Swiss Tax & Finance Glossary

Swiss tax and finance has its own vocabulary — here each term is defined in plain English with a worked example and a link to the dedicated page. This glossary covers the terms expats meet most often on their salary slip, tax assessment, or pension statement.

Terms Defined

• Imputed Rental Value (Eigenmietwert) — a notional income added to your taxable income if you own and occupy a Swiss home (Art. 21 DBG)
• Pillar 3a (Säule 3a) — tied private pension with fully deductible contributions up to CHF 7258/year (employees)
• Vested Benefits Account (Freizügigkeitskonto) — blocked pension account that parks Pillar 2 (BVG) capital between jobs or after leaving Switzerland

Further Terms in Body Copy

Other core terms referenced across Avenzo's EN content include:

• Quellensteuer (withholding tax) — covered in withholding tax guide
• NOV (Nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung) — ordinary assessment filed voluntarily by B permit holders; covered on do I need to file?
• BVG (Pillar 2) — covered on pension fund Switzerland
• KVG/LAMal — basic health insurance; covered on health insurance
• Grundstückgewinnsteuer — real estate capital gains tax; covered on capital gains tax
• Erbschaftssteuer — inheritance tax; covered on inheritance tax

Each term is reviewed annually. Sources are limited to admin.ch, estv.admin.ch, bsv.admin.ch, and bag.admin.ch.