When PaperTax helps: Swiss tax situations it is built for

What you can use it for

PaperTax helps you prepare your own Swiss tax return from your documents. You upload the papers you have, describe relevant changes during the year, and receive a guide that explains what to enter in your canton's tax app. You can ask questions in the chat about your documents or the instructions.

The examples below explain where this can be useful. In each case, you check the guide against your documents and submit the return yourself. PaperTax does not submit a return or produce a completed tax-return PDF.

You hold shares at a foreign broker

Your canton's securities section asks for your investments, their taxable income and any tax already withheld. A broker's transaction history may contain this information in a different format.

PaperTax can convert supported exports from Interactive Brokers, DEGIRO, Charles Schwab, Swissquote and Freedom24 into an electronic tax statement in the Swiss eCH-0196 format. Importing this statement into a compatible cantonal app fills in the securities data, reducing manual entry. You still check the imported values and any claims for foreign withholding tax. The foreign-broker guide explains the documents and tax fields involved.

You are preparing your first tax return

You may be filing for the first time after a change in your residence permit or employment situation. Without a previous return, it can be difficult to know which papers to collect and where to enter their amounts.

Start with the documents you already have, such as your salary certificate, bank statements and pension-contribution certificate. PaperTax recognises the documents and organises the instructions by document. The guide shows the relevant amount and where to enter it. If information is missing or looks inconsistent, you can add a document or explain it in chat. See filing your first Zurich tax return for a document checklist and the Zurich process.

You pay tax through your salary

Tax at source, called QuellensteuerQuellensteuerTax at source (withholding tax on salary)FRimpôt à la sourceITimposta alla fonteTax your employer deducts from each salary payment and pays to the canton for you. The rate is a cantonal average that assumes standard deductions, so it ignores your individual ones.Where you see itA deduction line on your monthly payslip, and a total on the salary certificate.Open in the glossary → in German, is deducted from your salary. Whether you must or can file a full tax return depends on your situation. Filing can change the total tax due; a refund is not guaranteed.

Read Quellensteuer: should you file a return? before deciding. If you need a return, PaperTax can use your documents to prepare guidance on income and deductions, such as pillar 3a contributions. The Zurich deductions guide explains the conditions for common claims. Ask a qualified tax adviser if you are unsure about the effect of requesting a full assessment.

You moved to another canton during the year

A move can affect where you file and which rules apply. Tell PaperTax when you moved and where you lived before and after the move. These details give the AI context when it prepares your guide or answers a question.

Check the canton and tax year selected for your return. If you are unsure where you must file, confirm this with the relevant tax office before entering the return. The first Zurich return guide explains the Zurich process.

You want to check entries before submitting

You can compare the guide with a return you are preparing. For example, open the source document beside an instruction, check that its year matches the return, and compare the amount with your cantonal form. Ask the chat to explain a difference or provide a corrected document.

PaperTax also checks its guide against the uploaded documents and can flag inconsistencies. This can help you review your work, but it does not certify that a completed return is correct or that every deduction has been found.

You need help understanding the cantonal form

PaperTax provides explanations in English, French and German. It keeps the official field names so that you can find them in your cantonal app. For example, an English explanation can refer to WertschriftenverzeichnisWertschriftenverzeichnisSecurities scheduleFRétat des titresITelenco dei titoliThe list of everything you own in securities and bank accounts, with year-end values and the income each produced. It is also where you reclaim the 35% anticipatory tax.Where you see itA main section of the tax return itself, in ZHprivateTax.Open in the glossary → (securities list) or the French Déductions section.

This lets you read the instructions in a familiar language while matching the names on the form. You can ask the chat to explain an unfamiliar term. The first Zurich return guide also introduces common German tax terms.

When to get professional advice

PaperTax is AI software, and its guidance can be incomplete or wrong. For a complex situation, a dispute with the tax office or a decision with significant tax consequences, ask a qualified tax adviser. Do not rely on the app to recognise every situation that needs professional advice.

You remain responsible for checking the information and completing the submission in your cantonal app. PaperTax helps you work through the documents and instructions; it cannot represent you before the tax authority.

How your documents are handled

Your files and guide are stored in Switzerland. PaperTax deletes return data within 24 hours after you mark the return done, or after two years of inactivity. Service providers also process documents to produce your guide, and their retention rules differ. Anthropic processes the AI requests in the United States without using your documents to train its models. See the trust page for the processors, locations and retention details.

Sources

The sources below support the tax figures and rules discussed in this guide. Follow the links to check the original guidance and its scope.

Product details are explained on the how-it-works page. The legal source below covers the duty to complete a tax return truthfully and in full.

1. PaperTax — how it works
2. DBGDBGThe federal income tax actFRLIFDBundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer: the act that governs federal income tax for the whole country. Almost every federal rule a guide cites comes from here, which is why the abbreviation appears so often beside an article number.Where you see itIn citations, as DBG Art. 33 or similar. French and Italian sources call the same act LIFD.Open in the glossary → Art. 124 — SteuererklärungSteuererklärungTax returnFRdéclaration d'impôtITdichiarazione d'impostaThe return itself: the whole set of forms you complete and submit for one tax year. What the canton sends you, and what its software fills in.Where you see itThe title on the letter the canton sends, and the name of the cantonal app.Open in the glossary → (the tax return): the authority invites you to file, anyone who receives neither a personal notice nor a form must file anyway, and the return must be completed truthfully and in full — fedlex.admin.ch