Geneva Tax Advisor

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name: geneva-tax-advisor version: 1.2.0 description: > Guide taxpayers through filing Geneva (Switzerland) tax returns with GeTax. Covers salary, professional expenses (forfaitaire vs effectifs), pillar 3a/3b, health insurance, medical expenses, securities (DA-1/RSI), foreign property, bank accounts, debts, crypto, and dual-income couples. Use when filing via GeTax, optimizing ICC/IFD deductions, declaring foreign property or income, handling DA-1 reclaims, or navigating Geneva cantonal tax rules. metadata: openclaw: emoji: "🇨🇭"

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Geneva Tax Advisor

Your guide to filing Geneva tax returns with GeTax — built from real filing experience, not theory.

How to Use This Skill

1. Before each section: Read the relevant reference file for field-by-field guidance 2. Before advising on any rule: Look up the official GeTax guide page — never guess 3. Always verify from source docs: Read salary certs, bank statements, and insurance attestations directly

GeTax Section Flow

Work through sections in this order:

| Section | What to Do | Read First | |---------|-----------|------------| | Page de garde | Personal info. Commune = residence, not workplace | — | | Annexe A | Salary per spouse. Check field 15 for hidden deductions | references/salary-and-expenses.md | | Pilier 3a | Pension deductions (NOT in bank accounts section) | references/deductions-checklist.md | | Déductions | Insurance premiums, medical expenses, donations | references/insurance-medical.md | | Immeubles | Property — get BOTH copro + rental management statements | references/property-foreign.md or references/property-geneva.md | | Intérêts et dettes | Mortgages, loans, overdrawn accounts | references/debts-and-interest.md | | État des titres | Securities, ALL bank accounts, bank fees | references/securities-and-banks.md | | Récapitulation | Review totals. Enter source tax for ALL spouses | — |

The 3 Decisions That Matter Most

1. Forfaitaire vs Effectifs (Professional Expenses)

⚠️ ICC meal deductions require a commute >2h/day by public transport. IFD has no such restriction.

Commute > 2h by public transport?
├── YES → Compare effectifs vs forfaitaire for both ICC and IFD
└── NO  → ICC: forfaitaire wins (meals blocked)
          IFD: compare meals (3'200) + transport vs forfaitaire (min 2'000 / max 4'000)

You can split: forfaitaire for ICC + effectifs for IFD. GeTax allows it.

Read references/salary-and-expenses.md for the full comparison.

2. Forfaitaire vs Effectifs (Property Maintenance)

ICC: NO forfait for rental properties — effective costs only

IFD: 10% forfait (≤10yr) or 20% (>10yr) of loyers encaissés

Effectifs often wins when copro charges + management fees + taxe foncière + works are included

3. DA-1 vs RSI (Foreign Dividends)

DA-1: Foreign broker (IBKR, Fidelity, DEGIRO)

RSI: Swiss broker (Swissquote, UBS)

Never both for the same security

Top Gotchas

These are the mistakes that actually cost people money. Full list in references/gotchas.md.

1. Field 15 on salary certs — Amat, APGM, Krankentaggeld hiding there → add to field 9 2. ICC meals require >2h commute — most people don't qualify; forfaitaire wins for ICC 3. Medical expenses ICC threshold is only 0.5% — almost always worth claiming (IFD is 5%, much harder) 4. Foreign medical/dental is deductible — no territoriality restriction 5. Bank fees are deductible — enter in F2 as positive values, auto-deducted 6. Source tax for BOTH spouses — check every salary cert field 12 7. Exchange rates differ — fortune/debt = 31.12 year-end; income/interest = annual average 8. Copro ≠ rental statement — always request both; copro often has thousands more in charges

Planning Ahead

3a for non-LPP spouse: Higher rate (20% net income, max 36'288)

3b / assurance-vie: Geneva couple deduction 3'518 for ~CHF 100/year policy cost

LPP buyback: Most powerful Swiss tax deduction — unlimited up to pension gap

From 2026: Retroactive 3a contributions for missed years from 2025+

Reference Files

| File | Read When | |------|-----------| | references/salary-and-expenses.md | User mentions salary, employer, professional expenses, or commute | | references/insurance-medical.md | User mentions health insurance, premiums, medical bills, dental, or glasses | | references/property-foreign.md | User mentions foreign property, rental income, or French apartment | | references/property-geneva.md | User mentions Geneva property, valeur locative, or owner-occupied | | references/debts-and-interest.md | User mentions mortgage, loan, debt, or interest | | references/securities-and-banks.md | User mentions stocks, ETFs, dividends, bank accounts, or DA-1 | | references/special-cases.md | User mentions crypto, vehicle, TOU, quasi-résident, or donations | | references/deductions-checklist.md | User wants a full overview of available deductions and limits | | references/exchange-rates.md | User has foreign currency amounts to convert | | references/gotchas.md | User asks for tips, common mistakes, or optimization |

Official Sources

GeTax guide: getax.ch/support/guide/declaration{YEAR}/

ictax (securities): ictax.admin.ch/extern/en.html

Exchange rates: fidinam.com/fr/blog/cours-des-devises-suisse-pour-{YEAR}

Tax rates: ge.ch/taux-donnees-fiscales

TOU/rectification: ge.ch/demande-rectification-taxation-ordinaire-ulterieure