Depending on the respective canton, different regulations apply in Switzerland for self-employed persons with regard to taxes. Every year, you will be requested to submit a tax return by the competent cantonal tax administration. Depending on the canton, different deadlines and tax rates apply. If you are self-employed, you must observe additional regulations.
Who is required to file a tax return in Switzerland?
In principle, everyone who has reached the age of 18. If you are over the age of 18 and have your main residence in Switzerland, you must submit a tax return. It does not matter whether he receives income or not. On the basis of the tax return, the cantonal tax administration decides whether you have to pay income tax and how much it will be. The tax return must always be prepared for the previous year. Complete your 18 years of age in 2022. If you are over 30 years old, you must file a tax return for the first time in 2023. Read more about who has to file a tax return?"
Self-employed persons are requested to file a tax return
At the beginning of each year, you will be asked by the competent cantonal tax administration to file a tax return. The request sets a deadline by which you must submit your tax return. Different deadlines apply depending on the canton. In most cantons, the tax return must be submitted by 31 December of the following year. March or 30. April must be submitted. You always submit the tax return for the previous year.
In which canton do I have to file my tax return as a self-employed person??
If you are employed, you must file your tax return in the canton in which you live. The situation is different for self-employed persons.
If you do not operate your company in the canton where you live, you must file the tax return in the canton where your company is located.
How much tax is due?
The amount of tax you have to pay depends on your income and the canton in which you are self-employed. In the individual cantons, the tax rates can vary greatly. However, you can reduce the tax if you deduct various expenses from the tax.
What must be stated in the tax return?
You can be self-employed on a full-time basis. However, you can also be self-employed on a part-time basis if you work full-time as an employee and also carry out an activity on your own account. You are also considered self-employed if you work as a freelancer, i.e. you work for several clients. This is also possible on a full-time or part-time basis.
If you are the managing director of a company, you are considered an employee under Swiss tax law. You are considered self-employed if you have a sole proprietorship, work in your own name and for your own account, and bear the economic risk yourself.
If you are also employed, you must fill out a form for your income as an employee in addition to the self-employment form. For the activity in the employment relationship you indicate the incomes from dependent work. You must therefore declare your net salary for the entire year. If you are self-employed, declare the income from self-employment. As a rule, this is your profit.
In your tax return, you still have to declare other income such as gambling winnings, alimony and income from capital assets.
In your tax return, you must also provide information about your assets, to which
- Account balances
- Securities
- Real estate
- Life and pension insurance policies with the surrender value
- Valuable items such as art collections
belong to.
What else do self-employed persons have to declare in their tax return??
As a self-employed person, depending on the activity you carry out, you must ensure good bookkeeping and archive all receipts. You must also submit these receipts with your tax return, at least if you are requested to do so by the tax administration. You have to make a tax return as a self-employed person on the basis of the business books. You declare your income from the business activity in the tax return.
Now it is possible that you also have capital investments for your company. You must also declare these investments and the income from them in the tax return. You also have to declare profits from the sale of business assets, for example if you sell a company car, in your tax return.
What about the value added tax in the tax return?
As a self-employed person in Switzerland, you may wonder when you have to start paying VAT. If your annual income from self-employment is at least 100.000 CHF you are liable to pay value added tax. It does not matter whether your self-employment is full-time or part-time. Within 30 days you must declare the value added tax to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA). A form is available online for this purpose. You can also check online whether VAT applies to you. There are also exceptions to value added tax, such as the health sector, insurance or agriculture. Even if your annual income exceeds 100.000 CHF you do not have to pay value added tax.
What can you deduct for tax purposes as a self-employed person??
If you are self-employed, it is important to save taxes. Therefore, you can deduct various expenses and financial charges for tax purposes. Partly there are differences, depending on the canton. In each canton, however, you can deduct these things for tax purposes and declare them as deductions in your tax return:
- Mortgages and small loans, private and for your company
- Pension contributions and pension funds
- various contributions for insurances, including company insurances
- Allowances for own personnel
- Depreciation on business assets, for example on machinery and company cars
In most cantons there are also tax allowances. It is best to find out from the relevant cantonal tax administration what you can deduct from tax.
What to do if you cannot meet the deadline?
If you are already aware that you will not be able to submit your tax return on time, it is essential that you submit a request for an extension of the deadline to the relevant cantonal tax authority. The request for extension of the deadline must be received by the tax administration by the end of the deadline for submitting the tax return. You will get a deadline extension. In some cantons, a fee may be charged if the extension goes beyond a certain cut-off date. If you fail to submit a deadline extension request and do not submit your tax return on time, you may face a reminder and fines.
What happens if you don't file your tax return or forget to file it?
If you intentionally do not file a tax return or forget to file a tax return, you will receive a reminder from the responsible tax administration setting you a new deadline. A reminder fee may be charged for the reminder notice. In addition, there is the threat of a fine. Especially if you have already forgotten to file your tax return several times, the fine can be as high as 10.CHF 000.
The cantonal tax administration estimates your income and sets a tax. If this tax is too high, you can file an appeal. This is only successful if you fill out all the required forms. However, the tax may be set too low. In this case you can be prosecuted for tax evasion. You will have to pay back the tax in the corresponding amount and also pay a fine. Therefore, it is important to always file the tax return in due time.
In exceptional cases, in the case of
- Death of a member of the taxpayer's family
- mental illness of the taxpayer
- longer stay abroad of the taxpayer
If you have failed to file a tax return, you can apply to the tax authorities for a new deadline. You must prove the reasons why you could not file a tax return.
Tax return for married couples
If you are married and self-employed, you must file a joint tax return with your spouse. This also applies if you are in a registered domestic partnership. If your partner is not self-employed, he or she must provide information about his or her income from non-self-employment. The joint tax return is valid from the year of your marriage. In the following year, you must file a joint tax return for the year of marriage.
Help with the tax return
In every canton, you can file your tax return online. Depending on the canton, different tax programs are recognized to help you file your tax return.
For the self-employed, the help of a tax advisor is recommended. He knows legal tax tricks and tells you what you can deduct from taxes in the relevant canton. He is familiar with the tax regulations for self-employed people, which are quite complicated after all. With the help of a tax advisor, you can avoid mistakes in your tax return, which can lead to heavy fines. Addresses of tax advisors can be found via industry associations such as ExpertSuisse or Treuhand Schweiz.