Declaring or reporting Swiss Withholding Tax

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 our electronic portal.

Your advantage: quick and secure settlement of Withholding Tax

The electronic portal offers you the following functions:

• Electronic submission of following forms:
  • 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)

As English is not one of Switzerland's official languages, only the most important information concerning the Administration is translated into English. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force. Please refer to the German, French and Italian original version.

This advertising clip is addressed to all tax partners, who wish to use the electronic portal to request a withholding tax refund from the Federal Tax Administration for legal entities and other claimants.

Questions & answers about declaring or reporting the Withholding Tax

Where can I find the dossier number of my company?

You can obtain the dossier number either by e-mail or by telephone:

Team 1 (Zones 1 - 4)
E-Mail: er01.dvs(at)estv.admin.ch – Phone number : [phone]

Bern (German language), Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Fribourg (German language), Glaris, Graubünden (German language), Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Uri, Wallis (German language)

Team 2 (Zones 5 - 8)
E-Mail: er02.dvs(at)estv.admin.ch – Phone number : [phone]

Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Luzern, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Zug, Zürich

Team 3 (Zonen 9 - 12)
E-Mail: er03.dvs(at)estv.admin.ch – Phone number : [phone]

Berne (French language), Fribourg (French language), Genève, Grisons (Italian language), Jura, Neuchâtel, Tessin, Vaud, Valais (French language)

What do I have to pay attention to with regard to withholding tax?

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.

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?

The forms must be submitted to the FTA no more than 30 days after the taxable payment 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.

In the case of direct tax add-backs, do I have to take any additional steps concerning withholding tax?

Withholding tax is a self-assessment tax. As a result, taxpayers must spontaneously declare any direct tax offsetting made by the cantonal tax administrations to the FTA, if the correction is relevant for withholding tax purposes. If the requirements (cf. also point 1.6) are met, withholding tax can be declared using form 112.

Can forms be submitted electronically instead of by post?

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 via electronic portal. Declarations with reporting procedures are not yet possible.

How can I obtain a paper form?

Paper forms must be ordered from the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FOBL). You will find the link under the relevant form.

Can the withholding tax liability of a company be fulfilled by application of the reporting procedure?

If all the requirements laid down in art. 24 et seq. Withholding Tax Ordinance (WTO) are fulfilled, with respect to recipients of benefits domiciled in Switzerland, withholding tax obligations can be satisfied by means of the reporting procedure (Forms 105, 106 and 112). However, the reporting procedure cannot be used in the case of tax evasion.

The general assembly of my company did not distribute a dividend during 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?

Perhaps. 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 return (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 closing of the general assembly or shareholders' assembly that approved the statutory annual accounts.

Accordingly, any Swiss corporation or limited liability company that company is required to submit an official form (103 or 110) together with the annual report or a signed copy of the annual accounts (balance sheet and profit and loss account), if:

a. has a balance sheet total exceeding CHF 5 million, 

at the balance sheet date of the relevant financial year. If this value is exceeded, an ordinary withholding tax return must be filed, even if there are no taxable transactions

b. decides at its ordinary general assembly or shareholders' assembly 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 AIA do not fall within the scope of art. 21 para. 1 let. b AIA and are therefore not subject to ordinary declaration. They are declared using form 170.

c. provides a taxable benefit (subject to withholding tax) in the course of the accounting period,

These are therefore taxable transactions 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 of the Harmonisation of Direct Tax 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 has applied the provisions of a Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) concluded between Switzerland and a foreign state in the financial year for which the annual accounts were approved.

Why do annual financial statements of the company have to be submitted to both, the canton and the FTA (Art. 21 para. 1bis of the WTO)?

If the requirements of art. 21 para. 1 of the WTO are met, corporations and limited liability companies are required to submit their annual financial statements spontaneously to the FTA. There is no automatic exchange of documents between the FTA and the competent cantonal tax administrations.

When are reporting forms 105 and 112 used?

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 seat 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. Form 112 can be used on a one-off basis if an official audit discloses payments in kind in a previous year. In this case, Forms 102, 103 or 110 do not need to be added.

Last modification 21.11.2022