Tax Return: Completed Faster, More Money Back

Are you already thinking about your tax return for 2023? In Switzerland, you will either submit it to your tax office by the end of March. Or at least contact them briefly to get an extension of this deadline. In any case, it's important to gather all the documents now.

It's good to know that an electronic tax directory is available in your True Wealth account. Automatically and at no extra cost – True Wealth is also a pioneer in this area. In turn, you can effortlessly upload this to your tax return and the individual items are automatically transferred. And you have all the information you need to reclaim withholding taxes, in Switzerland and abroad.

Conveniently Fulfilling Your Duty

The eTax Statement is structured in such a way that you no longer have to transfer anything manually to the securities list of your tax return. Just upload the PDF to your tax software and you're done. If your tax commissioner wants to take a closer look at the details, he can find everything in the detailed list of all your holdings and transactions. If for some reason the electronic data import is not possible, simply attach all the pages of the tax statement to your tax return and manually transfer the grouped collective entries from page 1 to the securities register.

Transparency Down to the Last Detail

Thanks to machine readability, you not only complete your tax return with minimal effort. You are also perfectly prepared for all eventualities and avoid any queries. We draw the official values of the Federal Tax Administration from the official price lists for your tax list. This means that all the information on your securities is automatically correct. Not only for the holdings at the end of the year. But also, throughout the year, on the dividends paid out. And all transactions with which we have adjusted your portfolio during the year. Always at the official rate, converted into Swiss francs.

Get More Money Back

Whether electronically or manually – with the entry in the securities register you have not only fulfilled your obligation, but also already started the optional part: The reclaiming of the Swiss withholding tax. The 35 per cent on dividends withheld by the state is now automatically offset against your tax burden.

With the templates that we at True Wealth provide you with, you can easily extend the optional part even further. Have you ever claimed back foreign withholding taxes? The first step to higher refunds is Form DA-1, which you can fill out, but don't have to. Many investors find it complicated, so they miss out on cash year after year. If you hold foreign securities, you will find all the information you need to complete the DA-1 quickly on the cover page of the True Wealth tax return. In this way, you can secure the lump-sum tax credit in one fell swoop. Your entries in the securities register and the DA-1 in your tax return are sufficient for you to receive credit for withholding taxes from Switzerland and the USA.

That's why we at True Wealth mainly use ETFs from these countries for your portfolio (as well as Ireland, where often no withholding taxes are incurred in the first place). With only one tax return in Switzerland, you get back at least part of what you are entitled to. That's why we call these securities «tax-efficient».

Money Back for Past Years Too

For those who have not yet done so in previous years: Crediting withholding taxes is also possible retrospectively. The lump-sum tax credit can still be claimed three years later with the DA-1 in Switzerland. However, the minimum amount for a reclaim is CHF 100. If you were already a client of True Wealth in 2022, you will find a tax certificate in your account for the previous year as well.

Also Included: The Third Pillar Tax Statement

If you made contributions to Pillar 3a in the previous calendar year, you can deduct them from your taxable income up to the maximum permitted contribution. We provide you with the tax certificate for download at the beginning of the year. You can access it in the login area of True Wealth under «Tax Statement».

Automatically a Better Service

A tax directory is so useful that banks usually charge dearly for it. Most Swiss custodian banks charge a basic fee and many also charge a fee per item.

Anyone who diversifies their portfolio with ETFs properly across the asset classes will quickly have ten to twenty different securities in the custody account that have to be listed individually – such a tax directory then often costs 100 francs or more. Those who diversify with individual securities might also have to report on dozens or even a hundred positions. In this case, the costs for a tax statement quickly reach 500 or even more than 1'000 francs.

With True Wealth, the tax statement costs nothing extra. It is automatically included in the services and is already available for printing in your account. A service that clients are otherwise only familiar with from private banking. Only much cheaper – just as you would expect from True Wealth.

Links

• Rückforderung von Quellensteuern – Die Renditen aufpolieren (NZZ)
• Forms for the refund of foreign tax at source (ESTV)

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