The overlooked half of the deduction
When people think about the special professional expenses of expatriates, they think of housing costs first — rightly so, that is usually where the larger amounts sit. But the Expatriates Ordinance also covers travel and relocation costs, and those are regularly left unclaimed. How the deduction works overall is set out in our guide to the housing deduction; this article is about the second half.
First the question of residence
What you can deduct depends on where your tax residence lies during the assignment. The ordinance draws a clear line:
- Residence still abroad: the necessary costs of travel between the foreign residence and Switzerland are deductible (Art. 2 para. 1 lit. a ExpaV). This typically applies to weekly residents who keep their centre of life in their home country.
- Residence in Switzerland: the necessary costs of moving to Switzerland and back to the former country of residence, plus the necessary outbound and return travel costs of the expatriate and their family at the start and end of the employment (Art. 2 para. 2 lit. a ExpaV).
The difference is bigger than it sounds. Once you have moved your residence to Switzerland, you can no longer deduct ongoing trips home. Only the journeys at the beginning and at the end qualify. Regular visits to family abroad do not — even though they feel like a natural part of an assignment. Basel-Stadt states this expressly and excludes home leave; St. Gallen treats ongoing trips between the home country and Switzerland as non-deductible living costs.
What "necessary" means
The ordinance speaks throughout of necessary costs. Since the 2016 revision the wording is deliberately limited to that standard. In practice it means costs that are directly connected with the temporary activity in Switzerland and the continuing link to the home country, and that could not reasonably be avoided. A move on a normal scale qualifies; expense beyond that does not.
One cantonal detail worth knowing: St. Gallen practice allows the move to Switzerland and the return to the home country — but not a move on to a third country.
Who paid decides
The same logic applies as for housing costs:
- You carry the costs and receive no reimbursement: deduction possible.
- The employer pays directly or reimburses against receipts: no additional deduction — the costs did not burden you.
- The employer pays a lump sum that is added to your taxable gross salary: a deduction remains possible.
In practice many employers handle the move directly — in which case it does not belong in your return. Keep the two apart, though: the fact that your employer paid for the move does not affect the housing deduction, as long as you carry the rent yourself.
The flat rate covers both
This is the point most often got wrong. Under Art. 4 para. 1 ExpaV the flat deduction of CHF 1,500 per month replaces the costs under Art. 2 para. 2 lit. a and b — that is, housing costs and relocation and travel costs together. Choose the flat rate and you cannot claim effective relocation costs alongside it.
Which also means the calculation can shift in the year you arrive or leave. If substantial relocation costs fall in that year, itemised proof can come out ahead even where it would not on housing costs alone.
There is one exception: the costs of teaching underage foreign-language children at foreign-language private schools are not covered by the flat rate. They can be claimed on top, where the conditions are met and the costs are documented.
A worked example for the year of arrival
An assignee moves to Switzerland on 1 March, rents at CHF 2,400 net and carries relocation costs of CHF 7,500 plus travel costs for himself and his family of CHF 1,800 — all paid himself, with no reimbursement.
- Effective: CHF 2,400 × 10 months = CHF 24,000 housing, plus CHF 9,300 relocation and travel = CHF 33,300
- Flat rate: CHF 1,500 × 10 = CHF 15,000 — covering both together
- Difference: CHF 18,300 in favour of itemised proof
In the following year without a move the picture changes — there, CHF 28,800 of housing costs face CHF 18,000 of flat rate. It is worth making the choice afresh for each tax period rather than once for the whole assignment.
What to keep on file
- The moving company's invoice, itemised by service
- Tickets and receipts for the outbound and return journey, for you and your family
- Evidence that the employer did not cover these costs — if in doubt a short confirmation; costs the employer covered would appear under figure 13.1.2 of the salary statement
- Where costs exceed CHF 1,500 per month: a schedule of the actual expenses to attach to your return
Every case is different — the potential usually is not
Whether and how much you can deduct depends on your situation: your tax residence, how the assignment is set up, and who actually carried the costs. This article sets out the principles and a simplified example; it does not replace individual advice. What does generalise: potential is left on the table above all in the year of arrival and the year of departure, because the choice between the flat rate and itemised proof is made once and then never revisited.
More on the overall picture in our guide to the housing deduction and in our cantonal series, for instance for Zurich, Zug or Geneva.