If you work in Geneva, you’ll pay tax as you earn – it’ll be taken off your salary. So the only reason to read on is if you want to claim back some of it!
In particular, you can claim back tax against “3rd pillar” savings – these are special savings that you can access if you either:
a) Retire
b) Buy a house
c) Leave Switzerland
You can claim back tax on around 6000 Chf per year – the amount changes slightly each year. If you’d like to do this, the first step is to set up an account – just go to your bank and they will do this for you.
Then after the end of the year, probably in January, you’ll receive a tax summary from your employer. At the bottom of this form, you’ll see a section like this…
Follow the instructions, enter the code and then you can do it all online: so much easier than France!
Once you have signed up, you can access the “e-demarches” or “online processes” https://www.ge.ch/catalogue-e-demarches
To claim back tax, go to “consulter et saisir vos déclarations fiscales”.
Then when you have logged in, click on “demander une rectification de l’impôt à la source”
Then click to make a “nouvelle demande”:
From here, I can’t remember exactly what you need to fill in (and I can no longer access it because the process is complete), but you’ll probably need to upload the aforementioned tax summary, along with proof of your 3rd pillar savings, including the exact date when you made the payment. My initial submission was lacking in detail (the date) but I received an online message asking for this, and was able to upload it later.
Then, hey presto, a few months later, you’ll receive a notification and a decent chunk of money into your bank account. Probably worth it.