refund, you need to fill the DA-1 section. Maybe Dr. tax can generate that automatically
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So basically when you choose flat costs of CHF 4’000.- you can’t deduct any other costs for meals?
Or you choose “503 - Fahrkosten zwischen Wohn- und Arbeitsstätte” - deduct the maximum of CHF 3’200.- for GA and use “504 - Mehrkosten für auswärtige Verpflegung” with the maximum of CHF 1’600.- (for employer sponsored meals).
Is that correct?
I received a section for DA-1 with the temporary tax declaration, but it only shows the overall amount of my portfolio (not the separate ETF listings).
There are some differences in each canton and don’t know for Basel. Moreover, the deductions are not the same for the canton taxes and federal taxes. If @dbu did the declaration in Basel, maybe he can help you.
In my case, I do the declaration myself and if the tax office doesn’t agree, he will correct it.
I am awaiting feedback myself and will report back when I get it. 
(doing first time this year for 2019)
Wanted to attempt it without the tax advisor to learn it all, so I believe/hope they will mark any mistakes down to the “honest” category. 
For BS you can do the following:
Cantonal:
- Berufskosten: CHF 4k
- Pillar 3a: amount you paid in (up to CHF 6.826k)
- Versicherungsabzug: CHF 2.4k
Bundessteuer:
- Fahrkosten: CHF 3k
- Lunch (co-paid by employer): CHF 1.6k
- 3a pillar: amount you paid in (up to CHF 6.826k)
- Versicherungsabzug: CHF 1.7k
Note that Fahrkosten and Lunch only possible if you live far enough from your workplace to argument that (I work in a different canton and commute by car).
Hope that helps.
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At least in Basel-Stadt, according to the guideline, one can also deduct 50% of the cost of banking packages.
If your employer has discounted meals and you cannot go home for lunch, the full deduction can only be made if the meal costs more than 10 chf. Otherwise they accept only the “pauschal” deduction. And you must attach printouts from e.g. the SBB website to demonstrate how long it takes to commute.
This seems a bit unfair to me (which doesn’t mean it is not true).
If someone lives in Basel-Stadt and commutes for 20min one way by public transport or a bike; does that mean s/he should commute back home for lunch every day (and have -10min to prepare and eat food, as most lunch breaks are set as “30min”); as well as that those commute costs should not be tax-deductible?
Compared to someone who drives by car for 10min from Basel-Land…
It does mean exactly that.
They say: Massgebend für einen Abzug ist ein Zeitaufwand von mehr als 2 Stunden für die Mittagspause (der Weg nach Hause und zurück von mindestens 11⁄4 Stunden zuzüglich 3⁄4 Stunden für die Zubereitung und Einnahme der Mahlzeit).
In other words: if your one-way commute is less than 37.5 minutes, then home you go! No deductions for you, no no!
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Thanks for all your comments!
Are you sure that’s true? Exactly this is not possible, according to my tax advisor (and Dr. Tax)
That’s no a problem at all. I’m working as a freelancer and had customers in Zurich, Luzern, Geneva and St. Gallen.
I agree that this is unfair, but it gets even worse: If you are living in Basel and you are working e.g. in Interlaken, you can not even deduct a rented room in Interlaken. At least that’s what my old tax advisor told me. AHV is saying that commuting up to 2h one way every day is perfectly fine.
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Yes, that is exactly what I’ve been doing and what have been working for me (in BalTax and confirmed by official assessment response from the tax office).
Yes, that is (either fair or not) the reality and how it works.
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Then I guess I have to use BalTax on my own instead of my tax advisor using Dr. Tax. Speaking of taxes being sooo easy in Switzerland 
I can walk very very slowly. 
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Has this been challenged in court?
I highly doubt, that this would hold up in court. Employers only need to give 30 minutes for lunch, so I would assume that unless the tax office can prove that the employer gives more, you are entitled to the deduction.
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I believe what counts as reference is public transportation.
So regardless of whether you walk or cycle to work, or drive a car, or fly your own private helicopter, what they would take as reference is how long it’d take you with the bus, train, etc.
Just received my definitive tax declaration. This time I tried using the car as a commute cost instead of public transport with the option “Saving at least 1 hour per day” and they accepted it! Without me even having a car lol xD
This reduced my taxable income by CHF 4’800 which I didn’t even plan for. So I got a nice refund 
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Not sure there’s much to be proud of though… I wouldn’t think the goal is to non-truthfully deduct as much as the tax office accepts.
(and I guess in case of a later audit, they could still ask for a proof?)
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Well it’s in the grey area I guess. My friend in ZH is deducting a couple of things without proof (donations and other things) because he knows till which amount they won’t ask for proof.
Not sure what grey area means. For sure it’s unlikely to cause issues (because of lack of enforcement), but you’ll agree that’s still lying, right? Even if there’s no direct consequences, depending on your ethics, it could be morally wrong.
We could find lots of examples of behavior that are unlikely to be punished due to lack of/low enforcement (throwing your trash outside of designated spots or not using the mandatory bags, not declaring VAT when passing the border). I’d think most people would say it’s not a grey area (even if they might do it).
At least if you’re lying to the tax office, don’t lie to yourself about doing it 
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