Tax Residency and working abroad

Taxes
1

I was working this year 2 months in Switzerland. Now traveling and not registered in any country. Planning to work now 3 months in an EU country to have Real Estate Loan eligibility and than to come back to Switzerland and start a new job.

Questions:

  1. do i have to change my Tax Residency for the 3 months when working abroad?
  2. where do I pay taxes at the end of the year? does the rule “where you have spend most time of the year” work here?
  3. would I need to work 3months+1 day in Switzerland (one day more than in the EU country) to be SwissTax eligible?
2

Have a read…

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3

In addition to this very good link.

At least Bern seems to think that if you already know you’re coming back, it’s temporary and you’re swiss tax domiciled the whole time: Domicile fiscal des personnes physiques - TaxInfo - Canton de Berne

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thanks for the comments and links.

after several calls to tax authorities, Einwohnerkontrolle, Migration offices it looks like I can’t have Swiss Tax Residency because I don’t have any working Bewilligung for Switzerland and to get one I need a WorkContract with a company in Switzerland (they don’t accept any work contracts from companies abroad).

Will call the Migration Office one more time.

5

This can’t be the full truth.
They’re probably just unfamiliar with such (admittedly somewhat unusual) circumstances.

You can receive a residence permit without having (or intending to take up) any work in Switzerland. As an EU/EFTA citizen you are in fact entitled to reside in Switzerland and receive a permit according to the Freizügigkeitskommen - provided you have and prove sufficient means to sustain yourself, of course.

That can’t prohibit you from working for a foreign company.

And your tax residency will, in general, be determined by your place of work. Absent any residency somewhere else, where else should you be tax-resident, if not in Switzerland?

In your specific case, the catch may of course be that 1. you have - or fail - to convince the Swiss migration authority to issue you a residence permit 2. that you’re not actually working from/in Switzerland. And 3., that the foreign (other country’s) tax authority could (possibly) claim you as their “own” tax resident for at least part of the year.

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@San_Francisco thanks - it turns out that after speaking with ca. 8 people the last person told me it’s all not a problem.

I need to show them that I have enough money on the account and apply for a Bewiligung L. All other previous people informed me that it’s not possible…