Leaving Switzerland: what we have been able to verify, and what remains to be established

The official portal of the Confederation that we queried did not serve the expected page on moving abroad. We therefore have no dated official text to cite on the end of unlimited tax liability, the notification of departure to the municipality, or the final assessment.

Still to be established with the Federal Tax Administration and the relevant cantonal tax authority: the date on which tax liability ends, the final return to be filed, the treatment of pension benefits paid to a non-resident, and whether there is any tax specific to departure.

Swiss taxation is as much cantonal as it is federal. There is no single answer for Switzerland, and a profile that gave one would be misleading for twenty-five cantons out of twenty-six.

This is why this section will be built canton by canton rather than in one piece, and why the first question to ask is not “what does Switzerland provide?” but “in which canton am I a taxpayer?”.

The second point to prepare, regardless of the canton, is what happens to the second pillar: its payment to a non-resident follows specific rules, and its taxation depends on the treaty concluded with the country you are moving to.