Tax & Permit B

First of all, it should be remembered that for Italian citizens residing in Switzerland and holders of a B permit it is mandatory to register with AIRE at the Italian consulate, thus canceling their residence in Italy: by doing this, you avoid having to pay taxes in Italy too. as well as in Switzerland.

If you are a resident of Switzerland and have a B permit, you are usually not required to file a tax return, also called a tax return. This is an obligation that belongs only to C permit holders. However, there are exceptions that you should be aware of, as they can save you money.

Individuals with the B permit are required to file tax returns only if they exceed the annual gross income of 120,000 Swiss francs.

For those who stay below this income, taxes are usually withheld at source (directly in the monthly paycheck).

When it comes to withholding tax (Quellensteuer in German), know that it is a tax that is calculated based on the canton of residence and the amount of the salary itself. The figure used to calculate the tax also includes benefits such as meal vouchers, expense reimbursements, production bonuses, loyalty bonuses, and thirteenth monthly payments.

Request reimbursement with permission B

Not everyone is aware of the fact that deductions and consequent refunds can be requested on withholding tax. It should also be noted that these deductions, as is very often the case in Switzerland, are regulated differently from canton to canton.

Some examples of deductions are:

training costs, travel costs on public transport (above a certain amount), amounts paid as social security contributions (2nd and 3rd pillar tied up), medical expenses, interest paid for private credits, cards credit or mortgage, dependents for whom maintenance is provided or for seriously ill persons dependent on oneself, etc.

Until the end of 2020, by submitting a specific form that can be downloaded online, duly completed, it was possible to obtain considerable refunds of the taxes withheld at source even with the B permit.

Now, with the revision that came into effect from January 1, 2021, even resident persons who do not reach the threshold of 120,000 francs will now have the opportunity to submit the ordinary tax return. The objective of the reform is to eliminate the inequality of treatment between people subject to withholding tax and people taxed according to the ordinary procedure.

I’ll give you an example:

If we consider a single person subject to withholding tax who receives a gross income of CHF 108’000.- and lives in Wollerau SZ, a withholding tax deduction of CHF 9’234.- has previously been made (tariff A0N) . Since the income limit of CHF 120’000.- was not reached, there was no possibility for this person to file a tax return and benefit from the low Wollerau tax rate. This was one of the main criticisms: EU citizens with a B permit were simply disadvantaged compared to Swiss citizens who were in exactly the same situation.

And don’t forget, the application for the tax return must be submitted by March 31st to the corresponding cantonal office.

Foreign citizens without a C residence permit (and therefore even if you only have the B permit), but married or cohabiting (legally registered) with a person of Swiss nationality or in possession of a type C residence permit must also fill in the declaration of taxes with ordinary procedure.