Claim deductions when taxed at source

[bryndel]

Hi folks,

I'm a 30-something B-permit holder living in Kanton Fribourg. I'm assessing whether it makes sense to claim tax deductions, as I'm contributing fully to the 3a pillar.

I will give you a bit of context: my annual brutto is 103,200, which becomes approximately 75,336, implying a tax rate of about 17%, given that AVS:5.30%, AC:1.10%, LAA/CNA:1.02% and IJM 0.38%.

Based on the calculation I've done in Calculate income tax (admin.ch) claiming all relevant deductions (LaMAL premiums and 3a pillar), my tax burden goes to 15.21%.

To be honest, this sounds too good to be true. Have I factored in all the relevant information, or am I missing something?

P.S.: I saw in some threads that certain cantons factor in certain deductions; I tried extensively to find this information, but I found none. Where is this info generally?

 

[christhomas2]

@bryndel From my experience it is almost always a good idea to fill out the tax declaration, even when taxed at source. And if you have special deductions like 3rd pillar even more so.

So the answer is: it sounds too good to be true but with high probability it is true. You will get money back...

 

[ardnasselal]

@bryndel Remember once you request subsequent ordinary taxation you will have to use it every following year until you are no longer taxed at source (permit C, leave the country, etc..)

If you want to know for sure, use the official tax software of your canton, not just the online calculator and make a very precise simulation. Compare that to the tax at source option. Remember, if you had a fluctuation in your income during the year you might have been withheld a bit more than necessary and when you can request a recalculation without having to ask for a regular tax declaration. To calculate how much you actually owe, take your total gross salary from any job you had during the fiscal year, find the tax at source rates for the year and match the corresponding tax rate to your annual salary range. Multiply that rate by your total gross salary and that’s how much you truly owe. If you were withheld more you may be refunded the difference.
However, to do that, you must not exceed certain thresholds: not earn more than 120K, not have taxable income, not have other sources of revenue which are not taxed at source, etc… The thresholds are different per canton, 3K for the other sources of income for Genenva and Zurich, 0 for Vaud.
It is not always better to fill in a tax declaration!
If you have more question you can PM me as these things are quite tricky.

 

[wadetheophan]

@bryndel If you max your 3rd pillar then it's almost certainly worth it but you should check that before you put your money in 3rd pillar.

I feel like the most likely situation where it isn't worth it is the following. When you are taxed at source you are taxed at Canton Average rate. This means that if you live in Zurich city for example you benefit quite a bit from this. It could still be worth it after all the deductions you make but it might be close etc

So check the rate where you live (gemeinde/commune level) and see what is the canton average. If you live outside the city chances are you would be taxed less if not at source so basically everything adds up (or more precisely subtracts) which means that it would be worth it.

P.S. Once you do this one year you have to keep doing it the following years. Take that into account. Might not be worth the hassle for 100CHF or so.

 

[thenewmanng]

@bryndel You will get more than 1000 chf back

 

[dsg01]

@bryndel https://www.fr.ch/sites/default/files/2024-01/instructions-generales-concernant-la-declaration-d-impot.pdf#:~:text=Le%2FLa%20contribuable%20peut%20d%C3%A9duire,et%20au%20maximum%202400%20fr.

Page 24.

 

[bryndel]

@dsg01 My question was about assumed deduction in the case of taxation at source. The document you posted seems to refer to the deduction allowed when asking for the deductions. To be precise, I was referring to something like this https://www.fr.ch/sites/default/fil....VandenWildenberg@fr.ch-file-9-1701330044.pdf

 

[dsg01]

@bryndel Then for sure I might misunderstood you, moreover I don’t see how it would influence the effective tax rate. The sole influencing factors in case of taxation at source are the gross monthly salary, family status, canton of residence and religious denomination. Your otherwise tax deductible actual expenses doesn’t matter. The tax rates and ranges for a canton are defined based on the avarage income tax rates of the canton, and assumed deductions.

 

[williambo]

@bryndel Hi, you can contact experts to gives you advices and more, on your situation, or future decisions for a good price. They are experts as well for taxes. www.bsco.ch

 

[fightingpain]

@bryndel call the tax authorities in a non-busy part of the fiscal year, they are very helpful via phone

 

[dsjones17]

@bryndel If you're not claiming deductions, having a pillar 3a makes no sense.