Withholding (source) tax
Withholding (source) tax for foreign nationals
Foreign nationals resident in Switzerland and cross-border commuters have their income taxed at source. Tax is deducted directly from salary on a monthly basis, and employers (here ETH Zurich) forward the taxes to the relevant tax authority in Switzerland.
Exemptions from withholding (source) tax
Foreign nationals who hold a C permit or whose partner is Swiss or has a C permit do not pay withholding tax but are instead taxed under the statutory assessment procedure.
Withholding (source) tax rates
The level of withholding tax deductions is based on a system of rates. The applicable rate is based on the personal circumstances of the person liable for withholding tax at the time of the payment, transfer, credit or maturity of the taxable amount. Any changes necessitating a change of rate (e.g. marriage, divorce, separation, change of religious affiliation, birth of children or commencement/cessation of gainful employment by the taxpayer’s spouse or registered partner) are taken into consideration in withholding tax from the start of the month following the change. Rates vary between cantons.
Child tax deductions
The child tax deduction is based on the number of minor children or children still in initial vocational education or schooling who the employee is primarily responsible for their support.
Church tax
Regardless of their place of residence, employees must pay a church tax, which is based on their religion and charged using the withholding tax procedure. Church tax liability applies to the three national churches of Switzerland, namely the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Protestant religions. The rate codes use an additional letter to indicate a church tax liability:
AY Rate A with church tax liability (Y = Yes)
AN Rate A without church tax liability (N = No)
Determination and calculation of the withholding (source) tax rate
The employer determines the withholding tax rate based on the employee’s personal circumstances. Since the introduction of the withholding tax reform on 1 January 2021, all of a liable employee’s gross employment income from all forms of employment, including compensation for loss of income, must be taken into account when determining the applicable rate (withholding tax rate). This means, for example, that persons with more than one part-time job with different employers, will have their income extrapolated on the basis of their total income.
Find more information on taxes in the canton of Zurich external page here (in German).
Statutory assessment
Gross annual incomes exceeding CHF 120’000 are subject to a external page retrospective tax assessment.
Request for a retrospective statutory tax assessment
Any request for a external page retrospective statutory tax assessment can be submitted to the competent cantonal tax office (canton of residence) by 31 March of the following year.
Calculate your withholding (source) tax level
The salary calculator helps you calculate your salary deductions and withholding tax.
Please note:
This is not a public information point on the subject of taxes. The information on this page is meant for information purposes for employees and students of ETH Zurich. No responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information. The rules and regulations may have changed in the meantime. For legally binding information please contact the responsible authority.