Sure, but I was expecting to find some number to define the threshold of income/wealth under which someone is “in need of help”.
It depends where she is, I suppose.
Here is what I found:
33 Als bedürftig kann eine Person mit Wohnsitz in der Schweiz grundsätzlich angesehen werden, wenn folgende Werte unterschritten werden:
Steuerbares Einkommen von weniger als Fr. 15 000 und steuerbares Vermögen von weniger als Fr. 50 000, falls sie alleinstehend ist;
Steuerbares Einkommen von weniger als Fr. 22 000 und steuerbares Vermögen von weniger als Fr. 100 000, falls sie verheiratet sind.
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I didn’t find it. Where is it specifically?
Ziffer 22.2
‘Gemeinnützige Zuwendungen’
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Hi all,
I’ve tried to look for an answer in the forum before but I couldnt find, so apologies if this was asked before.
I need to commute everyday from Zurich to Basel, and I am permit C. Do you know if I can deduct the GA travelcard (aprox 2500chf/year) and how much?
Thanks a lot!
I believe you can deduct the whole GA cost, and I would try to also deduct the 700 chf for the bike, claiming you bike to the tram/train station 
Thanks Giff, I guess the bike cost you can only do once right?
Regarding the GA, would i get back the similar value back in taxes?
Bike is 700 CHF/year. Obviously, you would only get back whatever your tax rate is on the cost of the GA.
So every year, independently if you buy or not a new bike, you can claim 700 chf? wow, that’s nice.
It looks a lot of money CHF 700.- but cycling is not cost free. I once calculated that it cost CHF 0.05 in wear and tear (chain, gears, tires,…). Add some extra food for the cyclist and it is a fair price.
I have an e-bike for 2400. With service etc the total cost over 10 years will be easily over 3000. I make 3000 km per year, that’s 30’000 over 10 years. Makes it 0.10 CHF per km in my case , but that’s just the cost of the bike.
Anyway, I don’t think 700 CHF is nice. How come it has to be so complicated? I find learning tax tricks the kind of knowledge I wish I didn’t need…
It’s actually not complicated. If I remember correctly, that’s one of the “tips” you read while you fill your taxes with the software.
Also you know what happens when money is involved and automatism are used… See Health insurances, where an EPI pen costs 1500chf or something like that.
After a short google action I found this list, that I believe is pretty comprehensive:
https://en.comparis.ch/steuern/steuervergleich/info/glossar/steuern-sparen.
Or, a similar one here: https://www.moneyland.ch/en/tax-deductions-switzerland
The exact deductible amounts depend on cantons, so will be handled/proposed by your respective tools (I guess).
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You can deduce open tax liabilities at 31st of December in the “Schuldenverzeichnis”. This is particularly interesting since the direct federal tax is usually not invoiced until the following year.
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You mean that if you have taxes to pay on the 31st you can deduct them?
Yes, my understanding is that when you fill in the tax return for the year 2019 in early 2020 you can deduce all unpaid taxes for the years 2019 and earlier from your wealth in the “Schuldenverzeichnis”.
For state and municipal taxes this is probably not interesting since you owe interest on these taxes starting from autumn 2019. So I assume that generally it’s better to pay the tax debt.
For the direct federal tax the situation is different. As written above they send the invoice for 2019 in early 2020 and it’s not possible to pay the amount before that. Hence, you can always deduce this tax debt.
This is my understanding of the situation. As always you might have to check with your tax consultant / tax office for a reliable answer.
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I am still waiting for the bundestax amounts since 2017. I guess I can only claim such debts when I have an invoice? Or can I put down my estimate?
I have claimed estimates before. No questions were asked. The invoicing date should not be relevant.
The usual disclaimer applies: Amounts were relatively small in my case. And please ask the tax office for a more reliable and legally sound answer.
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Actually I am counting on close to 100K CHF of taxes for the last few years. New year’s resolution: file in March to hopefully get a speedier reply…
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