Tax deduction for supporting adult child

My son and his wife have been having a rough time finding his bearing financially. I've been supporting him monthly and am wondering if I can deduct the money I give him from my taxable income. Is this a possibility?

Hi there,

There are allowances for deducting money used to support another person from your taxable income for both federal, cantonal, and municipal tax purposes. However, there are a lot of regulations governing this deduction and these vary between cantons.

As a general rule, you will be required to show proof that the person whom you supported lives on an income below the cantonal minimum existence level. The recipient must be classified as a low income earner at the time that you file your tax returns for you to be eligible for this deduction.

The money given to each recipient as support must equal or exceed a minimum amount in order to be claimed as a deduction. A deduction of CHF 6500 can be applied to Swiss federal taxes if you give out at least that amount to a low-income individual in support in a tax year. If you support several individuals with at least that minimum amount, you can claim this deduction for each eligible recipient.

The per-recipient tax deduction for cantonal and municipal taxes varies between municipalities. In the City of Lucerne, for example, you must provide at least CHF 2600 in support to a low-income individual to claim the CHF 2600 tax deduction.

Best regards from Moneyguru

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