The tenant must only declare income from subletting as taxable income in cases where this income is higher than the rent paid under the main tenancy agreement.

Withholding tax is a tax levied at source on income from movable capital assets, especially interest and dividends, on Swiss lottery winnings, and on certain insurance benefits. As a so-called security tax, its primary purpose is to prevent tax evasion and to encourage taxpayers to declare the corresponding income and assets.

In most cases, the withholding tax rate is 35%; in specific cases, it is 15% for life annuities and pensions, or 8% for other insurance benefits. If declared correctly, withholding tax is refunded to taxpayers residing in Switzerland or offset against outstanding or future tax claims.

Cryptocurrencies (coins) are comparable to foreign currencies for tax purposes and must also be declared in the list of securities and assets. In general, capital gains are tax-free, and only the year-end market value, partly published by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, converted into Swiss francs, must be taxed as wealth.

An exception applies in the case of professional trading in cryptocurrencies, where the profits generated are taxed as income from self-employment. Cryptocurrency balances earned by private individuals through so-called mining constitute taxable income from self-employment.

A broker’s commission incurred in connection with the sale of a property can generally be deducted when calculating the taxable real estate capital gain. For this, the tax authorities usually require both proof of payment and proof of the brokerage agreement.

According to tax practice, only commissions paid to third parties are tax-deductible. This means that self-commissions or compensation for one’s own efforts are not deductible. Bodies of a legal entity are also not considered third parties in this context.

Based on current tax legislation, tax authorities often only regard broker’s commissions in the range of approximately 1% to a maximum of 5% as “customary” in practice and allow them as a deduction. Relevant factors include, among others, whether the property is developed or undeveloped, or difficult to sell.