Find the paper you were sent, and see what it is, who sends it, and what to do if it never came.
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Income
Salary certificate
Lohnausweis
The annual summary of salary and benefits paid by an employer. You need one certificate for each job. It shows gross salary, social and pension contributions, and net salary. Some lines are already included in the totals, so check before entering an amount separately.
Your employer · January–February · Arrives on its own
Employed
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Watch out
The contributions in fields 9 and 10 have already been deducted from gross salary in field 8 to reach net salary in field 11. Deducting them again would count them twice. Check the transport and meal tick-boxes too: they affect which expenses you can claim.
If it never arrives
Ask your employer's HR or payroll directly — they are required to issue one. Do not substitute your December payslip: it shows the month, not the year, and the annual totals are what the return asks for.
A yearly statement of benefits paid while you were out of work, on military service or on maternity leave. These payments are taxable income even though they are not salary, and they arrive from a different office than your employer, which is why they are so often left out.
Your unemployment fund (Arbeitslosenkasse) or the compensation office · January–February · Arrives on its own
Employed
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If it never arrives
Both are usually downloadable from the fund's online portal. If you were unemployed for only part of the year, you still need it — a partial year is exactly when it gets forgotten.
Family allowance statement
Familienzulagen-Bescheinigung
Proof of the child and education allowances paid to you during the year. They are taxable income. Most people receive them through their salary, in which case the amount is already inside the salary certificate and must not be entered twice.
Your employer, or the family compensation fund if it pays you directly · January–February · Sometimes you must ask
Employed
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If it never arrives
Check your salary certificate first. If the allowance is already included there, you do not need a separate document and should not add the amount again.
Alimony record
Unterhaltsbeiträge / Alimente
Proof of maintenance paid to or received from a former partner, or for a child. It works in both directions: what you receive is taxable income, what you pay is deductible — so the same document matters to both households, in opposite ways.
Nobody. You assemble it from the court order or agreement plus your bank records · You assemble it yourself · You need to request or download it
Everyone
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If it never arrives
Bank transfer records plus the divorce or maintenance agreement are the usual evidence. Payments to a child normally stop being deductible once the child comes of age, so the year that happens needs care.
Secondary income statement
Bescheinigung über Nebenerwerb
A record of earnings from work outside your main job, such as a second employer, board fees or occasional freelance work. This income must be declared even if no certificate was issued. Keep records of both income and related expenses.
The secondary employer, or nobody if you invoiced the work yourself · January–February, when it exists at all · Sometimes you must ask
Self-employed
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If it never arrives
If no certificate exists, your own invoices and bank credits are the record. The absence of a document does not make the income untaxable.
Pension and annuity statements
Rentenbescheinigung (AHV / IV / BVG / Witwenrente)
Yearly statements of pension income — state pension (AHV/IV), occupational pension from the second pillar, a widow's or orphan's pension, or a private annuity. Each payer issues its own, so a household drawing more than one pension receives more than one document, and each has to be declared.
Each pension payer: the compensation office, your pension fund, or the insurer · January–February · Arrives on its own
Retired
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If it never arrives
The compensation office and most pension funds publish it in their online portal. A pension that started mid-year still produces a statement for the part-year.
Rental income record
Mietzinsabrechnung
What a property you own earned in rent over the year, and what it cost you to run. If a managing agent looks after the property they produce the statement; if you let it yourself, you assemble it.
Your property management company, or nobody if you manage it yourself · January–March · Sometimes you must ask
Property owner
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If it never arrives
A self-managed property still needs a record: rent received per month, plus the running costs you intend to deduct, supported by invoices.
Lottery and gambling winnings
Bescheinigung über Lotteriegewinne
Proof of a win from a lottery, betting or a game of chance. Swiss winnings above a threshold are taxable and often already carry withholding tax, which you get back only by declaring the win.
The operator that paid out · With the payout, not annually · Sometimes you must ask
Securities
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If it never arrives
Keep the payout confirmation at the time — operators do not generally reissue one in January.
Pension capital payout statement
Bescheinigung über Kapitalleistung
Proof of a lump sum taken from the second pillar or a 3a account — at retirement, on leaving Switzerland, or to buy a home. It is taxed separately from your other income, at its own reduced rate, and it is not added to your ordinary income.
The pension fund or 3a provider that paid it · Shortly after the payout · Arrives on its own
Pillar 3a
Retired
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If it never arrives
Ask the pension fund or pillar 3a provider for a copy of the payout statement. Keep it with the separate tax assessment for the payout.
Housing subsidy statement
Bescheinigung über Wohnbeihilfe
Confirmation of housing assistance or a rent subsidy received during the year. Whether it counts as income depends on the scheme and the canton, so the document is needed even where the answer turns out to be no.
The municipal or cantonal office that pays it · January–February · Sometimes you must ask
Property owner
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If it never arrives
Ask the office that administers the scheme. Keep the decision letter as well as the payment records.
Investments and accounts
Swiss electronic tax statement for securities
eSteuerauszug (elektronischer Steuerauszug)
A single document listing every security you held, its 31 December value, the dividends and interest it paid, and any foreign tax withheld. Swiss banks issue it in the eCH-0196 format, with the data embedded so a cantonal tax app can read it in one click instead of you typing every line.
Your Swiss bank or broker · January–March · Sometimes you must ask
Securities
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If it never arrives
Check your e-banking document inbox first — several banks post it there rather than mailing it. A few charge a fee or issue it only on request. Foreign brokers do not issue one at all: see the foreign broker export below.
An activity or year-end report downloaded from your broker. Supported exports include Interactive Brokers, DEGIRO, Charles Schwab, Swissquote and Freedom24. To import the securities data into a compatible cantonal app, convert the export into an eCH-0196 tax statement first.
Nobody. You generate it yourself from the broker's site · Available from early January · You need to request or download it
Securities
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If it never arrives
Download the export from your broker’s website. Our converter provides instructions for each supported broker and creates an eCH-0196 statement from the file. Check the converted values before using them in your return.
Your account balance on 31 December and the interest it paid during the year. The balance is wealth, the interest is income, and both belong in the return — one line per account, including accounts you barely use.
Each bank you hold an account with · January–February · Sometimes you must ask
Everyone
Securities
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If it never arrives
Most banks put it in the e-banking document inbox rather than the post. An account you closed during the year still needs its statement, and that is the one people forget.
The 31 December surrender value of a life insurance policy that has one. That value is taxable wealth even though you have not received any money, which is why it is so often left out of the return.
Your insurer · January–February · Sometimes you must ask
Pillar 3a
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If it never arrives
Ask your insurer for the surrender value at 31 December. Pure risk policies with no savings component have no surrender value and nothing to declare.
Foreign bank account statements
Auszüge ausländischer Bankkonten
Year-end balances and interest for accounts you hold outside Switzerland. They are declarable even if the money never comes to Switzerland and even if the foreign country taxes them, and the balance has to be converted at the year-end rate the tax office uses.
Each foreign bank · Varies by country — often not automatically · Sometimes you must ask
Everyone
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If it never arrives
Many foreign banks issue nothing that matches what the return wants. A downloaded statement showing the 31 December balance and the year's interest is normally accepted.
Evidence of property you own abroad: its value, any rent it earns, and the mortgage on it. Switzerland does not tax the property itself, but it counts it when setting the rate applied to everything else, so leaving it out is not neutral.
Nobody. You assemble it from local records · You assemble it yourself · You need to request or download it
Property owner
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If it never arrives
A recent local valuation or the purchase deed, plus rent records and the mortgage statement. An official valuation is better evidence than your own estimate.
Evidence of what you inherited or were given during the year. Inheritance and gift tax is cantonal and is a separate matter from your income tax return, but what you received still changes your wealth, and the tax office will ask where it came from.
The notary, executor, or the person who gave it · When the estate or gift is settled · Sometimes you must ask
One-off events
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If it never arrives
The notarial deed or the distribution statement is the usual evidence. A large unexplained increase in wealth is a common reason for the tax office to write to you.
Deductions
Pillar 3a certificate
Säule-3a-Bescheinigung
A certificate showing what you paid into pillar 3a retirement savings during the year. Use it as evidence for the contribution deduction. The deductible amount has a legal limit; the certificate shows your actual payment, which may differ from that limit.
Your 3a provider — a bank, an insurer or a pension foundation · January · Arrives on its own
Pillar 3a
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Watch out
The value date decides which tax year the contribution counts for, not the date you sent the transfer. Money ordered on 30 December that is credited on 2 January belongs to the next year.
If it never arrives
Download it from your provider's online banking; most publish it there before posting it. You need one certificate per 3a account, so check you have them all if you hold more than one.
What you paid your health insurer over the year in premiums, and usually what you paid yourself in deductible and co-payments. It feeds the insurance-premium deduction, which is capped, and the medical-costs deduction, which only counts above a floor.
Your health insurer · January–February · Arrives on its own
Everyone
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If it never arrives
It is normally in your insurer's customer portal. If you switched insurer during the year you need a statement from each one, and the one you left is the easier to forget.
Invoices and proof of payment for job-related training or retraining. The deduction is capped and it needs both the invoice and evidence you actually paid, so a quote or an enrolment confirmation on its own is not enough.
The course provider, when you enrol or pay · Through the year — collect as you go · You need to request or download it
Employed
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If it never arrives
Ask the provider for a duplicate invoice. If your employer reimbursed part of it, only the part you bore yourself can be deducted.
Commuting evidence
Nachweis der Fahrkosten
Evidence of the cost of travelling to work, such as a public-transport season ticket or a record of the route and distance driven. The deduction is capped. Check whether box F on your salary certificate is marked, as employer-provided transport can affect the deduction.
Your transport operator for a season ticket; otherwise you record it yourself · When you buy the ticket · You need to request or download it
Employed
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If it never arrives
Most operators let you re-download past season tickets from your account. For a car commute you need the route and the working days, not a receipt.
Rechnungen für Unterhalt und Energiesparmassnahmen
Invoices for work on a property you own. The distinction that decides everything is value-preserving work, which is deductible, against value-adding work, which is not — a repaired roof against a new conservatory. Energy-saving measures are treated as deductible even where they add value.
Each contractor, when the work is done · Through the year — collect as you go · You need to request or download it
Property owner
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If it never arrives
Ask each contractor for a copy. An invoice that mixes repair and improvement should be itemised, otherwise the whole amount is at risk of being refused.
The yearly accounts of a co-owned building, showing what each owner paid. Only your own row belongs in your return, and only some of its lines are deductible — contributions to the renovation fund usually are, while building-wide totals never are.
The building's administrator · Spring, after the owners' meeting · Arrives on its own
Property owner
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If it never arrives
Ask the administrator for the statement for the tax year. Do not use building-wide totals: the return wants your share, from your row.
Childcare invoices
Rechnungen für Kinderbetreuung
What you paid for third-party childcare so that you could work — a crèche, a day-care place, a childminder. The cap differs sharply from canton to canton and the federal cap is different again. Care by a family member who is not paid does not count.
Your childcare provider · Through the year; many issue a yearly summary in January · Sometimes you must ask
Children
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If it never arrives
Ask the provider for an annual statement rather than collecting monthly invoices — most produce one on request.
Invoices for a child in boarding school, or living away from home to study. What is available differs by canton and is usually a fixed allowance rather than the actual cost, so the invoice supports the claim rather than setting its size.
The school or the landlord · Through the year — collect as you go · You need to request or download it
Children
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If it never arrives
Keep the enrolment confirmation as well as the invoices: the claim usually turns on where the child studies, not only on what was paid.
Medical cost receipts
Belege für Krankheitskosten
Receipts for medical and dental costs you paid yourself and that your insurer did not reimburse. The deduction depends on an income-based threshold under the applicable tax rules. Keep the receipts and the insurer’s annual statement so you can work out the eligible amount.
You collect them: your insurer's statement plus receipts · Through the year — collect as you go · You need to request or download it
Everyone
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If it never arrives
Your health insurer's yearly statement is the backbone, because it shows the deductible and co-payments you bore. Add dentist and other receipts the insurer never saw.
The yearly statement from a care home, separating care costs from board and lodging. The split matters: care costs can be claimed as medical costs, while board and lodging cannot.
The care home · January–February · Arrives on its own
Retired
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If it never arrives
Ask the home's administration for the tax statement for the year — it is a standard request and they issue it routinely.
Donation receipts
Spendenbescheinigung
Proof of gifts to a recognised charitable organisation. The organisation must be tax-exempt in Switzerland for the gift to be deductible, and there is both a minimum and a cap expressed as a share of your income.
Each organisation you gave to · January–February · Sometimes you must ask
Everyone
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If it never arrives
Most charities send a yearly summary automatically; a few only on request. A bank transfer alone is weaker evidence than the organisation's own receipt.
Debt and interest statement
Schuldenverzeichnis / Zinsausweis
What you owed on 31 December and what you paid in interest during the year. Both belong in the return: the debt reduces taxable wealth and the interest is deductible. A mortgage is the usual case, but consumer credit and card debt count too.
Each lender — your mortgage bank, and any other creditor · January–February · Arrives on its own
Debts
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If it never arrives
Lenders normally post it to the online banking document inbox. A loan repaid during the year still produced interest and still needs its statement.
Second-home lease
Mietvertrag Zweitwohnung
The tenancy agreement for a place you rent near work because commuting home daily is not reasonable. It supports the weekly-residence deduction, which is separate from ordinary commuting costs and needs the lease as evidence.
Your landlord, when you signed · You already have it · You need to request or download it
Employed
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If it never arrives
The signed lease plus proof of rent paid is what is asked for. Keep the rent receipts as well as the contract.
From the tax office
The tax return itself
Steuererklärung
The form you fill in and submit — your own statement of income and wealth. It is a draft you control until you send it, and everything in it is your declaration rather than the canton's decision. In Zurich you complete it in ZHprivateTax, which is published in German only.
You send it. The canton sends the notice and access code that lets you start · The filing notice arrives in January · Arrives on its own
Everyone
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If it never arrives
If no filing notice arrives, that is not permission to skip filing — the obligation is yours. Contact your municipal tax office and ask for the access code.
The canton’s binding decision on your taxable income, wealth and tax after reviewing the return. Its figures may differ from yours. Notification starts the 30-day period for filing an objection, so compare it with the return and your documents when it arrives.
Your cantonal tax office · Months to years after you file — there is no fixed date · Arrives on its own
Everyone
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Watch out
Objecting reopens the whole year, not the line you disagree with. The authority may set every tax factor afresh and, after hearing you, decide against you.
If it never arrives
Processing can take months or longer. An unanswered return does not tell you whether your figures have been accepted. Ask the tax office for the status if you are unsure whether it received or processed your return.
Not a document anyone sends you, but the facts that change your return: a marriage, a separation, a birth, a move, a change of job, arriving in or leaving Switzerland. What counts is your situation on 31 December, and these facts decide which rules and which allowances apply.
Nobody. This is what you tell us, or write on the return · Whenever it happened · You need to request or download it
One-off events
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If it never arrives
Write down the relevant changes and their dates, such as when you married, moved or arrived in Switzerland. PaperTax uses these details to understand which rules may apply.
This article is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Document formats and delivery dates can change. Requirements also vary by canton. Check the details on your own document and the instructions from your tax office. PaperTax helps you complete your own official cantonal tax return. It does not file on your behalf. For advice on your own situation, consult a qualified Swiss tax professional or your cantonal tax office.
Prepare your return with your own documents
Upload your tax documents to PaperTax. It reads them, creates instructions for your cantonal tax app and lets you ask questions in chat. You check the entries and submit the return yourself. The first guide card is free to read.
