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Information sheet for persons IiabIe to tax at source in the Canton of Zurich
VaIid from 1 January 2014




1. What is tax at source?


Tax at source is an arrangement whereby your employer deducts the tax due on your wages and
remits this directly to the State.



2. Who is IiabIe for tax at source?


The following persons are liable for tax at source:
- Persons living in the Canton of Zurich who neither have residence permit C nor are married to a
person with residence permit C or who has Swiss citizenship
- Persons living abroad and working in Switzerland or in the Canton of Zurich as frontier workers or
as weekly commuters (irrespective of their nationality)
- Persons living abroad and working internationally for an enterprise registered in Switzerland or in
the Canton



3. What work is subject to the tax at source?


The liability to tax at source covers gross income from employment (wages incl., commission,
bonuses, seniority and anniversary gifts, gratuities, tips, shares in profits, cash benefits from employee
stock options, etc.) and additional income for temporarily limited or interrupted gainful employment
(e.g., daily allowances from unemployment insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, accident
insurance and disability pensions from disability or accident insurance).



4. What rates are there?


The following rates are applied:
- Rate A (with or without church tax) for persons living alone (single persons, separate persons,
divorced or widowed persons)
- Rate B (with or without church tax) for married single earners
- Rate C (with or without church tax) for married earning couples
- Rate D (10%) for income from secondary employment for persons with a principle employment
- Rate D (10%) for additional income that the insurer pays in addition to normal wages or not
according to insured earnings
- Rate E (5%) for remuneration charged under the simplified procedure for combating clandestine
employment (from 01.01.2008)

- Rate H (with or without church tax) for persons living alone (single persons, separate persons,
divorced or widowed persons) living with children and who finance most of their maintenance
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- Rate L (4.5%) for German frontier workers who fulfil the requirements according to rate A
- Rate M (4.5%) for German frontier workers who fulfil the requirements according to rate B
- Rate N (4.5%) for German frontier workers who fulfil the requirements according to rate C
- Rate O (4.5%) for German frontier workers who fulfil the requirements according to rate D
- Rate P (4.5%) for German frontier workers who fulfil the requirements according to rate H

Rates B, C, M and N also apply for registered partnerships.

The standard rate will be set for the debtor with respect to the taxable payment (employer) with a
statement on the rate from the respective local tax office. f there is no notification from the local tax
office at the time of the first wages payment, the employer or the insurer will decide on the applicable
rate based on the employee details that it has checked and the applicable rates based on the child
allowances paid out.

f the employee fails to identify himself sufficiently regarding his personal circumstances, the employer
or the insurer should apply the following rates:
- For single employees and employees with an undetermined marital status, the rate A0Y (Y = with
church tax) applies
- For married employees, the rate C0Y (Y = with church tax) applies.



5. Who decides the appIicabIe rate of tax at source?


The local authority where the person liable for the tax at source has his place of residence or is
staying is responsible for announcing the rates. n the case of persons subject to tax at source who
have no residence or domicile in Switzerland, the local authority in which the employer has its
registered office or place of business is generally responsible.

f the person liable to the tax at source does not agree to the stipulated rate of tax at source, he may
demand verification from the local tax office until the end of March of the following calendar year
following maturity.



6. Who has to pay church tax?


Employees must irrespective of their place of residence pay church tax according to their
denomination under the tax at source system. The liability to the church tax under the tax at source
system applies with respect to the Roman Catholic, Christian and Evangelical denominations. The
liability for the church tax is illustrated in the rates as follows:
- Y: with the obligation to pay the church tax
- N: without the obligation to the pay the church tax



7. How are the costs of maintaining chiIdren considered?


f the person liable to the tax at source receives the family (child) allowance, the employer should
ensure that the respective child allowance deduction is made when setting the rate. The child
allowance deduction should be taken into account from the month following the birth. f the person
liable for the tax at source however is not allocated any family (child) allowance or only receives a
differential allowance, the employer or the person liable for the tax at source will reserve the right to
provide evidence that the liable party actually finances most of the maintenance for the child under his
charge (minors or children of full age undergoing initial education) and can therefore claim the child
allowance. Most of the costs of maintaining children are generally borne by the spouse who receives
the higher wage.


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8. Consideration of aIimony payments in the case of deducting tax at source


f a person subject to tax at source is required to pay money to his spouse and/or alimony, this may
lead to financial difficulty if the tax at source is applied. The person subject to tax at source will reserve
the right in such difficult cases to request the local tax office to verify the rate with the latter being
requested to consider the alimony payments appropriately through the ensuring of the corresponding
"child deductions. Up to the end of May of the following year, the person subject to the tax at source
will have the possibility via the request for reassessment to bring about the effective consideration of
the alimony payments.



9. When can tax at source be recIaimed or corrected?


With respect to errors on the part of the employer in calculating the final gross wage and in applying
the rate, which have had an adverse affect on the person subject to the tax at source, a corresponding
reimbursement may be requested up to five years in the past.

For the fiscal consideration of the following deductible expenses, a request for reassessment may be
submitted up to the end of March of the following year (the respective application form is available on
the website):
- nterest on debts
- Costs of illness and accidents
- Costs incurring following disability
- Maintenance contributions, alimony payments
- Contributions to recognized forms of compulsory pension planning (pillar 3a)
- Purchase of missing contribution years in the pension fund (2
nd
pillar)
- Effective professional costs (travelling expenses, costs of further training and costs of international
weekly stays)
- Childcare costs
- Deduction for support
- Common contributions, donations

The aforementioned requests should be submitted to the Cantonal Tax Office, Tax at Source Unit,
21 Bndliweg, PO Box, 8090 Zurich.



10. What obIigations to notify shouId be fuIfiIIed by persons subject to the tax at source?


n order to enable the employer to calculate the tax at source properly, the person subject to the tax at
source should inform the employer or the Cantonal Tax Office without delay (the respective form is
available on the website):
- Acquisition of residence permit C
- Acquisition of residence permit C by the spouse
- Change in marital status (wedding, separation or divorce)
- Birth of children
- Commencement and discontinuance of gainful employment by the spouse
- Receipt of additional income (unemployment benefit, pension, alimony, etc.) by the spouse
- Loss of income or additional revenue by the spouse
- Change of residential address
- Change of religion

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11. Where can I request a decision on the existence and scope of the tax obIigation?


n the case of questions and discrepancies, the person subject to the tax at source may turn to the
employer who should provide information and carry out any corrections directly. f the person subject
to the tax at source does not agree with the deduction of tax, he may request a decision on the
existence and scope of the tax obligation from the Cantonal Tax Office, Tax at Source Unit,
21 Bndliweg, PO Box, 8090 Zurich up to March of the following year.



12. What is a subsequent assessment of tax at source?


f the gross income of a person subject to the tax at source in a calendar year exceeds
CHF 120,000.00, calculated over a year, a subsequent normal assessment for the entire income and
assets of the married couple will be carried out. n the subsequent years, a subsequent normal
assessment will be carried out to the end of the tax at source obligation even if the definitive income
limit of CHF 120,000.00 is temporarily or permanently underrun. Only persons subject to the tax at
source residing in Switzerland or the Canton of Zurich are entitled to a subsequent normal
assessment. The tax deducted at source will be offset free of interest; any excess tax paid will be
refunded.



13. What is an additionaI assessment of tax at source?


Persons subject to tax at source with a fiscal residence in Switzerland or in the Canton of Zurich will
be assessed with respect to their income that is not subject to tax deduction at source (e.g., income
from independent additional employment, pension, revenue from movable and immovable assets at
home and abroad, alimony payments, etc.) as well as their assets under the normal procedure. n this
procedure under the additional normal assessment, the income subject to the tax at source is
considered in determining the rate. The person subject to the tax at source should if necessary have a
tax return submitted to the local tax authority where he is resident. For the purpose of the
reimbursement of withholding tax levied on the income from securities, a list of securities will in any
case need to be submitted to the local tax authority where the person subject to the tax at source is
resident.



14. Where can I get more detaiIs and information?


Details and information are available from the local tax authority in your place of residence or the
Cantonal Tax Office, Zurich, Tax at Source Unit, 21 Bndliweg, PO Box, 8090 Zurich (nternet:
www.steueramt.zh.ch/e-mail: daqu.sekretariat@ksta.zh.ch/telephone: +41 (0)43 259 37 00).