Leaving Switzerland: your final tax return

If you are taxed under the ordinary system (C permit, Swiss spouse, or a full return because you earn CHF 120,000 or more or opted for it), yes: you file a return for the period from 1 January to your departure date. The rate is set as if you had earned your income over a full year, but only the income of that period is taxed. If you were only taxed at source, your employer’s withholding usually settles your salary, but a full return can still be compulsory or worth requesting.

It cannot stop you, but it can ask for the tax of the departure year to be paid or secured before you leave, and it often sends the return early. Planning the return a few weeks ahead avoids a rushed payment based on an estimate.

Yes. Leaving Switzerland for good is a reason to withdraw your pillar 3a. The capital is taxed separately from your other income, at a reduced rate. If you withdraw after you have left, the tax is withheld at source by the canton where the pension provider is based, and depending on the tax treaty with your new country, it can be refunded.

If you move outside the EU and EFTA, you can usually withdraw all of it in cash. If you move to an EU or EFTA country where you are compulsorily insured, the mandatory part stays in Switzerland on a vested benefits account until retirement; only the extra-mandatory part can be paid out. Where and when you withdraw changes the tax, so it is worth planning before you deregister.

Property in Switzerland stays taxable in the canton where it is located. You file a Swiss return every year for the property (rental income or imputed rental value, and its value as wealth), and the rate takes your worldwide income into account.

Yes. We work 100% digital: one call, your documents uploaded to a secure platform hosted in Switzerland, and we deal with the tax office for you, wherever you live now. Book the free 15-minute call at mytaxadvisor.ch/en/book-a-call/.