Ahmed - Construction worker
Married, 2 children
CHF 65'000/year
Lausanne
Deductions
- Commute to site (CHF 700/yr)
- Childcare (CHF 6'000/yr)
- Pillar 3a (CHF 7'056/yr)
CHF 6'400
saved/year
Why switch?
Most foreign workers in Switzerland overpay taxes without knowing it. Find out why and how much you can save.
at best, across our cantonal scenarios
CHF3'059.2
The upper bound of our sixteen reference scenarios: single, on the median salary of a B permit holder, with a pillar 3a at the ceiling. An amount modelled by our calculator, not an average measured across our users.
CHF 3'059.2, c'est :
- 3 plane tickets to visit your family
- 4 months of shared rent
- Your savings for the entire year
- French classes for 1 year
Who can request ordinary taxation
Four conditions, and only one really depends on you. If the first three are met, the request is open; the fourth is a deadline, and it cannot be made up.
Being taxed at source
A B, L or F permit, domiciled in Switzerland, without a settlement permit and without a spouse of Swiss nationality or holding a C permit. The “withholding tax” line on your payslip is enough to check.
Receiving a salary subject to AHV
The procedure targets income from employment. A secondary income or a self-employed activity do not prevent it, but they then enter the full tax return.
Staying below the threshold, or having crossed it
Above CHF 120'000 of annual gross income, ordinary taxation becomes mandatory without any step on your part. Below it, it is entirely your choice.
Filing before 31 March
The deadline runs until 31 March of the year following the tax period concerned. It is a forfeiture deadline: after that date, the year is definitively closed.
A quasi-resident domiciled abroad, at least 90 % of whose income is taxable in Switzerland, falls under a neighbouring procedure — to be renewed every year.
Before vs After: A real example
Single, no children, in Genève (Geneva), on the median salary of a B permit holder (CHF 5'897 a month), with a pillar 3a at the ceiling. The median case of our sixteen cantonal scenarios — neither the most nor the least favourable.
Withholding tax
CHF6'765
taxes per year
Maximum tax rate
Ordinary taxation
CHF4'876
taxes per year
With deductions applied
CHF1'889
saved per year
That's 28% savings on your taxes
You should switch if...
Mentally check the situations that apply to you
- I take the train or bus to work~700
- I eat out during work (work meals)~1'600
- I have supplementary health insurance~800
- I have children~2'000
- I am married or in a registered partnership~1'500
- I pay high rent in Switzerland~500
The amounts shown are orders of magnitude: your actual situation is computed by the estimator.
Common situations
Discover how much people like you save
Ana - Restaurant worker
Married, 2 children
CHF 55'000/year
Geneva
Deductions
- TPG pass (CHF 600/year)
- Daycare (CHF 8'000/year)
- Child deduction
CHF 5'400
saved/year
Maria - Care assistant
Single parent, 2 children
CHF 60'000/year
Fribourg
Deductions
- Childcare (CHF 9'600/yr)
- Pillar 3a (CHF 7'056/yr)
- SBB pass (CHF 800/year)
CHF 5'700
saved/year
Carlos - Logistics
Married, 1 child
CHF 70'000/year
Zurich
Deductions
- Work car expenses (CHF 1'500/year)
- Work meals (CHF 1'600/year)
- Childcare (CHF 4'800/yr)
CHF 4'600
saved/year
Model cases computed with our engine, assuming withholding tax of about 10% of net salary. Your amount depends on your actual situation.
When ordinary taxation costs you money
We sell a service that assists with the request. We therefore have an interest in your filing it, and that is precisely why this section exists: switching wrongly costs you more than an unclosed sale costs us.
- 01
You have taxable wealth
Withholding at source covers income only: it ignores savings, securities, cryptocurrencies and real estate. Ordinary taxation triggers the cantonal and communal wealth tax, which you were not paying until then — and it comes back every year.
What to check : Add up your savings and assets before deciding. The exemption threshold and the rate vary widely from canton to canton.
- 02
You have income or assets abroad
The withholding tariff knows only the Swiss salary. The ordinary return covers your worldwide situation: foreign income is generally not taxed here, but it raises the rate applied to the Swiss income. A flat kept back home combines both effects.
What to check : Count the value of the property in your wealth and its rental value in the income determining the rate, even if it stands empty.
- 03
Your municipality is more expensive than the cantonal average
The withholding tariff is calculated on a cantonal average of communal multipliers. Ordinary taxation applies the actual multiplier of your municipality. Living somewhere more expensive than the average loses you that difference — mechanically, before any deduction.
What to check : The effect runs to hundreds of francs a year, one way or the other. It cannot be guessed: it is calculated with your postcode.
- 04
You are single and live close to work
This is the profile the tariff was calibrated for. No children, no childcare costs, a short commute, often no payment into a pillar 3a: your actual expenses stay below the flat rates already built into the tariff.
What to check : You would inherit an annual tax return and deadlines to meet for a gain of zero, or even below — and the switch is irreversible.
The calculation applies the tariffs of your canton and your municipality to your figures. It also tells you when to do nothing — the only moment when that information still has value.
What happens after you file
The request is only the first act. The rest spreads over several months, and it is better to know that before counting on the refund.
- 01
The canton confirms
Allow four to eight weeks. You receive the credentials for the ordinary tax return, and your employer keeps withholding as before.
- 02
You complete the tax return
All income, all assets, all deductions, with supporting documents. This is the step that takes work.
- 03
The assessment decision arrives
From a few months to more than a year depending on the canton. The tax already withheld at source is credited in full: you never pay twice.
- 04
The balance is settled
Any overpayment is refunded, any shortfall is claimed. Between the request and the payment, twelve to eighteen months is common.
The regime then applies automatically to the following years, until the end of your liability to withholding tax. You do not choose year by year: you change regime.
Frequently asked questions
5 questions
No. The request is irrevocable as soon as it is filed, and for a person domiciled in Switzerland the regime is then maintained automatically. That is why you must estimate before requesting, and not the other way round.
No, it is none of their business. The request is filed with the cantonal administration, not with the employer, who simply keeps withholding as before. They are not informed and have no role in the procedure.
No. The withholding tax already paid is credited in full against the tax calculated. You settle only the difference, or you get the excess back.
Yes, in two ways. To determine the rate, the administration scales your salary up to twelve months: you are taxed on what you earned, but at the rate of a full year. And the meal and travel flat rates are reduced pro rata to the months worked, whereas the pillar 3a ceiling remains whole.
Then ordinary taxation is not the right procedure. An unreported child, an outdated civil status or two poorly coordinated employers are corrected by a request for recalculation of the withholding tax. It is filed within the same deadline, corrects the deduction, and commits no future year.
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