Switching to an ordinary tax return
Working in Switzerland? You may be paying too much tax. Calculate how much you can save.
Modelled saving: CHF 827 to CHF 3'059 a year, depending on the canton.
Two terms to know
Withholding tax
Your employer deducts the tax straight from your salary, every month. The amount follows an average scale, the same for everyone in your situation. There is nothing to do — and nothing to deduct.
Ordinary taxation
Filing a tax return, like Swiss residents do. The tax is then calculated on your real situation: your commute, your children, your third pillar. If you overpaid, the difference is refunded to you.
These are not two different taxes, but two ways of collecting the same one.
Understand the difference in detailThe tariff your employer applies already builds in flat rates, calibrated on an average employee. Here are the four items it ignores entirely, and which almost always decide the outcome.
Pillar 3a
The most profitable deduction, and the only one you steer alone. The withholding tariff has no line for individual pension provision: paying in without switching to ordinary taxation locks money away without giving you anything back.
Second-pillar buy-backs
A buy-back into your pension fund is deducted in full from taxable income, with no fixed annual ceiling. It is often the heaviest deduction of a year, and the withholding tariff knows it no better than it knows pillar 3a.
Actual childcare costs
The tariff takes account of the number of children, never of the real cost of caring for them. Day nursery, childminder, after-school care: frequently the item that tips a case.
A long or expensive commute
The share of professional expenses included in the tariff is calculated for an average journey. A route pass, a weekly residence or a genuinely justified car journey exceed it quickly.
Continuing education
Professional development costs are deducted separately, against receipts, within a federal limit. An item many forget, even though it sometimes runs to several thousand francs.
Conversely, wealth tax, foreign income and a high communal multiplier work against ordinary taxation. The calculation takes both directions into account.
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Have your annual salary certificate (Lohnausweis) ready. You will find boxes 11 and 12 there.
1 min
Enter the data from your salary certificate and find out how much you can recover
2 min
If it's advantageous, we generate your official pre-filled TOU form, ready to sign and send.
CHF 20
Your canton confirms your switch to ordinary taxation.
4-8 weeks
Your money arrives directly in your account
3-6 months
Coming nextFull tax declaration
Common situation examples (indicative amounts)
Model profiles computed with our engine, assuming withholding tax of roughly 8–12% of net salary. With no dependent children and no pillar 3a contributions, withholding tax often remains the better option — the calculator will say so plainly.
Yes, it is completely legal. This is the official Swiss process for recovering overpaid taxes. You are simply exercising your rights. Thousands of people do it every year.
Our calculator estimates your savings in 2 minutes. If it's advantageous, we generate your official pre-filled TOU form (CHF 20). All you need to do is print, sign, and send it.
The estimate is 100% free. If you want to switch to ordinary taxation, we generate your official pre-filled TOU form for CHF 20 — no hidden fees.
Find out in 2 minutes how much you can get back