Geneva Tax Advisor

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.

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