Healthcare Costs

In most cantons, the deductible for medical expense deductions is five percent of net income. If your medical expenses exceed this amount, you may claim a deduction; otherwise, you may not.

Cost of Living

Unfortunately, you cannot deduct moving expenses—such as those incurred because you have to move to another canton for a new job—since these are considered part of your general living expenses.

For the same reason, the wages paid to a privately employed housekeeper cannot be deducted either, even if both work 100 percent.

Pension Fund and Pillar 3a

If you have made a pension fund purchase, please be aware of the deadlines for claiming this deduction. The date of the purchase—not the date of payment—is what counts. Be especially careful to act within the deadline, as you may otherwise forfeit this deduction. If you have me prepare your tax return, there is no such risk, as I have many years of experience in this area.

If one spouse has received an early withdrawal from their pension fund for any reason, this does not affect the other spouse. The other spouse may make a catch-up contribution to the pension fund and then benefit from the full income tax deduction.

If your unemployment benefits expired two years ago but you still made contributions to Pillar 3a last year, you can only claim the amount if you have an income. Instead, you must request a refund of the contribution from your pension fund. A document from the tax office is required for this. You will receive this when you claim the deduction on your tax return.

Withdrawals from a Pillar 3a account or a pension fund are subject to taxation. The information sheet “Taxation of Withdrawals from Pillar 2 and Pillar 3a” provides an overview of the tax rates at the federal level and in the various cantons. The information sheet “Calculation Examples” lists the specific tax amounts for each canton.

Pillar 3b Insurance Premiums

You can claim life insurance premiums only as part of the general insurance deduction. However, this deduction is usually already fully utilized for health insurance premiums.

Weekly Stays

Suppose you were working in the canton of St. Gallen until the end of July of last year. After that, you moved to Basel and have been living there as a weekend resident ever since. You cannot claim deductions for your lodging and meals on weekends, as these are not directly related to your income. All deductions must be work-related out-of-pocket expenses. Since you earned no income after the end of July, you cannot claim any expenses for that period.

If your child is a weekly resident, that child must also claim the additional costs for travel and rent on their tax return—even if the parents cover these costs. Parents can only claim the child tax credit; nothing else.

Education

Since 2016, it has been possible to claim a tax deduction for educational expenses. Prior to that, these expenses were considered occupational expenses. Now you can claim a deduction for all educational or continuing education programs, as well as expenses for any retraining. However, initial education is excluded from this provision. The maximum tax deduction for federal taxes is 12,000 Swiss francs per year, although it is up to the cantons to set their own maximum amounts.

Child Care

If your parents look after your children on specific days each week and you wish to reimburse them for this in an amount equal to the child care deduction, you may deduct these costs from your income. However, it is important that you include a breakdown of the costs along with payment receipts. Your parents must then report the compensation they receive as taxable income. This is by no means a gift, since you are clearly receiving something in return in the form of childcare.

Premium Reduction

A premium reduction is now forwarded directly to the health insurance company. Previously, you could only deduct the amount you had paid yourself anyway. So you must have this premium reduction credited to your account.

Private School

As a general rule, the costs of your child’s private school cannot be deducted. This is only possible in cases where attendance at a private school is based on a recommendation from a school psychologist. In such cases, the costs are then deducted as disability-related expenses.

Application Costs

If you are currently unemployed, you can deduct the costs of postage, copies, photos, and application portfolios, as these qualify as business expenses. However, if the tax office asks you for details, you should be able to provide documentation for all of these costs.

Child Deduction

If your child has completed an apprenticeship during the current calendar year and you have been responsible for the child’s support up to that point, you cannot claim the child deduction on a pro-rata basis. The so-called “cut-off date” rule applies here. This means that only the situation on the cut-off date—December 31—is decisive. If the child is no longer in an apprenticeship on that date, no child tax deduction can be claimed.

You can also contact me at any time to have your tax return prepared.

IT Costs

If you regularly work from home, you cannot deduct the resulting expenses for electricity, cell phone service, and your computer, since your company generally provides you with a workspace at the office and merely grants you the option to work from home.

This also applies to the work-from-home periods mandated by the Federal Council in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this case as well, you are not entitled to compensation for any additional costs incurred as a result of working from home.