Our aim is to make the submission of requests for the refund of withholding tax as easy as possible for our tax partners. The best way to achieve this is on ePortal.
Withholding tax
Declaration and refund for Swiss residents (Form 102 / 103 / 110)
Quick and secure settlement of withholding tax online
The ePortal offers you the following functions:
- Electronic submission of following forms:
- Withholding tax on benefits in kind, form 102
- Withholding tax on the income from domestic shares, participation and dividend-right certificates, Form 103 (without reporting instead of paying)
- Withholding tax on the income from company shares, participation and dividend-right certificates of domestic limited liability companies, Form 110 (without reporting instead of paying)
- Case overview of the pending and completed requests submitted via the portal
- Electronic user administration (adding and changing user rights)
Questions & answers about declaring or reporting the Withholding Tax
How do I declare the withholding tax?
Can forms be submitted electronically instead of by post?
Where can I find the file number of my company?
What do I have to pay attention to with regard to withholding tax?
When are reporting forms 105 and 112 used?
When must the forms 102/103/110 in connection with a reporting procedure according to forms 106/108 (= distribution in the group context) be submitted at the latest?
In the case of tax adjustments in direct taxes, do I need to do anything concerning withholding tax?
Can the withholding tax obligations of a company be fulfilled by application of the reporting procedure?
The general assembly of my company did not distribute a dividend for the financial year which was just closed. Do I have to send a tax form to the FTA even though no transactions that are subject to withholding tax were carried out during the closed year?
Why do annual financial statements of the company have to be submitted to both, the canton and the FTA (art. 21 para. 1 WTO)?
Benefits subject to withholding tax must be declared using the official forms provided by the FTA.
The forms available on our website are constantly updated. Only the latest version available online is accepted, so please always make sure you are using the latest version when consulting our site. If the FTA finds that a submitted form is not compliant or official, it will be rejected.
Currently, forms 103 / 110 can be filed online via ePortal. As the digital offering is constantly evolving, we invite you to check what is new on our site and recommend that you use the online version (ePortal) whenever possible.
No. Unfortunately, it is not possible to submit forms electronically (i.e. by e-mail). Therefore, it is still mandatory to submit paper forms. However, our partners are free to sign the documents digitally, but must still send them by post in printed form.
Currently, only forms 103 / 110 can be submitted online through ePortal. Declarations using th notification procedure are not yet possible.
The ePortal is constantly being developed.
It is now possible to use the UID number (CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX). This number can be found in the Central Business Names Index (www.zefix.ch) by entering the company name.
If known, you can also use the ESTV-ID identification number (052.xxxx.xxxx) or the DAS file number (S-xxxxxx). However, the UID number remains the best way to identify the company.
For the Principality of Liechtenstein, the file number can be requested with Team 1 :
Team 1 (Zones 1 - 4)
E-Mail: er01.dvs(at)estv.admin.ch – Phone number : +41 58 465 60 82
Within the framework of withholding tax, the declaration and payment of the tax are carried out according to the self-assessment principle. Furthermore, according to art. 38 para. 2 of the Federal Act on Withholding Tax of 13 October 1965 (WTA), the taxpayer must, on the due date of the tax, submit the prescribed statement together with supporting documents to the Federal Tax Administration (hereinafter referred to as FTA) without being prompted to do so, and simultaneously pay the tax or use the reporting procedure (art. 19 and 20 WTA). The taxpayer is solely responsible for drawing up the statement on the official form and paying the amount of withholding tax due or for the reporting procedure.
Can I declare taxable benefits in a foreign currency?
Only companies whose share capital is officially registered in a foreign currency may declare taxable benefits in that currency. Otherwise, the taxable benefit must be converted into CHF.
What exchange rate should I use to convert the taxable benefit into CHF?
If the taxable benefit is in a foreign currency, the calculation is done based on the average rate of supply and demand on the last working day before the taxable benefit is due, in accordance with Art. 4, para. 3 of the withholding tax ordinance (the exchange rate can be calculated by consulting the following link: ICTax - Income & Capital Taxes).
According to article 20 of the the Federal Act on Withholding Tax of 13 October 1965 (WTA), in conjunction with article 24 et seq. of the Withholding Tax Ordinance (WTO), form 105 is used to report issuance of bonus shares, distribution of dividends in kind or in the event that the headquarters of a company is transferred to another country, once it is established that the recipients are legally entitled to a refund and the number of recipients does not exceed 20. If an official audit finds benefits appreciable in cash from a previous year, the company may file Form 112 only. In this case, Forms 102, 103 or 110 do not need to be filed.
The forms must be submitted to the FTA no more than 30 days after the taxable benefit falls due. In respect of distributions to foreign companies, it is mandatory to have submitted an application on form 823, 823B or 823C and to have obtained permission to use the reporting procedure. The application for authorization must be submitted to the FTA before the taxable benefit falls due.
Submission after the deadline will result in a fine for failure to comply with a regulatory requirement.
Withholding tax is a self-assessment tax. Taxpayers must therefore spontaneously declare any tax adjustments made by the cantonal tax authorities using the official FTA form, provided that these corrections have an impact on the withholding tax. In this regard, we draw your attention to the fact that interest on arrears begins to accrue 30 days after the taxable benefit is due. If the requirements of Art. 24 WTO are met, withholding tax may be declared through the notification procedure by filing a Form 112.
If all the conditions laid down in art. 24 et seq. Withholding Tax Ordinance (WTO) are met, the withholding tax obligations may, at the request of the debtor of the taxable benefit, be fulfilled by means of the reporting (or notification) procedure, in particular via forms 105, 106 and 112 for beneficiaries in Switzerland, and via form 108 for beneficiaries abroad. In this case, it is necessary to have previously submitted a request for authorization to apply the reporting/notification procedure using form 823, 823B or 823C, and to have obtained this authorization. In the case of tax evasion, however, the reporting/notification procedure cannot be applied for. The corresponding forms 7, 102, 103 or 110 must be attached to forms 106 and 108.
If a Swiss corporation (AG) or limited liability company (LLC) meets one of the conditions set out in art. 21 para. 1 WTO, it must submit an ordinary withholding tax declaration (Form 103 resp. Form 110), together with the required information and documents, to the FTA for the financial year in question within 30 days of the approval of the financial statements by the general assembly of shareholders that approved the statutory financial statements. In other cases, no withholding tax declaration is required.
Accordingly, any Swiss corporation or limited liability company is required to submit an official form (103 or 110) together with the annual report or a signed copy of the annual financial statements (balance sheet and profit and loss statement), if:
a. has a balance sheet total exceeding CHF 5 million,
on the balance sheet date of the financial year concerned. In this case, the obligation to file a withholding tax form is solely linked to the quantitative criterion of the balance sheet total in the statutory financial statements: if this value is exceeded, an ordinary withholding tax declaration must be filed even in the absence of taxable benefits.
b. decides, at its ordinary general assembly of shareholders to distribute a taxable benefit, i.e. a dividend from other reserves,
Note: Only dividends from other reserves should be declared with form 103 or 110. Dividends from tax-exempt capital contribution reserves pursuant to art. 5 para. 1bis WTA do not fall within the scope of art. 21 para. 1 let. b WTO and are therefore not subject to ordinary declaration. They are declared using form 170.
c. provides a taxable benefit (subject to withholding tax) during the financial year,
These are therefore taxable benefits which were declared by the corporation or limited liability company using Form 102 or which should have been declared - given the self-declaration nature of withholding tax.
d. is taxed on the basis of art. 69 Federal Act on Direct Federal Tax of 14 December 1990 (DFTA) or art. 28 Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes at Cantonal and Communal Level of 14 December 1990 (DTHA).
This concerns corporations that benefit from a participation reduction and are taxed accordingly or have a special tax status.
e. is subject to a double taxation agreement
In this case, the company applied the provisions of a Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) concluded between Switzerland and a foreign state in the financial year for which the financial statements were approved.
If the requirements of art. 21 para. 1 of the WTO are met, corporations and limited liability companies are required to submit their annual reports or a signed copy of their annual financial statements spontaneously to the FTA, within 30 days of the approval of the financial statements. There is no automatic exchange of documents between the FTA and the competent cantonal tax administrations.
Contact
Phone numbers (German)
Federal Tax Administration
Main Division DAS
Eigerstrasse 65
3003 Berne
Last modification 01.10.2024
Contact
Phone numbers (German)
Federal Tax Administration
Main Division DAS
Eigerstrasse 65
3003 Berne