Last update: 17.09.2024 08:33
Corona and paying taxes? You will soon have to submit your tax return and, in many cantons, make an advance payment. For some of us, this can be financially tight. What can you do? We tell you what you can do.
The lockdown is causing economic difficulties for many companies, the self-employed and employees. For many of us, this also has a direct impact on our income. Corona and paying taxes? Paying taxes is a must, but only as much as necessary. In dieser schwierigen Situation haben sich Bund und die kantonalen Steuerverwaltungen ganz schön was überlegt, wie sie dir in diesen Zeiten entgegen kommen können. Die wichtigsten Entlastungsmassnahmen für dich und deine Finanzen haben wir für dich zusammengestellt.
Our tip: Find the responsible tax administration quickly
You can quickly find out what your cantonal tax administration has in its bag of tricks with just a few clicks. This list of cantonal tax administrations makes it very easy.
Longer deadline for submitting tax returns
Many tax administrations have extended the upcoming deadline for tax administration. Probably also for very practical reasons, as the counters are closed for consultations. Corona and taxes are also having an impact on staff there.
The longer deadline applies to private individuals and self-employed persons as well as to partnerships, communities of heirs and co-owners and taxpayers subject to withholding tax who have themselves taxed retrospectively. In Bern, for example, the deadline was extended from March 15 to September 15, 2020 (just like that, without an application) or in Zurich, Basel, Lucerne or St. Gallen from March 31 to May 31, or even until June 30 in Aargau.
Our tip: do your tax return now instead of being bored at home
But if you’re stuck at home anyway, maybe you can take care of this annoying topic right now? Our super-best-of list of tax deductions will help you make sure you only pay as much as you need to.
Corona and taxes: no reminders for late filing and debt collection stop for outstanding claims
Individual cantons (such as Bern or Aargau) have issued a stop on debt collection and debt enforcement for all claims until June 30, 2020. Whether for private individuals or legal entities. This deadline goes well beyond the legal freeze until April 4, 2020 decided by the Federal Council. For example, the canton of Bern will not issue any reminders for payment deadlines that are subject to a fee or carry out any debt collection until the end of June.
Goodwill in the deferral of outstanding tax invoices
If you are definitely unable to pay invoiced taxes on time, you can apply to many tax authorities for a deferral or partial payment. They assure you that they will consider this in an accommodating manner.
Reduce installment bills for the 2020 tax year yourself
Unfortunately, many companies and individuals will generate less income in 2020 and therefore have a lower taxable income. But in many cantons, you pay a quarterly advance payment on the definitive tax liability in the current tax year. And the advance payment is calculated based on your income from the previous year. Do you think that’s too high? Then we have something for you. If you assume that your income will fall by 30 percent, your tax will also fall by a comparable amount. Therefore, in times of Corona, for example, in the canton of Berne only pay as much in advance as you expect to pay in taxes. You can estimate this yourself. In Zurich this is possible on request. Most cantons provide you with an online tax calculator.
Secure high remuneration interest rate….
If you are liquid and would rather not money on the stock market you can benefit in some cantons from a comparatively high interest rate on overpaid taxes. In recent years, interest on advance payments has shrunk quite a bit, but you can now get 0.5 percent interest on advance payments in the canton of Bern. Top, where else can you get half a percent on something you have to pay anyway?
….and no default interest for late payment of taxes
The federal officials have invented another fancy name: the COVID-19 Waiver Ordinance. Ja, we’d all like that: corona waiver, can it be decreed? Well, because of this regulation, there’s no late payment interest for taxes from 2020. So if you’re short of cash, you can postpone payments for 2020 taxes into the future without being hit by the late payment interest hammer, which works like reverse compound interest. Please note that this only applies to taxes due in 2020; the interest on arrears does not apply to taxes already invoiced in the previous year.
More precisely: in the event of late payment of cantonal and municipal taxes for the 2020 tax year, no or reduced default interest will be charged from March 20, 2020 to the end of 2020. An interest rate of zero is known, for example Aargau, Bern or LucerneZurich has reduced from 4.5% to 0.25%.
And if you pay direct federal tax due in the period from March 1 to December 31, 2020 later, there is also no interest on arrears. This currently applies in particular to the provisional or definitive invoice for direct federal tax for 2019.
Corona summary and paying taxes
It’s cool what the Federal Department of Finance and many cantonal tax administrations have put together for their customers over the last two weeks in connection with coronavirus and taxes. The federal system is reflected in the measures and their different structures. But extended deadlines for submitting tax returns, moratoriums and debt collection freezes, waiver of default interest and the option of reducing your expected taxable income are a sensible set of measures to help you stay solvent during this period of increased stress. Coronavirus and taxes – make the best of it.
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