How the subsequent ordinary assessment works in Geneva
On a B permit, your employer deducts tax from your salary every month. In many cases that is the end of it. Under certain conditions, though, you still file a tax return. This procedure is called the subsequent ordinary assessment (nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung, NOV). In Geneva the tax administration calls it TOU, short for taxation ordinaire ultérieure. That is the term you will see on the forms and on ge.ch.
In a TOU you fill in a normal Swiss tax return. The tax office uses your actual deductions, and the tax at source already deducted is credited. Two rules come from federal law and apply in every canton: a gross salary of at least CHF 120,000 makes a tax return mandatory (Art. 9 of the Federal Ordinance on Tax at Source), and once you are assessed under the ordinary rules, you stay there until tax at source ends for you. How the other cantons draw their lines is in our overview of the subsequent ordinary assessment in all cantons. This article covers the Geneva rules for the tax year 2026, checked in October 2026.
Who has to file a tax return in Geneva
Geneva's law on tax at source names three triggers. One of them is enough (Art. 4(1) LISP):
- Your gross salary reaches a certain amount in a tax year. The ordinance sets it at CHF 120,000 or more (Art. 7(1) RISP), in line with federal law.
- You have income that is not taxed at source. For example interest, dividends, maintenance payments you receive, housing allowances, rental income or the imputed rental value of a property.
- You have taxable assets. The law names no amount for this.
There is a fourth case: if you had a TOU the year before, whether mandatory or on request, you are in the TOU again this year (directives on tax at source 2026, section 8.2.1).
Two details matter in practice:
- Married couples. The salaries are not added together. It is enough if one of you earns at least CHF 120,000 (Art. 7(3) RISP). If you live in the same household, the other spouse is included as well (Art. 4(3) LISP).
- Moving in or out during the year. If you were liable to tax in Switzerland for less than twelve months, your regular salary is scaled up to twelve months for the CHF 120,000 test. Bonuses, gratuities and premiums are not scaled up (directives 2026, section 8.2.1); under the federal rule they count at their full amount.
On its page «Quand demander ou annoncer une Taxation Ordinaire Ultérieure?» (last updated 13 March 2026), the Geneva tax administration lists further cases for a mandatory TOU: if you are employed in Geneva and also own a property, are self employed in Geneva, have another activity abroad, or your spouse has no gainful activity. If one of these applies to you, we look at your case individually.
The Geneva thresholds 2026 and their sources
| Trigger | Line in Geneva | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary from employment | CHF 120,000 or more in the tax year, for couples per person | Art. 7(1) and (3) RISP, as at 1 January 2024 |
| Income not taxed at source | CHF 3,000 or more gross per year, all such income added together | Directives on tax at source 2026, section 8.2.1 |
| Taxable assets | The law names no amount: checked individually | Art. 4(1)(c) LISP, as at 1 January 2026 |
| TOU in the previous year | TOU again this year | Directives 2026, section 8.2.1; Art. 4(5) LISP |
As at tax year 2026, checked in October 2026. Sources: Geneva law on tax at source (LISP, rsGE D 3 20), its implementing ordinance (RISP, rsGE D 3 20.01) and the Directives concernant l'imposition à la source 2026 of the Geneva tax administration, valid from 1 January 2026.
For income, Geneva uses the wording «supérieur ou égal», meaning greater than or equal to. At exactly CHF 3,000 you are already in the TOU. The CHF 3,000 line is not in the law but in the directives of the tax administration. If your income not taxed at source stays below it, that income does not make the TOU mandatory. You still have to declare it on the DRIS/TOU form.
For assets, the law refers to taxable assets without naming an amount. How your assets are measured in this context depends on your situation. We clarify that with you case by case.
Reporting, applying and the deadline in Geneva
For assets and income not taxed at source, you have to act yourself. You report the TOU to the tax at source office by 31 March of the following year and thereby request the tax return form (Art. 4(4) LISP; directives 2026, section 8.2.1). For the tax year 2026 that means by 31 March 2027. What applies to a salary of CHF 120,000 or more is covered in our canton comparison.
- Responsible office: Administration fiscale cantonale, Service de l'impôt à la source, Case postale 3841, 1211 Genève 3.
- Form: the paper DRIS/TOU form, which the tax administration sends out in December, or electronically via ge.ch/c/imp-rectif. An overview is on ge.ch/c/imp-tou.
- The deadline is strict. An application that arrives late or through another channel is not accepted (directives 2026, section 8.2.3). As proof, the tax administration mentions for example registered mail dated no later than 31 March («Comment remplir le formulaire DRIS/TOU?», as at 30 March 2026).
- Documents still missing? Submit on time anyway and send the documents later (directives 2026, section 8.1.1.3).
Two Geneva rules are worth knowing. First, you cannot ask for a correction of tax at source and a TOU at the same time, the two procedures exclude each other (directives 2026, section 8.2). Second, you only get the withholding tax on Swiss interest and dividends back within the TOU (directives 2026, section 8.4).
If you move, the canton where you live on 31 December is responsible (directives 2026, section 9.2.3.1). If you leave Geneva, you report to the tax at source office within the 15 days before you leave (directives 2026, section 8.5).
Choosing the TOU voluntarily: is it worth it?
If none of the triggers applies, you can still request a TOU. It mainly pays off if you have deductions the monthly deduction ignores, such as pillar 3a contributions, pension fund buy ins or childcare costs. The numbers on pillar 3a are in our article on pillar 3a with a B permit, the main Geneva deductions in tax optimization in Canton Geneva.
These rules apply to the voluntary route in Geneva:
- Deadline 31 March. The written application for the tax year 2026 must be submitted by 31 March 2027 (Art. 5(3) LISP).
- No way back. Once submitted, the application cannot be withdrawn (Art. 8(1) RISP), even if the result turns out unfavourable. The TOU then applies until tax at source ends for you, also after a divorce or separation and also if your salary drops later (Art. 4(5) LISP; Art. 7(4) RISP).
- Moving abroad. If you leave Switzerland, you have to apply for the TOU together with the departure form (Art. 5(3) LISP).
- Arriving from abroad. If you came to Switzerland during the year and want a TOU for the first part of the year, the deadline is also 31 March of the following year (directives 2026, section 8.2.3.3).
Example from Geneva
Sofia is single, lives in Geneva and earns CHF 95,000 gross. Her salary is therefore below CHF 120,000. From her portfolio and her savings account she receives CHF 3,200 of interest and dividends gross in 2026.
- Result: CHF 3,200 of income not taxed at source reaches the Geneva line of CHF 3,000. The TOU is mandatory for Sofia. She reports it by 31 March 2027 with the DRIS/TOU form.
- Her upside: in the TOU she gets the withholding tax on her Swiss income back, and her deductions count.
- With smaller income: if Sofia only had CHF 2,400 of interest and dividends, that income would not make the TOU mandatory. She would still have to declare the CHF 2,400 on the form, and whether her assets trigger a TOU is something we would clarify with her individually.
Want a first indication for your own case? The calculator on our page about the tax return with a B permit is already set to Geneva and asks for your civil status, salary, assets and income not taxed at source.
Every case is different, the check is not
Whether you need a TOU in Geneva depends on your salary, your civil status, your assets and the type of income you receive. This article sets out the rules for the tax year 2026 and one simplified example. It does not replace individual advice. The relevant texts are the Geneva law on tax at source (LISP), its implementing ordinance (RISP) and the directives on tax at source 2026 of the Geneva tax administration.
Put 31 March in your calendar, both for reporting a mandatory TOU and for a voluntary application. If you would rather not fill in the tax return yourself, we take care of it: tax return and tax advisory in Geneva.