Tax Geneva: Geneva tax for expatriates and international organisations
You live or work in Geneva and your situation has an international side: a recent move, tax deducted at source, income or assets abroad, a post with an international organisation. I prepare your Geneva tax return and review your tax status, in English or in French.
Understanding Geneva tax
How you are taxed depends on where you live, on your permit and, if you work for an international organisation, on that organisation and your nationality.
- Living in Geneva, Swiss or C permit holder: a tax return covering your worldwide income and wealth.
- Living in Geneva without a C permit: tax is deducted from your salary (tax at source). A full tax assessment (TOU, taxation ordinaire ultérieure) becomes mandatory from CHF 120’000 gross salary a year; otherwise you can request it by 31 March of the following year to claim your deductions.
- Living abroad and working in Geneva: tax at source; a full assessment is possible if at least 90% of your household income is taxable in Switzerland.
- International civil servant: a regime specific to your organisation and your nationality.
My services
One point of contact for three needs: your tax return, a review of your status if you work for an international organisation, and the preparation of your file, documents and deadlines included.
Tax return (expatriates)
Your complete Geneva tax return: the year you arrive or leave, foreign income and accounts, property outside Switzerland, tax at source and full assessment (TOU), special expenses of seconded expatriates.
International organisations: status review
Your tax treatment depends on your organisation and your nationality. I review your situation (organisation, FDFA legitimation card, spouse, property, retirement) and tell you exactly what you need to declare.
Documents and deadlines
The documents to gather for your situation and the key dates, including 31 March for your tax return, the full assessment (TOU) and corrections to tax at source.
International tax
Tax at source, full assessments, international civil servants, foreign income and assets: my day-to-day work.
Confidentiality
Your information stays confidential and is used only for your file.
English or French
We work in the language you prefer. Your return is filed in French, the language of the Geneva tax authority.
If you live in Geneva, you are taxed from the day you arrive, on your worldwide income and wealth. Property located abroad is not taxed in Geneva, but it is taken into account to set your tax rate. In your first year, your income is annualised to calculate the rate. If you are taxed at source, a tax return is only needed for a full assessment (TOU), whether mandatory or requested.
Not if they are declared: your foreign accounts and their income go into your return just like your Swiss accounts. Switzerland receives data every year on the foreign accounts of its residents (113 countries in 2026). If assets have never been declared, a voluntary disclosure lets you put things right once, without a fine: you pay the tax and interest, for ten years at most.
It depends on your organisation and your nationality. A non-Swiss official of the UN, WHO or CERN, for example, pays no tax on their salary or on their movable assets and investment income. In other organisations (GAVI, the Global Fund, ISO…), the salary is exempt but is used to set the rate on your other income. ICRC and WEF staff have no tax privileges. A Swiss official is exempt only if the organisation levies an internal tax. The exemption ends on the day you become a Swiss citizen, and property in Geneva generally remains taxable.
To work, the spouse of an international civil servant must exchange the legitimation card for a Ci permit. Their salary is then usually taxed at source. The tax scale depends on the official’s organisation: scale B (as if the couple had a single income) for the UN, WHO, CERN and similar organisations; scale C for others (ISO, IATA, GAVI…), with a possible correction the following year.
Your tax return is due by 31 March; you can ask for an extension, for a fee of CHF 20 to 60. If you are taxed at source, a request for a full assessment (TOU) or a correction must be filed by 31 March of the following year: this deadline is strict and the request cannot be withdrawn.
Yes. We work in English, and I explain every point of your return in English. The return itself is filed in French, the official language of the canton.
Every situation is different. As soon as I have the basic information (status, spouse, foreign income and assets), I send you a free, no-obligation quote.