The SSK (Swiss Tax Conference) published updated sample expense regulations on 6 May 2024 (available in German, French or Italian) https://www.ssk-csi.ch/de/themen/spesen .
At first glance, there are no changes to the basic and supplementary regulations for employees with managerial functions. But then you notice the following:
Firstly, a guideline is published on the conditions under which the tax authorities of the canton of residence accept the approved expenses of the company’s canton of domicile for salaried employees. The expense rates and provisions of the sample regulations dated 1 February 2024 must be complied with from 1 May 2024.
In addition, the amount of representation allowances in excess of CHF 6,000 per year is limited to a maximum of 5% of the gross salary and a maximum of CHF 24,000.
No binding parameters were published when the previous version of the expense regulations, which are dated 13 December 2021, were published.
It had been known for some time that, for example, the FER Geneva expense regulations for companies in the Canton of Geneva caused problems for employees residing outside the Canton of Geneva when it came to the tax assessment (in French) https://www.fer-ge.ch/mod%C3%A8le-de-remboursement-des-frais#:~:text=A%20partir%20du%201er%20janvier,achat%20du%20v%C3%A9hicule%20par%20mois
There were probably other deviations within the cantons in practice. For example, the various types of small expenses up to CHF 50, which are covered by the representation allowance, have already been adapted in earlier SSK model regulations (additional expense regulations for employees with a managerial function).
One important aspect may be overlooked by companies when implementing this in practice. The expense regulations approved by the authorities are only valid to the extent that they comply with the current legislation and the applicable salary certificate guidelines.
Some expense regulations were drawn up and approved when the current salary certificate form came into force almost 20 years ago. It is obvious that they may contain wordings that no longer comply with the current regulations.
One clause is, for example, that a cross must be placed in box G if employees work 40 to 60% of their working time outside their normal place of work and therefore receive a lunch allowance. For those who work more than 60% of their working time outside their normal place of work, ‘Lunch paid by employer’ must be mentioned under the comments (item 15).
Another example is the calculation of the private share for business vehicles. This was adjusted a few years ago from 0.8% of the purchase price excluding VAT to 0.9%.
The list could be continued at this point. The deviations depend on the status of the wording in the respective regulations in the company.
The model template for car allowances for employees with very frequent business use of a private car is new (available in German, French or Italian) https://www.ssk-csi.ch/fileadmin/dokumente/Spesen/Autopauschale_2024_DE.pdf
Car allowances have caused some uncertainty in payroll accounting for some time already. The variations in the approved regulations are very diverse. Sometimes these included the journey to work, at other occasions they did not. The conditions under which such authorised car allowances could and can be granted have also been worded differently in the past.
It has been clarified now. The kilometres driven for business purposes must be recorded for approx. 4 to 6 months, kept and repeated after 3 years at the latest. Even if only the kilometres driven on business are covered by the flat rate, no deduction can be made for the journey to work in the personal tax return. The employer must therefore also tick box F under point 13.2.2. of the salary statement in combination with the statement of the lump sum. The employee must be able to prove that they actually incurred commuting costs in order to claim these in their tax return.
With this solution, a company can actually ask the question of whether they would rather provide a company car for employees who frequently use a car for business purposes. Some companies had introduced flat-rate car allowances instead of a company car due to the customs duty risk for cross-border commuters. The customs duty risk with this solution simply remains in the opposite case (Switzerland can demand customs payment for cars purchased and registered abroad if they are used for business trips in Switzerland).
Need for action for companies:
- Comparison of the approved expense regulations with the newly published versions
- Determination of additional expenses granted without authorisation in the expense regulations, particularly in the area of home office expenses
- Assessment of the offsetting risks by the tax authorities of the place of residence based on the deviations
- Decision by the management as to whether the expense regulations should be re-approved with the necessary amendments
- Consideration of potential deteriorations in the employment contract with regard to compensation or change notices to be issued
- Inform employees about the significance of the changes, regardless of whether or not the adjustments are made to the company-specific expense regulations
Due to this recent topic, I am organising two webinars in German.
Link to all seminars in German: https://www.zulaufgmbh.ch/veranstaltungen-workshops/
I advise companies on issues relating to the salary statement and also support them in adapting expense regulations. In addition to the actual approval process, there are various factors to consider, such as communication and adaptation of processes within the company.
