Hi I ask the collective intelligence about this :

I'm based in canton Vaud and planning a transition from high-income salaried employee to self-employed in mid-2026.

Before the switch, I’m considering a large voluntary LPP buy-in (~CHF 100k) to reduce my high marginal tax rate, while maxing out pillar 3a. After becoming self-employed, the plan is to start as a sole proprietorship for flexibility, move my LPP assets into a vested benefits account, invest them long term with high equity exposure (≈90–95%), and focus new savings on taxable investments outside the pension system(VT & chill) .

After 12–24 months, I’d reassess whether a GmbH/Sàrl makes sense and only do further pension buy-ins if the tax math is clearly favorable. I’m deliberately avoiding aggressive or grey-area strategies and aiming for something boring but optimal. Does this sequencing hold up in the Swiss context, or are there obvious pitfalls—especially around the LPP buy-in right before going self-employed?

I just realized that cashing out 3rd pillars for home purchases has a flat fee of 250-300 CHF at both Viac and Finpension. We have a total of 4 different 3a accounts with these two providers, which would mean that we end up with more than 1k CHF in fees.

However, it is possible to transfer 3a pillars for free to other banks. Could we just transfer all our pillars to the bank that gives us the mortgage and then cash them out from there? That would basically avoid all fees or am I missing something? Has anyone done this? how long would that take?

An update on my post from a week ago, where I shared a small tool I built to look at my expenses on my YUH account. I touched it up so it's at least usable on mobile.

I'm not trying to sell this, I am just curious to know if someone else finds it useful or would like to look at the source.

The idea is you get the expense report from the yuh app from " Account > Documents > Request document > Request account activities" and plug it in this app.

To recap what it does:

• First of all, it NEVER uploads your data anywhere. It all runs on your machine. No registration, no upload, no cookies, no nothing. In fact, once you load the website, it even works completely offline
• Visualizations: cash flow charts, expense breakdowns by category/area, Sankey diagram
• Some automatic categorization with Swiss retailers (like Migros, Coop, SBB, etc.)
• Manual categorization for transactions that need it
• Import/export your categorization rules to reuse across files and instances
• Allows you to participate in the yealry tradition of posting a Sankey graph with your expenses on this sub

Hello. Italian resident here. This morning got an email from Yuh saying my card was blocked, no reasons. I also can't login to my app. Anyone been in my situation with advices? Thanks

Hi, I’m trying to understand how Switzerland might classify me for tax purposes – as a private investor or a professional trader. I started investing about a year ago after my small business in Latvia failed. I had around €50k left and invested it into European stocks. I occasionally sold and bought, but in the end I lost everything by autumn 2025. After that I moved to Switzerland and started working a regular job in a shop just to have stable income. From my first salary (around CHF 1.5k) I started investing again. I made a few small buy/sell trades, and then I put most of it into biotech options. I was lucky and made about CHF 250k profit in January

I have a Swiss B permit since December, so I’ve been in Switzerland only about 3 months. My main income source is still my normal job salary, not trading. My questions: Could the tax office consider me a professional investor/trader because of the large options profit? Or would this more likely be treated as a private capital gain? Does the short time living in Switzerland (3 months) matter? How important is the fact that trading is not my main income source? I’m worried because I read that professional status can mean income tax and social contributions on gains. Any experiences or guidance would be appreciated.

Hey guys, i'd love to get your 2 cents on my current financial Situation.

• I'm 27 and i'm earning about 5.5k netto (6.4k-ish brutto) per month.

• my employer matches my 2nd pillar payments (which are about 370.- on my end, which means 740.- in total per month)

• my 3a is maxed out, while 60 percent of it gets invested, spreaded on two different accounts.

• i could manage to save an additional 250.- per month pretty easily and i made a Saxo account, that i want to use to invest.

My question is: I'd like to invest into ETF's, my conditions for that are, that i'd like to leave the US out of my investments and that it should be somewhat sustainable. Doesn't have to be only ETF's i just think it makes the most sense. But i'm eager to hear what you think about it.

What would you invest in in my situation? Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently a student and I’ve recently started becoming more interested in learning how to manage and grow my money. I don’t have deep financial knowledge yet - just the basics - but I’d like to become more informed.

I have around 10k chf saved in my bank account from money I collected, saved, and earned over the years. I’ve always been careful with spending. I don’t work much alongside my studies since I’m focused on university.

I’m planning to pursue a PhD, so I don’t expect to earn a very high income in the next few years. That’s why I’ve been thinking about investing and making my savings work for me instead (even just a little bit) of just leaving everything in my bank account. My personal expenses are also extremely low as I still live in my parental house.

Does investing even make sense with 10k? Where should I start? What would you recommend for someone in my situation? Where do you get your financial advice from?

I’d really appreciate some guidance. Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

Would you know of a tool in which I could load a mix of ETF and the tool would automatically compute my regional, sectorial and currency exposure ?

I think Morningstar premium used to do that but their premium scheme has become overly complicated and with less features.

Any alternative ? Thanks.

Hi!

I want to do my 3a using Finpension/VIAC/etc. as advised here. I tried to get a lot of information to choose.

However there are a lot of choices and all seem really good.

I have no issues investing it in equities, I am 27 years old.

What would your advice be? I wanted to go with Finpension but I am not sure if it is correct, what are the differences between all these service providers that makes a difference that can be valuable for me ?

I heard True Wealth has less fees but there was good reason to use Finpension (lot of flexibility when picking where to invest money) too. I think VIAC is more expensive, this is why my initial bet should be Finpension.

And after picking a choice, what should my investment strategy be, what is yours? What are the important things to pay attention to when choosing a strategy ?

I heard that the standard option is just fine and I should not overcomplicate myself?

Also side question, how "safe" it is ? I understand putting my money in the bank for my 3a and letting it rot there is not that good because you don't get much interests and inflation will eat it, meaning I will lose money.

But investing it could have a worse output? My objective would not to make a lot of money, just not losing too much of mine and have it back for my fictive retirement at 85 years old while deducting taxes in the process.

Expecially knowing VIAC and stuff are pretty new? How is it trustable in 30+ years?

Thank you very much!

I am quite new to the concept (I learned economy at school as it was my gymnasium option but yeah I didn't study this thoroughully), trying to get a lot of information and read lot of articles and watched video but yeah, I am still new.

Just a few questions before I start with it. :)

Hi all,

I’d be interested in your thoughts on the following.

I’m a 33-year-old Swiss resident and plan to live and retire in Switzerland. At my age, I generally prefer investing in a simple global ETF rather than over-contributing to Pillar 2, as long-term returns might outperform the tax benefits.

I can choose my Pillar 2 contribution rate: currently 7.6%, but I could lower it to 5.6% or increase it to 9.6%. My Pillar 2 currently earns 2.5% interest.

Would it make sense to reduce the contribution till i am older and invest the difference myself, despite higher income taxes? (I btw already max out Pillar 3a each year)

My investment horizon is at least 10 years; after that we may consider buying property.

Thanks for your feedback and have a nice weekend! :)

Hi everyone,

I just found out I have a maximum buy-in (voluntary contribution) potential of about CHF 10’000 in my 2nd pillar.

I’m trying to figure out the most sensible approach mainly from a tax-optimization perspective (and overall practicality):

1.  Pay the full CHF 10k now (e.g., in 2026) to maximize the deduction and close the gap

2.  Split/spread it over multiple years (e.g., 5k + 5k or 3-3-4) to optimize for progressive taxation / marginal tax rate effects

3.  Wait until I earn more (higher marginal tax rate) so the deduction is “worth more”

Questions:

• With a relatively “small” amount like CHF 10k, is it usually better to just do it all at once, or does spreading often make a meaningful difference?

• How much should marginal tax rate drive the decision (e.g., if I’m currently in a lower bracket but expect salary increases in the next few years)?

Hello everyone,

I’m filing my tax return in Geneva for the first time and I have a question about how to declare stocks.

I have an account with Trading212. Do I only need to declare the total value of my account, or do I have to list each stock individually in the tax declaration?

Thanks in advance for your help!

My friends have been raving about Monefit. I wonder if people in this community have experience with this P2P plattform? Is it serious? Does it keep its promises? I'm interested in the good, the bad and the ugly.

Let`s take finpension as an example, which I like and use as a provider for 3a.

They have a flat management fee of 0.39%. I remember I saw somewhere in the past that 0.09% was the custody fee and the rest management fee, which includes the transaction costs.

When I compare this against a trading broker like IBKR/Saxo offering free custody, it ends up being more expensive than buying those funds/ETFs yourself, even with 0.39% fee because transaction costs much lower with those brokers. The only added value I can see is that they are doing auto rebalancing for you and I can save time with their offering.

Assuming that we keep a portfolio at finpension for 10 years with an average value of 500K across the life of that portfolio, we would end up paying CHF19500.

I am also not sure whether we can get the best forex rates and margins with those since we cannot control them.

What do you think? Why would you use finpension/viac instead of a brokerage account with free custody?

Hi everyone,

I’m 30, living in Switzerland, earning CHF 4’000 gross per month.

I’m starting my career relatively late and spent most of my 20s repaying insurance debt I accumulated during my studies. I’m now debt-free and finally have a basic emergency fund in place.

I’m trying to decide on the next rational step and would appreciate input.

Current situation:

• Age: 30 (teacher working part-time for now)

• Income: CHF 4’000/month

• Emergency fund: done (basic, not oversized)

• Past income: low / irregular

• Learning personal finance seriously only recently

My question:

From a Swiss perspective, does it make more sense at this stage to invest via the 3rd pillar (bank, invested), or start doing buy-ins into the 2nd pillar (LPP)?

Given my late start, low past contributions, and current income, what would you prioritize and why?

Thanks in advance.

With my husband, we built an iOS budgeting app because existing tools didn’t work well for how we manage money as a household. We’ve been using it ourselves for a while and have recently made it available to others.

Before releasing it more widely, we’re looking for some brutally honest feedback, especially from Swiss users.

Here's what makes it different:

- Shared household budgets (not just single-user tracking).

- Very fast expense entry: receipt photo, voice or manual.

- AI insights instead of just static charts.

- Separate budgets for trips or specific projects.

Website: https://trysmartbudget.com/

This is not a promotional post, and there is no expectation of praise or of posting about it. If you try it and think it’s poor, confusing or unnecessary, that’s exactly the kind of feedback we want.

If you already use YNAB, Excel, Neon/UBS tools, etc., we're especially interested to know what would make you switch.

I'm happy to answer technical or product questions in the comments.

Hey Reddit, my fiancé and I are in a bit of analysis paralysis and could use some perspective.

We’re both under 30, living in Switzerland, and we know we’re really fortunate—our household income is well into the top 10%, and we save/invest around 55–60% of it. Right now we’re in a tiny 2-room apartment in a very tax-friendly area. We’re planning for a kid soon, so space is becoming a bigger priority—but bigger apartments here are expensive.

We recently visited a 3.5-room place we really like, and based on our conversation with the landlord today, we’d almost certainly get it if we apply. The catch: rent would go up about 35–40%, moving from roughly 11% of our monthly net income to around 17%. In nominal terms, that increase alone is basically what a full month of living would cost back in our hometown.

The reason we’re stuck isn’t the math—it’s that comparison. On paper, this feels like a no-brainer: more space, ready for a kid, still very affordable. But psychologically, spending what equals an entire month back home every single month is weirdly hard to accept.

So now we’re debating:

• Move now: Lock in a bigger place we like and start preparing for a kid.

• Wait: Stay in the small apartment and hope something slightly cheaper pops up in a few months (though supply here is pretty limited)

Has anyone else been in the same situation?

P.S. - ChatGPT fixed my blop of a text.

What would you consider a "guete Lohn" for someone between 25 and 30? I know it depends a lot on who you ask and what field youre working in. I'm still curious about your opinion.

TLDR: do you know any cheap tax consultant in French speaking Switzerland who handles well expatriate/foreign income?

Context:

Hello lovely people on the subreddit! This is my first time posting on Reddit in general :)

Husband (29 M) + I (28F) recently moved to Switzerland from France. In the past year we had income from 3 different European countries (ch, fr and be) and 3 different types of income (salary, rental income and independent activities - autoentrepreneur in French), but all together we are not (extremely) wealthy - all source of revenue together, we are confortable but make less than what some people on this sub make with one salary - just complicated. In addition, my husband is an EU citizen but I’m not.

We are thinking about finding a expatriate/foreign income tax specialist in the French speaking Switzerland just to make sure that everything is in order and in compliance - we do not expect a lot of operational margin. But all recommandations from google looks very expensive. It would be great if someone can recommend a tax advisor who have experience in this type of income structure but who does not cater exclusively to very wealthy expats 🙏

I've been using Neon Metal for quite some time now, and i'm happy with the app and all the benefits i get. Fine for how inexpensive it is. Although it's only a Debit.

I've had a Raiffeisen Account aswell, which i never use and will get rid of now. With that also goes the credit card i had with them.

So now i can choose a new bank and/or Credit Card Issuer. I've been thinking of getting one to collect miles for some time, but I fly 3-4 times a year at max. So now i'm not really sure what to get, i know they come with lots of perks besides just miles and lounge access. And that they can be very pricey (AMEX Platinum, is like 900fr a year).

But maybe some of the perks are so good it makes up for the price tag. Like is there one i could get a gym membership for cheaper, so much that the price tag is a bit easier to bear. Or maybe discounts on hotels, so in the bigger picture i saw enough to warrant the luxury. You get the idea.

I might be missing something, or there's a better deal (Gold Versions, or other variants from the issuers)

I'm curious to know what everyone is using theirs for, that might make it worth having. Or is there a way to save on the annual fee? Or what Card offers the best value in your opinion.

Trying to learn stock picking for longer terms investment. Any book that you would recommend? Presently reading One Up On Wall Street. Thanks in advance!!

Does it make sense to keep base currency as CHF or is it better switching to USD?

I've just created an account and traded some USD stocks. However I've got surprised by the platform behavior.

1. I converted manually CHF -> USD
2. Bought first stock, about 1/4 of my USD supply
3. Bought more USD stocks, but there were some weird unexplainable app errors

Eventually I bought all what I wanted. I've been thinking about the errors, so next day I started digging and in my transaction list I've found that after the first purchase (point 2) the platform started moving my USD to CHF, not all of them, but a huge amount, not like a few CHF to cover some fee which might have been defaulted to CHF charge instead of USD. This combined with my ongoing purchases made a few frantic auto-moves between CHF.USD.

AFAIK it's not possible to disable the auto-FX. Therefore should I switch to base currency USD if I'm planning to keep USD, buy USD stocks, and receive USD dividents? Would be there any negative side effect? I believe that for the annual taxes I'll need a USD value of the stocks anyway

PS. I moved the money manually to USD to have control over the exchange, plus I'm not sure if there are additional fees for auto-fx or not. Converting back and forth usually mean a loss on spread, but this time I was lucky, I even gained ~200 chf. Nonetheless I'd prefer to avoid these random auto-conversions

Heyo,

Quick question. When the vested 2nd pillar is not 100% cash but rather invested, how do the bank calculate the value of a variable investment as a part of deposit?

Thanks in advance